Winter

Yes, I know.  I've neglected this blog for awhile.  Late September through early October was very busy with trying to make all the pieces of a puzzle fit together to take Dexters to FarmFest in Springfield and then the MO Dexter Breeders Show and Sale near there two weeks later.  Working to get the animals ready--foot trimming, halter-training, getting grooming-comfortable, having vet checks....  Working to get the arrangements made to keep them somewhere down there since driving a pickup and trailer that far is not my favorite thing to do; so handling both events in one trip was highly desired.  Had the reservations made, the money sent in.  Animals ready, six-year-old Abi all eager to show, etc.  Both events fell through for us because of my truck.  Mechanic shop didn't get truck ready soon enough for the first one and steering wasn't great.   Ok, so try to save and go to the second anyway....  We had the truck packed and ready, the animals loaded in the trailer, Abi in the back seat, her mom and I in the front and we headed off.  Stopped in Chillicothe at WalMart for something like water and--what should happen, but the power-steering goes out on the truck!  Limp to somewhere to try to get expert help.  Time spent waiting at the shop and I walking to ask nearby acquaintances if they know of someone for hire to drive.  Abi and her mom, and I concur, decide it is not best for them to make the trip, but I need to sell animals and have committed them to the sale as well as the show.  So they get a ride home and I head out.  Get a third of the way there and replenish the fluids and decide it is not really safe for me either.  DISAPPOINTING!!!!  Also needed to reduce animals for winter care.  Tried to find a way to do an online auction, worked on it til first week of December.  No carrier worked out.

Meanwhile, the Thanksgiving homestays went well; I was blessed to be a part of the process again of foreign students in the Intensive English Program at MU visiting in American family homes at Thanksgiving.  Christmas also came and went (with lots of cold weather surrounding that time.)

Winter is upon us, and a hard one it is.  Maintain.  Try to maintain.  The name of the game is day to day.  Neglect blog because positive things I can find to say are regarding the warmth of friends, but not farm news--so not the blog material to put up.  Hope everyone else is finding blessings in their relationships this winter...and maintaining!

Wheeling Homecoming

Since Assisi was already separated, washed, and easy to walk, I had the brilliant idea (!) to walk her in the Wheeling Homecoming parade.  The parade theme was "Happy, happy Wheeling."  Since I don't watch TV, that brought to mind clowns and balloons; E.P. makes balloon animals and enjoys making and selling them...so I thought the Wheeling Homecoming might be a fun time for him.  But the family had plenty of plans and declined.  So I proceeded to call and see if another family with kids might have a child or two who would like to walk in the parade.  The Howes thought that Hunter MIGHT, so I went to Chilli and got markers, poster board and 2 little flags and wrote "A happy, happy Wheeling needs a healthy, healthy USA" and registered the entry.  I used a red/white/blue lead rope and placed a  little flag in the halter between her ears. I wore a flag shirt and carried the sign and the other little flag. Assisi, the Babydoll, walked perfectly and many kids at the Homecoming wanted to pet her. The recruited Hunter did want to lead her and did fine.  So the experience was successful overall, even though decided on very quickly.  Thank goodness the day was not as hot as Saturday!  One picture of the three of us during the parade.  And one of Assisi afterwards.

August 2013

World Sheepfest at Bethel, MO.

Once again E.P. and I went to this event.  This time I showed Xen in Lead Line before he was picked up by the folks buying him (and thank you to new owners!), while E.P. showed Assisi in all events:  Lead Line, Babydoll class, Babydoll champion, Champion Ewe Lamb Drive, and Showmanship.  This year the weather was HOT!  This likely affected the attendance at the Bethel event negatively.  We had a decent time and a good lamb-kabob for lunch.  Assisi behaved admirably after her first less-great appearance during the Lead Line event when she had to be carried.  After that, after E.P. walked her enough for her to be used to him, she was GREAT!  Some pix follow.

We're here

The Schedule

Ewe Lamb Champion Drive

July

July 6, 2013

Happy Birthday, USA!

After I lost--upon their family's decison to move--my young charges who were working with cattle, I was blessed to find another family whose two 14-year-old granddaughters wanted to try their hand with learning to gentle and work with and show my Dexters.  We began our push for the Braymer Livestock Show immediately as I had learned that the entrants could be anyone under 21, whether or not they were in 4-H or FFA.  We decided to show sheep too.

We are just back from that show!  I will post a bunch of pictures. As some of the pictures show, OTHER kids had significant family help and backing.  Katy and Sarah did amazingly well, considering that I am new to showing and their grandparents attended their first show at this Braymer one!!!  We adults helped out as we could but the girls were doing so much on their own.  Another nice thing is that E.P. (of first sheep-showing last Labor Day!) and his sister picked up the slack when Sarah took a break from the cattle-showing work.  So, many thanks to them as well!  And for our preparation, thanks to Philip Martin (a lesson on showing given by phone) and Kimberly B and son who came over and gave a hands-on lesson also!

