And Another Lamb! Praise the Lord!

Ruby had just delivered this beautiful little girl when I got home. She was still cleaning her up. Ruby is one of our favorites, she was the first Tunis lamb born at Unicorner Farm and is Rufus the bottle baby's twin. It only took a moment to come up with the perfect "T" name for her... Tuesday! As in Ruby Tuesday.... So what that it is Friday. ;-)

Super Trooper!

ANOTHER TROOPER UPDATE:

When I got home from work and did my barn check... here is what I found. I know he looks strange but he has come a LONG way since Sunday.

Ewe Watch (or Listen)

We have several first-time ewes that are getting close to delivering. I did some research yesterday on nursery monitors and ended up purchasing one at Walmart. I chose the Safety 1st Crystal Clear brand because both units can be plugged in and I wouldn't be constantly changing batteries. It only cost $17.50.

We dropped the baby unit in a pair of panty hose and hung it over the "nursery" pen.

It is amazing how clear the sounds are on the unit in the house. This should save us a few trips to the barn to check on the girls.

Trooper update

A little good news this morning, Trooper seems to be learning to stand with the help of some padded braces on his back legs. When I went to help him nurse (he just needs to be steadied and he can do the rest) he didn't seem to be as hungry as normal. After a few sips he was satisfied, and a little later while I was checking on the ewes in the barn I noticed he stood up when his mom came over to check on him. Apparently he has been helping himself! That is encouraging!

Living with Eternity in View

David Jeremiah's "Today's Turning Point" email was especially timely for me. After posting my life in such a capsulated way, his message this morning seemed written especially for me. Here is an excerpt:

Living with Eternity in View

It’s not our hobbies, our hoarding, or our honors that will follow us to heaven, but our works. As we seek and fulfill His will for our lives, He uses our actions, attitudes, and words to expand and strengthen His kingdom.

Someday we’ll stand before God with the meager offering of our lives. We should labor with eternity in view so that one day heaven’s newspapers will say of us, “Well done, thou good and faithful servant” (Matthew 25:21).

Click here to view the entire message

I must keep this in mind and pray that I one day will hear those words!

25 Things About Me - for Becky

My buddy, Becky of Sittin & Spinnin "tagged" me for this cute little exercise of memory... Come up with 25 facts about myself that most folks don't know. And I get to tag others to join in the fun. I chose these four ladies from my favorite blogs:

Kathy http://blog.sheepthrillsfarm.com/
Gerry http://olderrose.blogspot.com/
Debbie http://ribbonwoodcottage.blogspot.com/
Julie http://willowsrest.blogspot.com/

