The Final Countdown....cue the music.

The final countdown begins with Monday, February 1st. Its time to once again separate the rams from the ewes, in an effort to get the ladies their added nutrition. Grain is gradually introduced up to a pound a day for each ewe, giving them the protein and nutrients they need to sustain growth for themselves and however many critters they have growing inside of them. They have been on a richer 2nd cutting hay for sometime now, but in this final trimester, the fetus grows 70% more than the other two tri's combined! This makes for a lot of cramped belly space, and the stomach simply cant hold the amount of calories it needs to. The rams are in a stall for the time being, to give the ladies a break from competing with stupid boys for the grain and added food. March 1st will be here before you know it, and Lisa, our veteran, will be delivery Windy Knob's first lamb! Will I name them? Of course. Every year there will be a theme, this years is fitting of course with it being "Presidents and First Ladies."

I have been making an added effort to enjoy the days, and sometimes I forget how beautiful a winter walk can be. One morning I hiked along the bay's shoreline, and was able to watch the sunrise over the ice shelves that continue gain in size with every frigid moment. It was spectacular, and an amazing display of beauty. I won't take it for granted, and I won't forget to take time for myself; to have such appreciation for nature and to take in God's beauty all around me. It's nothing short of a miracle, every sunrise... again, and again and again.

While on that hike, I was able to take a photo that has since caught me to be one of my favorite photos Ive ever taken. Not necessairly cause I think it looks cool (totally subjective) but because of the moment it captured. It was early in the morning, about 7am, and I found these prints in the fresh dusting of snow left from the night before. Now it's pretty windy along the shoreline, however even in this powdery fine snow the prints from a coyote were so perfectly imprinted, I swear if you looked closely you could see the steam from the warmness of his paw pads- the prints were that fresh! To me, its just amazing to be walking these places that you soon begin to feel are more intended for the animals then the humans that "own" it. A rocky shoreline, towering pines, a fresh snowfall, and a coyote out taking a stroll. And I was lucky enough to get a shot of it.

Mid January and counting.

It's mid January, there just isn't a lot going on. I'm busy, but its with the mundane. It's the "get through it" mentality right now. Get through the school days, get through the cold weather, get through the chores. It's tough coming off the holidays and visiting family and having days off... and when your sandwiched between that and sheep vaccinations and as you prep for lambing (6 weeks away at this point) the time just isn't all that exciting. Things are coming along just fine. Sometimes "dull" is good though, I guess.

I did have to change a few jacket sizes the other day. The girls have their wool coming in strong, and of course they are putting on the pounds as their bellies widen. I took a picture to show the contrast between the jacketed wool, and their.. er.. unjacketed. Clean wool sells, that is why I have these sheep wearing jackets, it can add 10-14 dollars per pound of wool. People tend to laugh when I describe that my sheep wear jackets. But you cant argue with this:

The chickens have been the talk of the farm these days. Their egg laying has gone up tremendously, honestly you'd think it was mid summer by their production. The hens are averaging about 4.5 eggs per week- each! There are anywhere between 18-22 eggs every day. Luckily through the winter, when the roadside stand isn't an option, the teachers I work with are buying eggs. I have a waiting list if you can believe that. I sell about 10 dozen a week right now. As I look to the spring, I am going to try and breed my own chickens again this year. Last February was the farms first "birth;" where a Hen raised a

clutch of 4 chickens. Of course my luck I had 3 Roosters and 1 hen. The roosters became a bit much, in fact they started hurting the hens, and scratching up their backs pretty good. Its too tight of a space to have 5 roosters in for the winter. I dont know how you may feel and Im sure some of you may disagree, but it's something that every one should do; prepare your own food. And that is just what I did with 2 of the roosters. It is really eye opening to take a life through the stages from "coop" to the dinner table. Its not something I take for granted, and I was confident that I provided one heck of a life for that rooster for 10 months, compared to what many of us buy in the freezer section of our grocery store. I can't describe it, its not "cool" or "neat," I didn't turn all braveheart or anything with war paint on my face; its just a time to reflect on your food, where it came from and what its' life was like. You gain a true appreciation for everything it takes to get a chicken from birth to table.

January 1st and halfway there!

