Kids in the Barn
/The grandkids went home earlier in the week but I still want to share photos from their time here. Katie's visit was for almost three weeks and she agreed to spend some of the time painting the barn if she got help with the kids (that's me).
I had planned to have the prep work done ahead of time, but I didn't to that so Katie spent the first day power-washing. 
Uncle Chris gives the best shoulder rides. 
The kids got plenty of exercise outside and definitely needed naps each day.
Before I got into the routine of putting Kasen down for his nap the carseat seemed to be an easy way to get him to sleep. One lap with the carseat in the wagon and he was out.
Then it was time to go to the house with Kirby to work on a project. 
She helped to warp the rigid heddle loom with a project in her favorite color.
Back to the barn after nap time.
Katie admitted that she got carried away with the power washer on the inside of the barn. It looked great because she and Meryl (DIL) moved all the clutter out of the alleyway. (I still have to figure out where to put all that stuff that was moved.)
The puddles were irresistible for Kasen.
I asked for this green wagon for Christmas because I knew that I could use it during lambing season. It sure came in handy during this time with the kids here. I found that I could even drag the wheelbarrow and the wagon at the same time. 
..with this sheep ?
Here she is not too long ago. Staples were still in but ready to come out.
The end result.
I love the expressions on this kid's face.
The hay feeders are a little high for Kirby to reach without the hay falling all over her.
Kirby told me she was making a nest for the other chickens.
First I sort and start narrowing down choices. This is two-horn rams.
More two-horn rams. 
Four-horn rams (except for the one I liked best who broke his horn this morning and I put him out so he would hopefully not keep knocking it on others). I bred to two two-horn rams and one four-horn ram last year. There are more two horn lambs than four. Some ram lambs are missing from these groups because I had already castrated those that I knew right away would not be candidates for registration (too much or too little color or horns that were too close). Time to narrow these into groups.
These are rams who will be on the cull list. It doesn't take much for a ram to be moved to that list. In this case two of these lambs (on the right) have wide spacing between the upper and lower horns. That seems like it would be a good thing, but usually those upper horns tip forward and sometimes there are other issues with them. I'll report back with more photos as they keep growing. The lamb facing the photo on the left doesn't have enough spacing between horns. His right side horns are already touching at the base leaving no room for growth. The other two both have a lot of freckling, although it's hard to see without parting the fleece and one is scrawny.
Three of the potential 4-horn breeding rams. Nice horn spacing and shape so far. No sign of freckling. Color % OK. Nice looking fleeces. Britch wool not too high on back leg. 
Out of two pens of ram lambs I pulled these four out as potential at this point. That is mostly due to the wide horn growth. There may be others in the pens but I won't guarantee the horn spread yet. Of course, they all have to meet the other criteria mentioned above as well.
Here they are from the rear.
Another from the front showing the ram with the best horn spread so far.
These are the 4-horn ewes. I will be less picky about the ewe lambs than the rams. The breed standard isn't so stringent and each ewe doesn't play as large a part in the flock as the ram. Keeping a variety of ewe lambs is a good way to maintain some genetic diversity (although that is a good reason to buy some lambs from other people in August).
The 2-horn ewe lambs.
Another view of the pen on the right. Notice the two lambs (sisters) in the upper left corner. Compare their horn growth to the others. All these lambs are about the same age. Those two are showing minimal horn growth compared to the rest. I don't know if that is temporary and their horns will be just fine when they are mature or if those are scurs. This is another reason to look at the lambs in a group. All of the rest of these lambs look fine to me so it will be hard to narrow this down to only a few to keep.
These are some of my 4-horn choices. Preliminary selection is based on wool and lack of freckling in the lamb and the dam.
The same group from the rear. I don't fault the sheep for their rear leg position, but from this photo it would be the lamb on the left that I'd take to a show.
Two horn lambs that I like.
From the rear.
The kids will be in California for about 2-1/2 weeks.
I shared photos of other parts of the canal in 
Turtles sunning themselves in the canal near Lock 75.
I drove along some of the roads in this area looking for more places to explore and found Locks 73 and 74.