1. I was born in Waco, Texas on August 18, 1953, three months after one of the worst tornados hit.
2. I enjoy doing genealogy research. I’m a mixed breed… Norwegian dad and German mom.
3. I have always lived within a 50 mile radius from where my parents and grandparents were born. Maybe that is why I love to travel?
4. I have only one sister, Gwyn, but we have a close knit extended family of aunts, uncles and cousins. I was a mean little sister and my cousins love to tell stories of how I bossed them around. Especially in the “horse club” that I made them be in.
5. My first pet was a gray cat named Smokey. Cats have always been special and I couldn’t be without one BUT I love all animals and have been “horse crazy” all my life.
6. After years of begging, I finally got my horse in 1968; actually he had been my grandfather’s horse. Grandpa had passed away in 1967 and they sold his farm and equipment and livestock by auction. I do believe I would have died of disappointment if we weren’t the high bidder on that stocky sorrel quarter horse gelding with a very original name, Trigger.
7. I didn’t particularly like school until I was a senior. They opened up the vocational agriculture class to girls then and I became a member of the FFA (Future Farmers of America). I still have my blue and gold jacket. If only I could still fit into it.
8. I’ve always been overweight, except Mom tells me that my legs were so skinny when I was a baby that she always covered them up before taking pictures. I bet my butt made up for it. I do have short feet… I wear a 6½ size shoe.
9. I had two Rambouillet ewes as my ag project, I showed them at the Waco fair and took 5th and 6th place (out of six).
10. My first car was a 1968 Pontiac GTO…wow, could it go fast! I probably hold some sort of record for speeding tickets… I still get them. Even now in my Pontiac Grand Am, Bob says it’s because it is red.
11. I studied to be an animal technician (vet assistant) at nearby Texas State Technical Institute. I totally enjoyed the course… and the boys… TSTI had about 98% male enrollment. I took a job as a small animal vet assistant.
12. The second time I set eyes on my future hubby Bob, I was riding my horse, Trigger. The first time had been a year earlier when we drag raced (my car – the ’68 GTO won… 3 times). Since I was with a boyfriend I didn’t pay much attention to the “loser”. Bob and I became close “friends” when he stated keeping his horse at the same pasture as mine. When my then boyfriend broke up with me, Mom suggested I go out with my friend, Bobby. We are still best friends 37 years later. We married in April of 1973.
13. Bob and I loved to go to horse auctions (still do) and we would buy small Shetland ponies for $10 to $25 and clean them up and work with them a bit, then sell them for a small profit. If we had just known then about the soon-to-be miniature horse craze.
    One night at an auction a man brought a Shetland Sheepdog puppy to sell at the auction. We bought Kelby and started our “dog days”.
14. Our only child, Jeffrey was born January 1, 1975, and was the first baby of the New Year. A local bank gave him the interest on a million dollars. $254 sounded like a lot of money back then.
15. I took a dog grooming class at the local community college and started to work at a pet shop when Jeff was six months old. My mom and Bob’s grandmother “Gingaw” babysat for us whenever we needed it. Gingaw still does – she is nearly 98 and Jeff is 34. Actually he has grown up nicely, and is a coach in Lewisville, Texas.
16. I found an Irish Setter pup I just had to buy. We began obedience training and showing. Dawn was a challenge to train, but eventually earned her CDX title. While obedience training we met a great couple, Charles and Ann, who would become our “bestest” lifelong friends. We raised Keeshonden and Schipperkes for several years.
17. We lived in the country until 1977 but then gas got so expensive… it went from .39 to over a $1.00 a gallon! We bought a house in Waco and had to find homes for the horses and ponies. I gave Trigger to a good friend I had met while working at the vet’s.
18. Ann and I opened a grooming shop of our own in 1978 and named it K-9’s & Kit-10’s. Then came the “cat days” ... we found out that you could also show cats! Ann bought a pair of Birman cats and we started going to cat shows. We groomed to afford our hobby of showing and raising cats. We had many different breeds after that, from Cornish Rex, Scottish Folds, Persian, Siamese, Burmese and always some great Household Pets. One year we had six HHP’s in the International Top Twenty. We were asked to join the judging program for the International Cat Association.
19. Sad days in 1981, Bob and I split up for 4 months. That didn’t work out so we re-married. Guess the grass was the same color… At least now I have two anniversaries a year to celebrate.
20. In 1986, we moved back to the country. Bob called it a spaghetti farm because it had very little road frontage and then stretched way back. But FINALLY we could have horses again. We had several quarter horses and a large pony. Our son Jeff never shared the same interest in horses that we have. I teased him that he was switched at birth. He also likes sports but Bob and I are totally sports challenged. I was horrible at sports, I was the kid always picked last for the team.
21. In 1988 I got my cat judging license and began traveling a lot to cat shows. This time my expenses were paid and I even got paid a small amount per cat. I have really enjoyed going to Canada, Mexico, France, Italy, Switzerland, and Germany to judge as well as all over the U.S. The farthest place I have gone to judge is Tokyo, Japan.
22. After grooming for over 20 years, I became burned out and dreaded my job. Dog grooming can be hard and dirty work. We had moved in with a veterinarian and it wasn’t the same. I gave Ann my half of the business and “retired”. Ann and her husband still have the shop and do the best grooming in town.
23. I have always enjoyed computers; Bob and I had a VIC 20, then a Commodore 64 and finally made the plunge and bought our first PC. We started a BBS – the precursor to websites and it was named Unicorner. Why? I had started a collection of unicorns before they became popular. I loved playing with various computer programs and taught myself Word Perfect and other programs. I signed up with a temporary agency and began doing odd jobs.
24. It became kind of boring riding up and down the spaghetti farm, so we started looking around at alternative livestock. Exotic animals were “in” and we loved to go to the exotic livestock auctions. Ostriches and emus were selling for thousands of dollars. We watched the rise and fall of potbellied pigs and other exotics. I liked the looks of the llamas and ended up buying a cute young male that was halter broken. Chipper was really fun and we attended llama club meetings and studied up on them, planning to start our llama herd. At one llama show and sale in 1994 there were also miniature horses. Bob was impressed with one little filly and before I knew it we owned a miniature horse. His reasoning for llamas vs. minis was that the minis took a lot less grooming! Good point.
25. In 1995 the temp agency sent me to Manitou as an accounting clerk. Being computer savvy I did odd jobs for various departments. The president of the company offered me a permanent job “I couldn’t refuse” in the sales department. And I’m still here.
26. By 1998 we had realized 6 acres wasn’t enough land. We had started with 3 minis and built a 3 stall barn, by the time it was finished we had six. Soon we had babies, and built more barns. We shopped and shopped all around the county for more land. Finally our realtor showed us a place we felt was totally out of our range. A big two story house on 55 acres with 4 stock ponds. The good Lord must have willed it be ours because on Valentine’s Day 11 years ago we both sold our old house and bought the new one.
27. Many things have happened through these past 11 years, Chipper the llama has passed on, but we still have Robin, that first miniature horse. At one point we had as many as 64 miniatures. Now it hovers in the mid-twenties. We were heavy into showing and produced several shows on our own. Bob was on the board of the American Miniature Horse Registry/Shetland Pony Club. Priorities change… Dad passed away in 2002 and Mom depends on us to get to church and family outings. Gwyn now has granddaughters, maybe one day we will. We are more active in our little country church; Canaan Baptist has the distinction of being right down the road from former President Bush’s ranch. Helping at Vacation Bible School is one of the highlights of my year.
28. We still have a couple of gratuitous Quarter horses if we ever get the hankering to ride. I have four pet cats (two barn and two Birman crosses in the house); and I still help with cat shows and judge all over the world. Bob added two draft horses he has always wanted. And I’ve circled back to sheep. We have a growing flock of Tunis sheep and I’m active in the National Tunis Sheep Registry. I still enjoy working on computers and do graphics work and websites for friends. And I’m getting the bug to move again. Maybe to downsize a bit…
    

