Pat & Sharon O'Toole

Cows and calves
Ames Field, Home Ranch

The view out our window gives every appearance of winter, yet spring is indeed in the air. We hear the calls of arriving Sandhill Cranes, who are an early harbinger of spring. Yesterday, I spotted a red-winged blackbird. The most definitive sign is the appearance of babies on the ground. They are not a surprise, since we know when we put in the bulls and the bucks, but they do lift our hearts. With babies on the ground, can green grass be far behind? Well, we hope not.

The puppies were a surprise, since I really thought I had Suzie confined in the horsetrailer on all the appropriate days, but that Bobby is a sly dog.

And of course, I cannot resist showing our readers the photos of our two newest grandchildren McCoy O’Toole, born on Halloween; and Tiarnan Lally, born on Valentine’s Day.
Now if it would only stop snowing.

Cow with calves
Ames Field, Home Ranch

Cows and calves
Corral, Home Ranch

Ewes and lambs
Powder Flat

Maeve and Seamus with bum lambs
Powder Flat

Richar, Meghan & Tiarnan with lambs
Powder Flat

Ovcharka/Akbash puppy
Salomon's camp, Red Desert

Long suffering Suzie with three puppies
Home Ranch

Eamon & McCoy

Siobhan with baby chicks
Murdock's, Craig, Colorado
photos by Sharon O'Toole

Posted by Sharon O'Toole at 3:27 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Ron Wille's field between Dixon and Baggs

The Little Snake River Rattlers have won the 1A state basketball championship. Last fall the team, with mostly the same boys, won the 6-man state football championship. Here is Ron Wille's salute to the team. The girl's team, which lost only one basketball game all season, came in third in the state.

Posted by Sharon O'Toole at 4:58 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Warm work on a cool day

We raise our own Rambouillet and Hampshire bucks. We breed their mothers, the purebred ewes early--around the first of October. Since a sheep's gestation period is about five months less five days, that means we are lambing now. We lamb these ewes at the Powder Flat headquarters, where we have corrals, sheds, and a crew.

It's a lot easier on everyone (except maybe the newly naked sheep) if the ewes are sheared before they lamb. The lambs don't mistake a wool tag (hanging bit of wool) for a nipple, and the ewes are interested in seeking shelter in cold weather, much to the benefit of their newborn lambs. In a few days, they have grown back enough wool to see them through some fairly cold weather. If a storm comes in, we have sheds and shelter.

We were able to bring the bucks in from their newly completed duties on the Red Desert, and were able to get them sheared too. This makes it easier in April when we shear the main line. The bucks probably don't think it's such a great idea. On the other hand, they now get to go back to hanging around until December or so--not such a bad life!

Bringing the bucks up the chute

Eutemio working the chute

Rob, hard at work

Shearing dance

Through the escape hatch

Wool handlers packing the wool

Raul at the ramp

Heavy ewes, newly shorn

Ewes and lambs, with a cozy barn

Pat and ewes look each other over

Richar and Nene

The tractor pulling the portable shed up the hill

It's still plenty wintery
Powder Flat, Moffat County, Colorado
photos by Sharon O'Toole

Posted by Sharon O'Toole at 4:31 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)