Waiting for 1st time in ring...

Lookin' good!--you seem to know what you're doing!

Champion Bull drive--Sarah & ZeMizjEF are at the far right

 

E.P. helps out with heifers--I hope not embarrassed because he had no practice or information.

Champion Heifer drive--Katy with Xangwen, red Dexter

Again, in the ring with teens experienced in showing and adults helping youngsters, the girls held their own and "carried it off."

Waiting was a big part of the day.  Showmanship ended the species competitions, so we waited for that part and the teens in our team could choose which animal to go in the ring with.  Katy chose ZeMizjEF and E.P. showed Xangwen.  I thought both showed a good bit of presence and had learned a great deal in their few times in the ring and observations of other showmen!

After waiting through goats, Katy showed Xen, Babydoll ram.

Champion Ram drive

Sweet girls with sweet little ewe lambs--more relaxed by the end of the day?

Spring to Summer

June 3, 2013.  Alas, a lot of time (really?) has passed since my last blog post.  (I even found my January blogspot in drafts, unpublished, waiting for me to add a couple pictures.)  A bunch of cuties have been born this spring.  Here are a few pictures of babies, happenings, animals for sale:

Sheep first!
I had my first lamb triplets this year!

Surprising event--We had a snow in MAY! I titled this "I ain't dumb!"  for the lambs found a spot to get in out of the weather.

What I have available now is 2 rams and 6 females to sell.  I would like to keep a couple lambs and sell the yearlings out of the same ewes instead.  I am interested in having fewer lambs next year but I want to keep my adults so this is a way that I can give a buyer a boost and keep my production lower, I think.  I have a ram or two to go with some of the females.  Both black rams I would sell are ones I would keep and use, but I would like to have a white ram to breed my original white dam before she is too old and only prefer to have two rams at a time.  So I'm looking for a particular kind of white one.  My little ewe lambs this year are so cute and so shapely!  Next possible show, early July, is only for under-21, though, and my kids who have been working with the cattle may not be able to go, much less add sheep to their efforts--but I would really like these ewe lambs to be shown!

Lots of cute calves too.  And plenty of bulls and heifers to sell, breeding pairs and breeding triplets.  Have found that my milking stanchion is often very helpful and have brought several heifers in to eat in it and be more easily trained.  Have a good bit of A2 genes in my herd so those wanting a milk cow might be able to get one, but I am not testing everything at once--too costly!!!!!!

I have "some of everything" to sell.  I have a traditional bull, Legacy-approved.

Gladhour HH Tyde Cluny

This bull is by Trillium Cluny by AI and out of Zodiac's P-Bar Ida.  Around 2004 I was seeking heavily Woodmagic animals to try to build a "mini-Woodmagic" on this side of the Atlantic.  I bought several old line Woodmagic females and one bull.  Alas, "Clunyson"  is my only offspring from all those buys and all that effort.  I finally have one heifer by Clunyson out of a Colorado cow that I bought from the Davises in DE during that time as well.  Now I want to extend out to some other old-line bulls with my two females, so am ready to let Clunyson go.  He is PHA and chondro-free, dun and good-looking. Not so many of these traditional animals to be had, so if that is your interest, please contact me about him.  [Update 6-24-13:  Clunyson is SOLD.  Thank you to the new owners, who intend to use him to produce Legacy-approved animals--Yay!!!]


I have a black polled 2009 bull, WeeMustRayt, for sale.
[Update 6-24-13: He is UNDER CONTRACT.]

WeeMustRayt

I also have a homozygous polled black bull available to sell.  He carries neither red nor dun.  Is PHA and chondro-free. 

Homozygous polled black

Also available is the homozygous polled red Kaelan shown in earlier posts (who looks better now since he's been on pasture for some months).

Kaelan

I have Xugar and X-Rall red polled bulls available for sale from 2010.  Both have been sire-confirmed to Preference and X-Rall confirmed to both parents, meaning that he must be A2/A2.  Xugar's dam is not yet tested for A2, but both boys are chondro and PHA-free. 

Gladhour X-Rall O'Pref

Gladhour Xugar O'Pref

The little guy I really intended to take to the national ADCA show this year is from sire and dam that are chondro and PHA-free, but he is quite short.  I believe that he is homozygous dun and homyzygous red, so that would mean that whichever color of cow he was bred to would have that color calf if/even if she didn't carry the other color.  His half sister was the Mature Cow Division winner in the 2007 ADCA national video show and his dam came in just behind his sister in a good-sized class.  His name is Gladhour Xtubhen O'Rol, another 2010 polled bull. Such a cutie!