Well, there are a couple of extras, did you notice how I got wordier and wordier, guess that will teach Becky to not get me started... ;-)

Follow-ups - coyote deterrent and bachelor pads

1] Coyote deterrent - seems to be working... so the secret recipe... human urine. That's it, just have the man of the house pee on the fence posts around your farm (preferrably under the cover of darkness) and the coyotes go elsewhere. So far, so good. Thanks, Jim and Louise Dunham of Darling Tunis for the tip. And thanks to Bob for making those applications!

2] Miniature stallions and rams don't mix.... at least not ours. Everything was fine in the turnout area but when we put the ram in Batman's pen...uh-uh, no sheep sharing his territory. So Ralph is in the pen next to the ewes, and wow, what he can do to a wire panel. Guess we will have to shear him soon and put up an electric fence.

Baby Dedication

While Bob stayed home to feed Trooper throughout the day, Mom and I went to church. It was an extra special Sunday for our family, my little niece Rylie was dedicated.

Dr. Dub Oliver, our pastor had a wonderful message for the dedication based on Proverbs 3:5-6
Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding;
in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will direct your paths.

Rylie (and the congregation) also enjoyed the bubbles passed out for the occasion.

Uh oh, Houston we have a problem

Our first miniature horse foal of the year was born early this morning. A pretty buckskin colt with overo markings. Unfortunately, his back legs are badly twisted. This is a first in our fifteen years of breeding minis.

Some quick googling found lots of results, apparently uterine malposition is the most common reason given.

Sometimes the foal become twisted or "stuck" in an awkward position in the limited space of the uterus, and they can't stretch their limbs and move about. These abnormally positioned legs develop tightened or shortened ligaments and tendons.

Mom Jasmine is not a small mare and has had several fine healthy foals here at Unicorner Farm. So I guess it can just happen, nothing else has changed.

Bob called our vet and he told us basically the same thing and agreed with the articles that the prognosis is good for the legs to straighten and be normal in time. Though the colt cannot nurse yet on his own, he is strong and gets around by scooting. It is very sad to watch him try to get up in the stall but over the past 12 hours he has improved quite a bit. We have seen a lot more flexibility and he sure looks forward to his bottle. Jasmine is a great mom and doesn't mind being milked and is very careful around him.

Bob has named him Trooper because he doesn't give up. Hopefully he will soon be able to stand to nurse by himself.

On Clinch Mountain: The Smartest Sheep in Grainger County

While surfing I came across this GREAT video of a Tunis doing tricks!
On Clinch Mountain: The Smartest Sheep in Grainger County*#links#links

Speaking of boys...

This is the sire of our Tunis lambs this year, BARTHOLOMEW 07-28 or "RALPH" as we call him. He's not a happy camper right now since he has been separated from his girls.

I'm letting him run with Batman, our mini stallion today to see if they are compatible. As you can see Ralph may have the upper hand both in size and bravado.

BOYS!?

Sprite broke our string of girls by having twin boys this afternoon. I had to go into town to buy groceries and take Mom to the beauty shop. I knew that Sprite was close to delivering but hoped she would wait a couple of hours. The lambs were just starting to stand when I got home, both big, healthy boys. They are NOT keepers so maybe I shouldn't name them...

More Kitty Pix

We had a lot of amateur as well as professional photographers at the cat show this year. You can see even more photos online.

