EweTube??

Bob knew how bad I felt about losing our first lamb of the year, so he went and bought a camera set up for the barn. It came with two cameras! They alternate and I can now watch the girls from the house. Right now it is set up in our bathroom because it is on the side of the house closest to the barn and gets the best signal. I will move the ewe "jugs" to the front of the barn soon and then we should be able to move the tv next to my bed.

Right now we have them hooked to an old black and white monitor we used on the miniature horses a long time ago. The camera had been knocked out by lightning but we kept the monitor.

This is the view from the camera aimed at the "Ladies in Waiting" pen. These are the ewes that have started "bagging up" and will be next to deliver.

This is the second camera, aimed at the newborn jug. The new lamb is behind Binkie, that's a feed bowl to the right. I love to watch the baby playing.

Snow's melting...

It's a bright sunny day out there and the snow is going away... but here is how it looked at our office yesterday at the peak.

Snowing... again!?

Wow! Two times in one year! That's unusual for the heart of Texas!

It started snowing when I got to work at 8 this morning. Schools are closing and we aren't sure if we should stay or go home early.

Click on the screen to see a short video...

Photos from the Waco Cat Show

Only a little late... Bob Koestler is a great exhibitor at our cat shows and he always takes photos and posts them on his website. Attached is the link to the photos he took at our Valentine's Weekend show.

http://www.oriental-kittens.com/CatShows/Waco2010/index.htm

Finally... Binkie delivered

We finally have our first lamb of the year. There were twins but the first ewe lamb was stillborn. I blame myself because I didn't check on her during the night. We had the baby monitor on and couldn't hear anything going on. But when I went out to feed this morning, Binkie was lying down with the first lamb out and cold and the head of the second one out.

She must have run out of energy delivering. I quickly felt of the cold lamb to see if there was a heart beat, but I couldn't feel one. Then I helped deliver the second, which took just a little steady pull and she slid right out. Poor Binkie was so tired it took her a moment to get up.

A brisk towel dry and the little girl was shaking her head and ready for the world. Binkie took over the clean up and I left them alone a while. I tried some more on the cold lamb but couldn't get any sign of life. I couldn't see anything wrong with it other than it was dead. Pretty little ewe lamb, these are the heart-breaking moments of raising these sweet babies.

I fed the "3 musketeers"... our miniature stallions... and the other sheep their breakfast and gave Binkie hers... she does love to eat. Then I went in to get the camera to snap some pictures. By the time I came back to the barn, the lamb was walking around a bit looking for her breakfast. I checked to make sure both "faucets" were working and pointed the baby to them. You can always tell when they latch on because that little tail starts wagging.

I would have loved to stay and watch them but I had to go to work, though I was now running a bit late.

I'm already trying to think of a name for her... my first year's lambs were named with "R" names, then we bought two that got nicknamed with "S" names, then 2009 was the "T" year... but I'm not sure about "U" names... Even with the farm being Unicorner. ;-)

Any suggestions?

Still waitin'... on lambs

Our first ewe is due to lamb this week and she looks like she's about to pop. Maybe she will wait until tomorrow when I am home.

Weekend over...

Well, the busy weekend has passed. Thursday evening did bring us some snow!

Friday morning, everything at the farm had a dusting of snow!

But nothing like our son, Jeff received in the DFW area! Their snowfall clobbered the old record from 1888 with 12.5 inches around DFW airport.


Then after a careful drive into Waco on Friday morning, I spent several hours at the hospital with my aunt who was having vertebroplasty to repair 3 vertebrae.

Then off to the show hall to set up for the cat show. Most of it was done by the time I got there. And boy, was it cold! But we got it all ready for the exhibitors to come in Saturday morning.

The weather was better Saturday but there was some freezing fog that iced some of the bridges. I came upon two vehicles who had just lost control. One could have been really bad, she went airborne and landed upside down in a deep ditch. The good Lord must have been watching over her because she crawled out with no injuries. It took DPS over 30 minutes to come and by that time two more vehicles came sliding off the bridge. Luckily no injuries again, but one had traveled about 150 feet to come to rest on the shoulder of the oncoming traffic. Family members arrived to help the girl in the truck and they went to flag traffic down before they hit the icy bridge. I left after the trooper finally came and went on to the cat show.

We had a great entry and lots of great cats. I didn't get around to taking any photos unfortunately, there was some gorgeous cats there.

Busy weekend coming

This weekend brings the annual Heart of Texas Cat Club's show. Since I am one of the founders of the club I'll be busy all weekend with it.

We are also expecting our first lambs this weekend. So it could be interesting.

The weather is threatening to be bad starting tomorrow, with possible freezing precipitation. Hopefully it will clear before the exhibitors come in on Saturday. At least the barn is pretty cozy for any lambs that decide to make an appearance.

Five Finger Prayer

1. Your thumb is nearest you. So begin your prayers by praying for those closest to you. They are the easiest to remember. To pray for our loved ones is, as C. S. Lewis once said, a ‘sweet duty.'

2. The next finger is the pointing finger. Pray for those who teach, instruct and heal. This includes teachers, doctors, and ministers. They need support and wisdom in pointing others in the right direction.. Keep them in your prayers.

3. The next finger is the tallest finger. It reminds us of our leaders. Pray for the president, leaders in business and industry, and administrators. These people shape our nation and guide public opinion. They need God’s guidance.

4. The fourth finger is our ring finger. Surprising to many is the fact that this is our weakest finger, as any piano teacher will testify. It should remind us to pray for those who are weak, in trouble or in pain. They need your prayers day and night. You cannot pray too much for them.

5. And lastly comes our little finger - the smallest finger of all, which is where we should place ourselves in relation to God and others. As the Bible says, 'The least shall be the greatest among you.' Your pinkie should remind you to pray for yourself. By the time you have prayed for the other four groups, your own needs will be put into proper perspective and you will be able to pray for yourself more effectively