Meet the Littles!

This ewe is named Anna. She is number one, the very first lamb born on Triple K Farm! One morning in January I went out to the barn & she was standing outside in a snow bank next to her white mama Cloey (yes, Hearts mama). We bought Cloey bred, so we have no idea what Anna is, except original. When we shear her she looks like a goat. Anna was a very large baby & grew really fast.

Last year, was her first time  lambing & she plopped them out no problem. They were so tiny, like 5 lbs compared to out typical 10 -12 lb lambs. We thought they must be early. Even though they were small they were healthy & rumbustious. We call them peanut & tiny A (cause she looks like Anna).

Monday morning I go out to the barn & once again Anna plopped out, with no problem 2 tiny ewes.  We call them THE LITTLES! My niece wanted a lamb named after her. Well, we had planned on naming Anna's lambs after her & her husband, because their last name is Little, but Anna had 2 ewes. So we had to improvise.....Christa & Travanna! My niece Lily (who is 6) said the one with white should be Travanna, because Travis had gray hair (sorry Travey!)

Rubbing noses!

See how tiny!

Christa

Travanna

Myra is even BIGGER if that is possible . Her belly is lopsided & she is waddling when she walks , which isn't much. Today, is her due date since she was a heat cycle later than I thought. Pheobe is also due today. Let's hope all goes well.....

Whatta Week!

 Valentine's day started out great! This little cutie was waiting in the barn for me. I named her Heart!

 K3 came down to snuggle her. Cloey is a good mama! When I got home Mark told me he wasn't feeling well.Oh No! K1 had the stomach bug on Wednesday. We went and gathered sap. When we got home, Mark told me he was done for the night. So I did chores. Well, there goes my Valentines dinner of steak & chicken, since he didn't feel well & all the K's were with their boyfriends. Mark tossed & turned & felt awful all night. I woke up @ 4 and started throwing up.

We both called in to work. At around 8 Mark dragged himself to the barn & did chores. I love him! We spent the day in bed & sharing the toilet. We begged for help gathering. K1 & K3 & K1's boyfriend gathered all the sap for us, while we stayed in bed.  They are awesome! K3 did dishes & laundry. Once, again Mark toughed it out & did chores.

Yesterday, Mark was feeling much better. I was not sick, but really wiped out. He started boiling 2 days of sap. I washed our bed & cleaned the bathrooms, and caught up on some paper work. Then I had to clean the coop & lambing pen. We let Cloey & Heart outside!

 As I was cleaning these smelly places I was thinking , I don't really feel well & this isn't helping. Then Mark tells me I need to go gather sap. He's still boiling. The only help I could round up was K3. It took us about an hour. When we got back Mark was sweating...he was down to a gallon of sap. It would not be good to burn the new pan! He made 5 qts of Fancy Syrup. I was pretty happy when my head finally hit the pillow!

Today, we went & got round bales, cleaned the cows, and brought in wood. I am happy to say that Mark & I are both back to 100%.

Should be a busy week..... looks like it will be too cold for a few days for the sap to run, but should towards the end of the week. We are expecting 3 sheep to lamb. One being Myra!

                                                                               MYRA!
                          Her udder is enormous & her belly has dropped, so you can see her hip bones.

Sweetening the pan

As you all know, Mark is anxious for the sugaring season, so we tapped about 1/2 our trees on Sunday. Tuesday it ran a little, but not enough to fire the new arch. Today ran a little better, and so we fired up for the first time. This is called sweetening the pan, which means you get everything started but no draw off (syrup).

 When ever we go to the sugar woods we take the dogs, because they love to run. Today, I was getting on my boots I asked Carter " do you want to go the Grandpa's?" He ran for the door & started whining.  He knows when I say this he is going to go run!

 We take the bucket of sap off the tree & dump them into 5 gal buckets  which we then carry to the 4-wheeler trailer. Here, Mark is waiting for me to dump in my bucket & watching the dogs.  We defiantly get a workout during sugaring season, between all the walking & carrying buckets.

Then, we pump the sap from the 4-wheeler trailer into the tank on the back of the truck. Here is Mark's dad, he comes out to get some fresh sap, he loves to drink it!

