WELCOME SPRING

This year for Easter the menu didn't include lamb.  We did, however, have some of the cuties lamb cupcakes.  Made by a shy member of the Foster Family, they were a hit with young and old alike!!  They are easy enough to do, just frost as normal and embellish with marshmallows.

The early spring has sheep out grazing here much earlier than normal.  Thanks to Liz and Jason!!

 

Thanks to the generosity of Karen and Bob our sheep will be traveling to The Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival in style.  

We are taking 5 yearling ewes and a bunch of lambs.  I have sheep for sale that will be traveling with us, and I have more for sale that won't be taking the drive with us.  If your interested in any Romney Lambs, we were blessed with some beauties!!!!

Thanks for checking back to this blog.  I know its been a while, but life is giving us a run for our money right now.  We are fighting back, will lots of help from friends, neighbors and customers!!  We hope to have life back to normal here real soon.  In the meantime, thanks for the patience.  

This Weather!!

 

This weather is crazy!!  This is a picture from this blog a year ago, hard to believe that right now I have daffodils up and budded!  Won't it be great if we have our own daffodils for the first day of spring!!

In The Yarn Shop I have been busy spinning and knitting.  The guild met last week, what a great time I had.  What a talented group of people, they inspire me soooo much.  Today I hope to finish spinning the merino/bamboo/silk that I have on the wheel.  It is only 4 ounces, I am spinning it rather fine so I am hoping for a lot of yardage.

 

A group of us are working on the mystery shawl by Jen Lucas.  My has taken a terrible turn.  It has a twisted edge that I am thinking about taking out, or will probably take out,  or I will have to take out, maybe.

 

In the barn the lambs are growing like crazy!!  I need some names that begin with "O".  My naming program is to start each name with the same first letter of his/her mother.  Osie had Olive in 2010, in 2011 she had Opal and Olivia, this year she has triplet ewe lambs.  I need 3 names that begin with "O"  any ideas??

This weeks lambs

  

We have had a few more lambs this week, some very memorable ones...

                         Olive, is a daughter of Osie.  This is the day that Olive was born in 2010.

I showed you both of their pictures last week as I was watching them, waiting for their upcoming lambs.  Olive was first on Friday she had a big beautiful ewe lamb.  Not without trouble, but they doing great now.
                                                     
                                                                                   

Then on Sunday morning I walk into the barn and found Osie, with triplets, triplet ewe lambs, WOW!!



All on her own, 3 happy lambs.  For those of you who wonder how do you carry three lambs...its not that easy!!

We still have a dozen or so ewes to lamb.  I am still keeping  a close watch on them all, but life is getting back to normal.

Later this week I will tell you about my field trip!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Today, the 1st of March, is the one that I have been waiting for.  I just love a fresh fallen snow.  Everything is so still and clean.  The bright white snow untouched by anyone or anything.  In just a few hours it will be shrinking and by Saturday we are predicted to have 50 degrees and rain.  This has been a short season of snow.  I am going to enjoy it today!!

Knitting Like Crazy Mystery Shawl 2011

Speaking of Saturday...at TheYarn Shop a group of us will be casting on a new mystery shawl.  If your not familiar with the process, each week, for four weeks, we are given new clues by the pattern designer.  All we know ahead of time is that we will be using 400 yards of fingering weight yarn and a size 4 circular needle.  This KAL pattern is written by Jen Lucas.  This is a link to her pattern page. http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/knitting-like-crazy-mystery-shawl-2012  Its a free pattern and I'm sure you must all have some fingering weight yarn in your stash :-)  If not I have plenty here in The Yarn Shop.  She is offering a few prizes on her ravelry group.  http://www.ravelry.com/groups/knitting-like-crazy-fans 

I would love to have you join us.  We are meeting at 10am.  If your not able to join us you can still join in the fun on your own.  Sign up and post your project page on The Foster Sheep Farm group http://www.ravelry.com/groups/the-yarn-shop-at-foster-sheep-farm  I will also be offering a prize to be announced on Saturday.

Until then, enjoy the snow!!!

the end of February

I'm back, I know it has been some time since I have written in this blog.  Hopefully, you are understanding and will join me again as I write about the happenings on the farm and in the shop.  

This was the view this morning as I walked to the barn to feed the sheep.  What a strange winter, the end of February and the pond is thawed.

 It was the second trip to the barn, the first was just to check for any new lambs or any problems that could have happened since I was last there.  This morning was quite.  I thought for sure that Osie was going to lamb...

Or maybe Olive...she is shy and didn't want you to see her side view.

  So back to the house to have my coffee and then back for chores.  It takes about 2 hours if I'm alone(which is not often thanks to Tom and Liz) to feed.  That includes bottle lambs ( I am feeding 4 right now, with a few others that need daily checking), grain and hay to the moms and expectant moms.  Grain and hay to the new lambs and to last year lambs that we now call yearlings.  Grain and hay to the rams.  I also have the rabbits to grain and water.  Check the water and hay for the alpaca, llama, and steers.  The one last thing is to make sure all of the pens are dry for the sheep to lay down.  If not I bed them with a fresh layer of straw.  Lately, with all of the lambs, it has been every morning that I bed them down.

Look for more updates soon, I am going to try for twice a week to make up for the weeks that I have been quite.