Checking off the "To Do" list...

It was an eventful weekend at Ugly Dog's Farm.  Many tasks which have been working their way up the "to do" list are now complete and checked off...

On Friday morning, two card carrying members of the "Procrastination Club" finally finished their income taxes and sent in the paperwork to Uncle Sam.  I always have the best of intentions to get my taxes done early - however, I usually have to settle for "on time" instead.

Our Clun Forest ewes are due to lamb in 2 or 3 weeks so it was high time we caught them, trimmed their feet, gave them their yearly CD&T shot, and dewormed them with injectable Cydectin...  While we were at it, we also did the same to our rams and yearling ewes.  My legs and back are still a little sore from bending over the 12 sheep we worked on. 

A trip to town to visit the bank, the feed store, and an early dinner (with a margarita) at the local Mexican Restaurant rounded out a busy Friday.

Saturday started out with 9AM ZUMBA!!!  Afterward, I drove out to Flushing, Michigan to pick up the Amish guys who were trimming feet at a friend's farm.  Usually, we will meet this friend halfway to do the "Amish exchange", but since I begged and pleaded to go 2nd in order to attend Zumba, I offered to pick them up instead.

We got all of the horses and donkeys feet trimmed in record time and I drove the boys home to Brown City while Wayne stayed home to watch for the sheep shearer.   Usually we have shearing planned well in advance, but Spring has been slow in arriving and we have been holding off getting the Clun ewes sheared.  If we were going to get the girls sheared before they lambed, now was the time...  Luckily, the shearer was able to fit us in at the last minute and shear the pregnant girls on Saturday afternoon.

By the time I returned from Brown City, the Cluns were naked and enjoying their dinner...  They look great and all 5 ewes have beautiful udders!  Will post some pictures this week once the sun returns.

Saturday evening finished off with dinner and wine at Pitchfork Ranch in Swartz Creek...  We had an amazing beef roast cooked on the grill, mashed cauliflower with sour cream and crumbled bacon, carb-free ice cream bars, and a few other odds and ends that escape my memory at the moment.

On Sunday we awoke to snow flurries...

We had breakfast in town, stopped to buy Barney some feed, and went to Kroger to do some serious grocery shopping.  The power was out when we returned home so we went to visit our weaving freind and mentor Cathy Phaneuf from Phaneuf Pharm. 

Cathy had a Harrisville Designs loom that Wayne was interested in and she also had newly born miniature goats to visit.  There is never a shortage of fun and entertaining things to see and talk about with Cathy.  She is in the process of setting up her brand new, monster-industrial, super-loom!!!  This thing will be big enough to weave blankets that are 10 foot wide and has an air compressor that lifts and lowers the harnesses...  It is truly amazing and I can't wait to see it completely assembled.

We got home to the power being restored, and after such a busy weekend, it was the perfect time for me to take an afternoon nap!  After feeding time, our friends Mel and Roberta joined us for a nice home-cooked meal which Wayne had prepared.

Thank goodness for Monday!!!  I can sit down...

Barney Update:

He is hanging in there.  The bute continues to keep him feel good and Norman the horse-shoer took his heels down lower to try to keep him comfortable.  He is eating great and trying to graze on the little bit of grass that is sprouting between snow flurries...

He got a bunch of carrots this weekend and his best friend Sophie is sticking to him like glue.