And so it begins.......

Simonds Sugar Shack has kicked off the 2013 Season!

Well, we took the leap & tapped some trees. We put out 115 buckets. We will tap the lines a little later in the week when we have some more time. Now, lets hope Mother Nature helps us out and gives us the perfect sugar weather.Here's some pics that will show you all how much fun we had today :) I have to say I love my I phone, it makes it so much easier to take pictures to share.

Ready & Loaded

K3 drove the tapin' supplies from tree to tree

Mark drills the holes & puts in the taps.

I hang the buckets & lids.
 (Don't you think I should be a model in  farm girl magazine LOL!)

Carter & Miley love runnin' around the woods.

As you can see an afternoon in  Grandpa's woods tuckers them out!

 

Friday Update

First of all, NO LAMBS! I am beginning to think that even though I saw Myra bred, maybe she didn't take & she is 17 days later. It's hard for me to  believe since she is huge, but it is either that or she is a week overdue. I guess time will tell & NO sleep for farmer Tracy until Myra finally lambs :(

On a positive note, here are a few pics. Really, I love my animals & these pictures are examples of why and the joy they bring me. If you have not seen the super bowl commercial on God Made a Farmer than you need to you tube it right now. It brought tears to my eyes & helped remind me of why Mark & I  are working so hard to do what we do and our big dreams for the future.

Enjoy my Kritters!

Bunnies enjoying laptops, I-Pods,and TLC!

Ryder looks very cozy!

Morning Sunrise, I love VT!

Not pigs in a blanket, but Triple K Pigs in a hut!

Happy Piggies!

Snow anyone?

Good old Dora, enjoying the fresh snow!

Bailey prefers the barn!

Cozy Chickens!

Snuggling Sheepies!

Faithful Friends, coming in after doing chores with me!

Myra!

Let me tell you about Myra. We got her 3 years ago as a lamb. We were just starting with sheep & this was our first year breeding. We had K3's show lamb & we needed a companion for her when we put the ram out with all the other ewes to be breed. We went to this farm that had 100 sheep. We caught these two little ewes & K3 picked Myra. We thought she should get the other one because it was bigger. She was insistent she wanted Myra. When we got in the truck she told us why: she had looked them both over & the other one had a dirty butt & she had learned in 4-H that was an indicator of worms. Guess we couldn't argue with that! Smart girl!

Myra is still on the tiny side. She is our smallest ewe. Myra is also wild, and had to catch. Last year was her first year lambing. She was huge! When she did lamb it was a nightmare. It took both Mark & I to get that lamb out & by then it was dead. The second one was also difficult coming out but that one lived. Poor Myra, I don't know how she didn't tear but she was so swollen & bruised for weeks.

So, here we go again. She is huge! This time I know her due date.
It was Saturday, but  No lambs. On Friday, I started getting up once a night to check on her. I am worried we are going to have a repeat of last year, and if no one is around to help her, then we might lose them all.
Sunday, No lambs....
Monday, No lambs....
Tuesday, No lambs.... but last night (Tues) she seemed different at night chores, Then she was laying down when I checked her @ 10 when I was going to bed. She looked very uncomfortable. I watched her & saw one of the lambs kick & it was right in her backbone & her whole backside shook. This is it! I set my alarm & go out at 12. Still no lambs, no water bag, but she is still laying down, Set alarm again  for 2. NOTHING! Now, she is standing up chewing her cud. Get up @ 6....no lambs, check her at 8 ....no lambs.

I am so worried , tired, and REALLY hoping she has them Today!!!

Here is Myra on Friday!

Here she is even BIGGER last night!

Ready & Waiting

Our day starts out with a cup of coffee & checking the ten day forecast on the laptop. Mark is patiently waiting for tapping weather. Sugaring is his favorite time of year, closely followed by haying. I also look forward to sugaring. Gathering sap from the buckets is my favorite part. Fun times in the sugar shack with family and friends is defiantly something to look forward to. Here's what we've been doing to get ready....

New arch installed - check

Wood stacked & ready - check

More wood (cause there is never enough)- check

Jars ready & waiting - check

Bring on the warm days & freezing nights, cause Simonds Sugar Shack is READY!!!