What? Halfway where? We're halfway there. You know "there." As in lambing date! Yeah happy new year, hope 2010 is everything for you and yours, yada yada; but seriously, I'm thinking March 1st people. And don't worry, I'm taking every day as it comes, enjoying life, and all those bumper stickers. But c'mon, I got pregnant ladies on the farm! In about 9 weeks I will have lambs hitting the ground and its like Christmas all over again with the genetic guessing game and the statisitcs of a Black or Gray ram from the Lisa/Steel combo and the Nez Perce/Doherty pair and... and. sigh. Okay point taken. My therapist was right, I do need to get out more.

None the less, look at their bellies, you can see the round "sag" going. Now I am a rookie, and I could just be overfeeding, but the rams don't have it, and these two are my "veteran" moms (aka weaker abdominal muscles, their bikini days are long gone) and you can derive, like I have, that indeed these ladies are developing a new life within. Fertilization was a success and cells are dividing; the miracle of devlepment is well underway. One cell to two, two to four; eyes, muscles, neurons all developing from the same origin and tissue. Tell me life isn't simply amazing! Or like I said, maybe they are just getting fat.

Lisa and Vera Lyn

But it is the new year people. What are you calling it? Two thousand and ten? Twenty Ten? Is it the start of a new decade or the last year of one? Must be a slow newsday if those are the topics of the day. And isn't it funny how people need substantial bookmarks to turn the page in their life? Odd actually. We need something globally substantial, to "trigger" us to do something for ourselves. Why is that? Can't a sunrise be enough to make you stop in your tracks and start to appreciate what it is you have in life? Or just another day seem a little too blah, driving you to want to accomplish something or set new goals? I dont know, I wish we could all just keep the new years motivation for each and everyday throughout the year. You people all just need a kick in the butt if you need a "1-1-xx" to start resolutions... my new diet starts today and I am getting back in shape; whose with me?

This is Ronin. No segway. No smooth transistions. But just a picture that I adore very much. The break from school has left me home and enjoying what it is I love most. My farm and the animals that make it such. I'm at the transition in my life where I'm torn between social responsibility (aka sanity) and wanting to stay home for the night. I truly enjoy putzing around the farm feeding chickens and sneaking grain to the llama before the sheep can figure out what's going on. I like cross country skiing across the orchard so I can look back at what I have and all that I have done to make it what it is. Then comes Christmas and New Years, where I know I ought to go out and be social with friends and visit family downstate, and yet I dont want to. I want to stay home. New Years isn't about a party, its about knowing you dont have to leave the house the next day cause its a holiday! Now depending on where you're at in life, your reading this saying whats wrong with staying home! You dont have to go out! Do what you want in life, not what people say you are supposed to do! And then there are others of you going is this guy for real? Isn't he barely in his 30s and yet he has become the cooky cat lady or something. I dont know people. But what I know is that Ronin is something special, and if you look at his eyes in this photo, you might catch a glimpse of his "it" factor, and why I have a special bond with him.

And maybe you can't relate to the dog ordeal and staying in on New Years, but you are a naturilist at heart. And you read this 'cause you like the farm life and the essence of nature, and getting back to the roots. If thats you, this is the story you want. Eagles. Bald ones. As in a majestic bird with a four foot plus wing span. A symbol of our country because of its stately manner, flight, power, survival (sorry 'bout the DDT, our bad) and freedom. And when I woke up on Christmas morning, and saw not one, not two but (say it with me) THREE bald eagles soaring outside the window, you can't help but appreciate the majestic and splendor of God's world. Honestly. I wish I could just stop talking and let you experience it for yourself, but this is a blog not youtube. Kinda what I'm here for. So you will have to take it from me, when I describe this man child still waking up, running the length of the house nose pressed against each window as this amazing eagle was flying, no make that soaring along its' way, coming into view and leaving as I ran to each window. Nothing like it. Nothing.

I hope you are able to see through my sinister approach to the new year and through my half hearted attempt to joke about my love and appreciation for life and its miracles. I hope that its a great year for you and I hope you already have a passion within; where a goal and a sense of accomplisment exist all at the same time. And most importantly I hope you realize it. It's all there, realizing it is often my nemesis, could it be all of ours to a degree?

2010, twenty ten as I will be calling it, can be the start or the end for whatever you need it to be. I know I'm excited! More chickens and all the eggs I can sell, a possible SARE grant to be awarded, my first lambing season, and another graduating class of high school seniors being shipped off to the real world prepared to the best of my abilities. And thats just the first half. How can it not be a great year?