And We Do This....Why?

Most of the time I know with every fiber of my being why we keep this farm

and all of the work that goes along with it.

And then there are the occasional moments, as you watch your Hubbs

go diving across the sheep yard into the muddy (and sheep-poopy) ground

that I wonder...

"Are we crazy?"

We might be, but that's beside the point.

Every few weeks we have to do basic maintenance on the animals.

You see, feeding and cleaning up after the animals is the easy part.

It gets just a little dicey when we have to do the "extras".

"Extras" are those little things that we do less frequently,

like hoof-trimming and deworming, etc.

to which the animals are less accustomed.

I swear they know as soon as they see us that "something is up"!

They must be able to smell intent in the air...

because from that moment on, they are hyper-vigilant and completely non-trusting...

running away if we get anywhere close to them!

Yesterday was hoof-trimming day for the sheep.

Hoof trimming is a completely painless procedure...

much like clipping your nails is for you!

The trimming is never difficult.

The catching is another matter!

Again, the sheep know our intentions even before the trimmers are visible...

and they run, and they run, and they run!

Let me tell you...they may look fat with all of that fluffy wool, but they are FAST!

Catching them is impossible as they dodge and weave and scamper about...

so chasing them is wasted energy.

Instead, we have learned that fashioning a run from an old gate that we attach in the corner of their yard makes the catching much easier.

A little quick maneuvering and they are trapped in a corner 

and completely accessible.

The actual hoof trimming is a breeze.

Hubbs sits each sheep on her butt and from that point on they are totally passive.

Snip, snip, snip...and their hooves are perfect once again.

"I really don't understand what all the fuss was about,"

says Hope after her pedicure is finished.

Meanwhile, Hubbs and I are covered in mud and exhausted!

Most of our weekend was cloudy, gray and gloomy.

I spent a little time on Saturday nosing around my favorite shop in the country.

Timeworn Treasures is a magical shop filled with swoony decorating accents, antiques,

eclectic clothing and accessories.

It is ME from the front door to the back.

I have found some wonderful antiques over the years inside this shop

including this old hardware store cabinet that I found last year.

Saturday I found this old iron scales.

And if you know me well, you know that I have a passion for scales...

and quite a collection of them!

Those cute little scales now sit in the middle of my kitchen island.

(They followed me home.)