To see Robert Koestler's click the link below, then click on 'Cat Show Photos'. Then click on HOT Waco - 2009 at the top of the page listing shows. Then click 'slideshow' to get past the introduction page. Robert C. Koestler, Saroko Cattery http://www.siamese-kittens.com/.

My DH Bob started a dotphoto page for the cat show photos he took. He's really enjoying his photography hobby. Click on the button to reach his cat show page:

More Photos from the Cat Show

Bob wasn't the only photographer taking photos at the Waco cat show this past weekend. Waco Tribune-Herald sent out two photographers. Take a look at www.wacotrib.com then scroll down to find the link to a ton of photos.

George Snell also took some great shots and posted them at: http://picasaweb. google.com/ george.snell/ HeartOfTexas#

Another Annual Cat Show is Done

Here are a few of the hundreds of photos Bob took at the annual cat show here in Waco.

This is Toni Jones judging one of Ann's household pet kittens (a 3/4 Birman from the cinnamon point color breeding program). Little Fiona is my Bobo's niece. Fiona has a new home now along with her little brother, Freddy.

Other judges pictured are D'Ann Kovic, Kay Devilbiss, Steve Savant and Vicki Jo Harrison.

Tunis Lamb Rated Tops in Taste

I just received my March/April 2009 edition of Hobby Farms magazine. There was a great article on page 12 titled, “Not All Lamb Is Created Equal.”

Here is an excerpt from the article:
As you prepare your leg of lamb this season, keep in mind the results of Legacy of Lamb, the first heritage-breed lamb tasting, which was held last fall at Ayrshire Farm in Upperville, VA. Approximately 90 food fans participated in the blind taste test, which compared nine endangered-breed meats — Gulf Coast, Hog Island, Jacob, Katahdin, Leicester Longwool, Navajo-Churro, Santa Cruz, St. Croix, Tunis — and commercially available Australian lamb, making this the largest-ever comparison of lamb breeds in North America.

“When we eat them, we are giving farmers an economic reason to conserve rare breeds and the important genetic diversity they represent,” says Sandy Lerner, the event’s host.
The meat was scored on flavor, texture, tenderness, smell and appearance.


The winner was the Santa Cruz; second place was Tunis; and third place was Jacob The top two breeds each received nearly twice as many votes for first choice compared to the other breeds, although organizers said each breed collected a number of second and third placements on individual tally cards, making it difficult to say there was one obvious winner.

Legacy of Lamb was produced through a partnership of the American Livestock Breeds Conservancy, Humane Farm Animal Care, Slow Food USA and Ayrshire Farm.

In my last post I gave a link to farms (localharvest.org) that may have lamb for sale. We don't have any available right now.

Interested in finding local farms?

Check out the www.localharvest.org website to find locally raised/grown foods and crafts.

We're Free!

Oh, how the lambs love to be let out of their pen to run while their moms graze.


Bob snapped these photos with his new Tamron camera lens with better zoom.

It's a girl... again!

We have been blessed with another ewe lamb! Spring gave birth to this big girl Saturday evening and it wasn't even bad weather!

Field Trip for the Tunis Lambs

Annual Cat Show Time

Our local cat show is always the second weekend of February. This year it falls on Feb. 14 and 15 and will be at the Heart of Texas Fairgrounds in Waco as usual.

Ann and I started the Heart of Texas Cat Club about 30 years ago. With some good help from other members of our small group we try to have a great time while offering a great show for the cat show exhibitors.

If you are in the area try to come by for a visit or find another cat show near you on the show calendar at http://ticamembers.org/calendar/.

We always have a lot of spectators who visit to see the show, and we have lots of vendors of cat items, from scratching posts to figurines to cat supplies and food. We also have a junior achievers ring for the young people in the cat fancy.

Here is a great group of photos from last year's show:
http://www.wacotrib.com/featr/content/features/slideshows/audioss_catshow/index.html

If you would like more information about the Waco show go to:
http://justcats.org/HOT2009.html

What a Wonderful World

A beautiful video shared on YouTube. Thanks, Joe for letting us know about it.

Beautiful Gypsy Horses

Bob helped out at the Gypsy Horse Registry of America show this past weekend at the Fort Worth Stock Show. He was the "gate man" who organized the handlers and horses before going into the ring.

The GHRA was founded by very good friends of ours and we are happy to see they are getting great promotional results for the breed.

Learn more about the breed at: http://gypsyhorseregistryofamerica.org/CMS/

My 15 Minutes of Fame...

I'm not sure how long the link will be active but I was interviewed by a local television station at the Brenham cat show. Yikes... do I really sound like that?

http://www.kbtx.com/local/headlines/38763667.html