We had a call from the farm in Ostrobothnia today and some good news: there will be enough lambs for us and even a couple of older sheep(over a year old) and even a couple of "old ladies". So now we are getting excited again and starting to plan for their arrival. Time to start hammering in the fence posts again and checking the fence and moving the sheep shed back into the field. Excellent!
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Sheepskins for sale... not too big so perfect for covering an office chair or lining a pushchair. Colours range from white to very dark brown - none of them are dyed, these are the natural colours of our sheep. These sheep were never sheared so the wool is quite long and retains its natural waviness with soft, uncut ends. For more info, send an email to Rosendal Farm
We stopped at Jussi's carrot farm in Lohja and picked up six sacks of carrots for the sheep then headed over to Perniö to dump some alder at the smokery and then, finally, on to visit Elisa and Minttu at Irma's farm. The girls saw us before we saw them, they were so happy and - honestly - they did recognise us! Minttu is huge now but when I dug my hand into her fur the wool came past my wrists so it's not just meat on her bones. She is very probably going to give birth within a few weeks - some of the other ewes had already given birth a couple of days ago. It was great to see them both, they looked very well and they are in good company. Elisa is very happy: she is in a barn with some other "old ladies" so plenty of company. And Minttu has been in with the boys so, who knows, we might have new lambs in the spring. She is also very very happy, full of energy and quite lively. It's nice to get some good news, and we will pop over and visit them soon.
The tanner in Tampere called to say our sheepskins are ready for collection. Stefan has gone to pick them up and will bring them back on Friday. I'll post some pictures on here.
I found these in a flea market in Billnas. We do have a carding table in the barn in Rosendal but these are more practical for doing small scale carding. I might do some over Christmas but first I need to clean the wool.
So we have decided to keep #258 - she's just a pet really, probably thinks she is one of us, or a puppy, she doesn't really act much like a sheep. Whenever we are in the fields she comes to watch what we are doing, regardless of where the rest of the flock is. She will spend the winter at the farm in Perniö with Elisa. I suppose she needs a name now, rather than a number, so I'm going to call her Minttu. This morning, over breakfast (indoors, this time of year) we noticed that there was an extreme amount of head-butting going on and we couldn't think why. Then I remembered that I had thrown half a pumpkin over the fence yesterday. So Peter looked through the binoculars and sure enough, there was the evidence. Like most things, some of them like pumpkin and some don't. But if there are two who like it, you can bet there'll be some head-butting! Most of them like apples, especially the red ones and we have enough of those for everyone. They all like mint and carrot toppings but are indifferent about oregano.
Apart from apples, pumpkins and the leftovers from the herb garden, we have been giving them a lot of hay, which they love, and the neighbour is getting stale bread (and some not so stale) which is way too posh for sheep but... lucky them. They are still grazing on the field but there is not so much nutrition in the grass at this time of year. In Mangs Gård today we met three alpacas. They are so weird looking, like some Disney cartoon character (the push-me-pull-you?), with fluffy tufty ears, huge eyes and long eyelashes: everything about them seems to be a caricature of what would be considered normal in a four-legged mammal. One alpaca can produce 500€ worth of wool every year. The ones we saw had recently been shorn as their fur was quite short but incredibly thick. Apparently they can remain outside all winter provided they have some basic shelter. We have tons of windfalls now and the sheep go crazy for them. Their funny little teeth aren't made for crunching so I lovingly chop the apples before walking into the field with the bucket. Elisa is looking very elegant and beautiful. Here she was rather worried about the camera. I've noticed that when I am wearing a hat or sunglasses she doesn't recognise me either. It was a sunny weekend and I found them sitting in the shade of the polytunnel. While I was picking the pumpkins I could see them staring at me through the plastic! We have started feeding them the hay that we made in July - and they love it. We've modified the feeder so that the hay doesn't fall onto the ground so easily.
The nights are cooler, longer and darker so they sleep in the field where they seem to feel safer than in their shed. But there is a thick layer of straw in the shed now, which we collected from R's oat fields. The sheep are wandering into the clover field more and more often and even settling down in there to chew the cud. Unfortunately their wool is getting full of dried seeds from some grasses and they are really matted around the neck. It's almost impossible to pull the seeds out, and there is no way I can comb 21 sheep.
(We have booked two slots at the abattoir for the end of October) Well, eventually the sheep found their own way into the clover field.
What's amazing is that instead of scoffing clover all day, Elisa appears to be "managing" mealtimes taking them in there for a while and then moving them back out again. When they've had their fill of clover they always go back to chew in the main field (or in their shed if it's pouring with rain) so that seems to be where they feel safe. Peter opened up a new gate for them so they don't have to walk through the stream on the far side of the field. He also put up a road block to stop them venturing into the arable fields (where R is harvesting). But otherwise they are free to wander... they always stick together though. We close the gates at night though and, in the morning, as soon as they see Peter they bleat like crazy until he opens the gate. Peter has been letting the sheep go through the gate and graze in the overgrown patch between the sauna and the Rosendal oatfields. There is a stream and the lake in between so they can't wander far. The neighbour wandered over to see where all "his" sheep had gone!
At dinner time they all rushed back over to the neighbour's field for their meal. They seem pretty good at finding their way around. Soon we will move them into the small field next to the polytunnel which we planted with clover and a few other yummy things. All in all the big field is holding out really well and seems to be enough to support 20 sheep. There was a lot of noise coming from down by the lake at a time of day when the girls are usually relaxing, chewing in the shade. So I wandered down and I found two ewes on the wrong side of the fence in an area which is usually underwater and is full of reeds, willow, alder and birch. I have no idea how they got there though it is possible that they walked around the fence in the lake as the water level is so low. Alternatively they could have climbed up the fence to reach overhanging willow branches and then crashed down on top of it. Then again, maybe they crawled underneath but, as far as I know, only two of them have mastered that technique. Of the two who had escaped, one is a very large skittish ewe and I know for sure that I will not be able to catch her and/or lift her back over the fence. The smaller escapee was easier to catch and I lifted her back. Then I called Peter who was at work, at lunch. P thought that I could leave the ewe and she would find her own way back but I didn't think she would figure out the itinerary so we decided to cut the fence. I walked back to the garage to look for cutters and also grabbed a free-standing fencing panel. When I got back down the lake, another ewe had found her way out. I cut the fence next to one of the posts and rolled back the fencing to create an opening. I then attached the fence panel making temporary hinges out of rope. Luckily it was a perfect fit. While chasing the sheep I noticed that they always ran along the fence never venturing far away from the others (who are all watching with great curiosity, as only sheep do). So I pushed the gate out at right angles to the fence and then using a long stick I coaxed them along the fence and they slipped neatly back into the field. Well, that was easier than expected! |
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