_Hello from Maybelle Farm.  Its Wed. Jan 18, 2012 and I just had to have our Vet come to put down my very sweet Avocado this morning.  She was my oldest sheep and would have been 14 this spring.   I am so very sad but when she hobbled out into the middle of the barn, I knew it was time.  Stephen, our Vet, let me hold her while he gave her the medicine.  I got to hold her and tell her how special she was to me and that was a comfort.  He also checked on Arly who I have been treating for pinkeye. He said that is actually a corneal abcess and also glaucoma.  I will need to treat her eye with quartermaster twice a day for 4-5 more days.  I cannot put her back in with the big group of ewes as Stephen said she shouldn't take any beatings from the other sheep.  Well, its been quite a day so I'm going to take a shower, eat my lunch and go do a special after school program at 3:30 p.m.  Good-bye from Maybelle MaMa

_Hello again from Maybelle Farm.  Its Monday Jan.16, 2012 and it was 10 below zero when I got up this morning!  WOW!   That is too cold for me.  I really wanted to just curl up and stay in my nice warm, cozy bed but I knew my sheep needed to be fed and I had to fill 9 heated water buckets.  I can tell you, it didn't take me long to do chores!  The sheep sort of saw a blurrrrrr in the barn this morning!  Wheee, it's too darn cold!  Arly has pinkeye again or some eye infection so she is getting LA 200  3 c.c. every other day for three doses and eye ointment twice a day.  I do think its better today.    I called Stephen (our Vet) last Wednesday and he told me what to give her.  I think he will be coming to the farm this coming Wednesday to put my very sweet old Avocado down.  She is just a very tired, lame, OLD girl and I am so sad to have to tell her good-bye. 

My son David used my nephew Larry's ( a.k.a COOP)  backhoe and we buried Luther last Wednesday evening just before the storm hit!  This coming week Larry will use his backhoe to repair our water cistern.  When Hurricane Irene passed through, the water from the brook near our cistern went over the top of the cistern.  We have been using bottled water ever since Aug. 28th and its getting very old by now.  They will have to take the cover off and clean out the tank.  It should have been done in warmer weather!!!!!!!!!

I'm attaching a picture of the woodpecker at our bird feeder.  We didn't have hardly any birds this winter until this last storm.  Now we have chickadees, junkos, morning doves, blue jays  and one red squirrel.  They certainly let you know when a storm is coming because the feeder is very busy just before a storm.  The sun is shinning and it looks like such a nice day but it is bitterly cold.  Lets see, I got an e-mail from my friend Donna last night and she said........11 more weeks until April 1st!  I am so ready for spring, so I will have to satisfy myself looking at seed catalogs!

I went to Brattleboro on Saturday morning with my son David and my grandchildren Ella and Austin.  It was Ella's last day at gymnastics.  I will attach a picture of her with her ribbon at the end of the class.  We went to "Old MacDonald's" for breakfast after her class.  That is MacDonald's according to Ella.  We took Austin to the barber shop for a haircut and then picked up a few things at the new Wal-Mart in Hinsdale.  When we got home David cleaned up with the tractor and yesterday he plowed out to the barn for me.  I had to work my 11.5 hr. shift yesterday so Darcy, Declan and Rowan took care of my dog Lettie and kept the wood stove going while Jonathan and I both were at work.

Well, I guess that's all the news so far from Maybelle Farm so I will close and go get busy cleaning.  There is always so much cleaning to do and I'd rather be reading a good book!  HAHA! :-)

So-Long from Maybelle MaMa