Gladhour Xtubhen O'Rol

And I have available for sale young 2012 black or red polled bulls that are very sweet, similar in laidback temperament to their sire, SF Preference, and some from Gladhour Raymore or  SGF ANT Kaelan, other desirable sires. 

There are plenty (and I do mean SEVERAL) red polled boys to choose from that have just been born this year.  As buyers are told, if you choose one and put down a deposit before they are weaned I will do the training, up to haltering, to the level you choose for no extra charge.  If they pass weaning, then you get the kind of training I prefer for myself or manage within the pasture.  Most of my bulls are pettable but not moved by halter.  The ones we will be training for show, though, will be halter-trained.

January Blogspot

January Blogspot

Almost missed January, huh?  Well, to update...the Thanksgiving homestays happened and were a blessing to families and students.  The Christmas holidays came and went with many activities.  Winter is HERE, but other than needing hay and having the extra efforts that winter brings, it hasn't been too bad a winter here so far.

Right now, I have some appointments for meat.  The processors have been completely swamped for many weeks in this area, it seems.  Do you suppose it is because people think meat prices will go up so they are stocking up?  It is not the best time for harvest, but I have some ready and some meat buyers who have spoken for some.  So things are set up with two different processors.  The veal calves will go to USDA processor so that I can sell the ones that are not currently ordered.  The buyers of my larger animals decided to buy the large animals on the hoof so they will get "custom" work on their orders.  Handy for them (and less expensive) and easier for me too.

But now to my greater love:  matching buyers and animals for breeding stock.  From my Dexters, both Raymore and Wrrayence went to new homes since my last blog.  Raymore was a wonderful bull for me and great-looking.  Wrrayence has so much potential and a sweet personality.  Here are pictures of both of them, and a thank you to their new owners!

Raymore

Wrrayence

I have several bulls for sale right now including  Xugar O'Pref, a red polled;
WeeMustRayt, a black polled by Raymore; 

WeeMustRayt

and both horned and polled younger boys.  I also have some proven herd sires that I would let go to the right home.


Another piece of news is the homozygous polled test that has just come out, available at UC-Davis.  This will make it possible for people who want to deal with only polled calves to have their wish in Dexters without experimenting so.  However, I personally intend to keep a polled herd and a horned herd as I want to retain the traditional Dexters along with having the polled that I originally thought were best, keeping the individual animals that I love most.

Small Farm Today Trade Show

Back from the Small Farm Today Trade Show in Columbia, Missouri.  Took 2 Babydoll rams, a bag of wool, brochures about beef & veal to sell, and so on.  When we arrived at the Fairgrounds, the panels were already set up with farm name attached.  So I put up my banner, brought in my rams, covered my table and added the brochures, cards, wool, and left the booth in the capable hands of my friends who had kindly offered to help me load animals in the morning and to drive down and alternate manning my booth and attending seminars.  This Trade Show is a wonderful show with many interesting speakers and vendors every year.  Ron Macher put so much effort into setting up the affair over the years and I go now mostly out of loyalty, since I don't get to attend seminars much and rarely sell an animal, though I enjoy talking with folks interested in Babydoll sheep and Dexter cattle.  Many kinds of viable money-making projects are presented over the course of the show by capable farmers who are "making it happen."  After preparing the booth, I made my way to the Intensive English Program office and met with students interested in "mini-cultural exchanges" with north Missouri families over the Thanksgiving break.  These homestays are a wonderful opportunity for both families and International students to learn from each other and become friends, and I am blessed to have a part in bringing them together.  I interviewed students over Thursday and Friday, and then was able to man my Farm Show booth myself on Saturday.  E.P. is a young budding entrepreneur who called ahead to offer his services/request a booth for making balloon animals and visited with the Machers.  E.P. and his family's Japanese foreign exchange house guest this summer came over to my place to practice with my rams for sale

and then E.P. and I attended the Bethel World Sheep Festival show and sale on Labor Day weekend (after the Japanese young man had had to return home).  It was E.P.'s first showing experience.  We both had a good time at that.  

Labor Day weekend Bethel World Sheep Fest Champion Drive

I still have some black rams available for sale.  Two are unrelated so that a buyer could get both and begin separate flocks to be able to sell unrelated pairs after the lambs are born next year.

E.P. impressed me with his entrepreneurial spirit...calling to arrange his own booth at the Trade Show.  I think he amazed some folks with his creations as well.  If possible, I will add a picture of one of his originals.