Notice the railroad over the canal in the previous two photos. The railroad and the canal were competitors for business during the era of the canal. Repeated flooding and competition from the railroad were the reasons for the demise of the canal system in 1924. 
I saw a flash of this animal as he ran under the bridge. This is the first groundhog that I've seen.
I had read on line that the tunnel was closed but thought that I'd be able to see the canal and walk along the towpath. This photo seems typical of much of the length of the towpath--a beautiful hardwood forest and a broad path to walk. One thing that I noticed everywhere was the number of birds. I didn't see all of them--but there was quite a chorus in the woods. 
So I got to this sign and decided to take the detour.
Wooden planks crossed the canal.
The trail wound up into the woods.
This overlooks the town of Paw Paw, West Virginia.
Viola pedata, Birdsfoot Violet.
After hiking what seemed quite far into the woods I came back down to the canal and the towpath and saw this sign. From the looks of the terrain I assumed that is where the tunnel is even though the first sign had said it was open.
I walked the other direction, and saw this lock. The path continued around a bend.
This was confusing. I assumed that there was a reason to make a detour and wasn't sure if I continued to walk along here (towards where the detour sign had been) that I wouldn't come to an impassable spot. Why else would there have been that sign? Or was I completely turned around? It was getting late in the day and my mind started to play tricks. Are there bears in these woods? I'm all by myself and no one knows where I am or will know if I don't return. My phone battery is almost dead. There was no cell service, but I wouldn't even have a flashlight.
So I decided to turn around and go back the way I had come. 
No bears, but there were a lot of squirrels.
Crossing the canal.
I hit this point at dusk.
It was dark by the time I got to the freeway and I got back to Frederick at about 9:30 after a long day. That was it. I flew home the next day.
...to Cumberland where I finally found parking away from the touristy city center and I walked ...
...to the Visitor Center. At the Visitor Center I asked about walking on the towpath. The person there told me that I would find more attractive areas away from town but while I was in town I might want to walk do a self-guided tour of the Victorian Historic District on Washington Street. So I headed out of the Center and started my walk, first seeing a few more of points of interest near the river. 
Mules played a big role in the history of the canal. In the last post I mentioned 3000 mules on the canal. Each boat had a small stable for the mules at one end and the living quarters for the boat operator and his family at the other. The rest was cargo (lots of coal). Two mules worked on the towpath while the other two were in the stable.
The beginning of the canal system contrasts with modern transportation routes and the old buildings of the city. 
This is the last remaining structure of what was once the largest cleaning and dyeing establishment in the U.S. and a major employer in Cumberland. I think that it is now apartments.
This is the Allegany County Court House build in 1893-94. 
Here is a view inside the Courthouse.
This building has housed the Board of Education since 1936 but was built in the 1860's for William Walsh who served two terms in the House of Representatives. 
This is the stained glass above the door. 
The rest of these photos are in no particular order, but I walked several blocks and over forty of the houses are listed in the Self-Guided Walk Into History. The house above was built for an attorney in the late 1890's.
Built around 1890.
This one was built in 1890.
Some of these houses weren't listed on the Tour Guide or I just don't remember which they are.
1880.
Built in 1855, now the Woman's Civic Club House.
This house was built in the early 1880's and known as "The Little House because is is the smallest house on Washington Street. The brochure says that this house "features a beautifully curved staircase and a Colonial Revival fireplace with a bullrush design in cast iron".
This map shows just the western half of the canal and it really should be turned 90 degrees because the canal runs east-west. I was staying in Frederick which is about a half hour from the Potomac River and the canal. I headed for the canal at a place called Four Locks.
In this area the roads cross back and forth under the railroad which also follows the river. In fact a lot of the story of the canal is about the competition between people who thought the canal would serve as the best way to transport coal to the west and those who supported the railroad.
The railroad goes over the road here and the creek runs through the tunnel.
I followed my phone directions and found myself turning off the main road onto other narrow roads that wound through the woods.
This is a detail of the stone fence in the previous photo...
...and this is the abandoned house at the end of that driveway.
I found Four Locks, so named because the Potomac River makes a large loop here.
View of the Potomac River.
Rather than build a canal the length of the loop, the canal makes a short cut, necessitating four locks (#47-50) all within a half mile. 
The locks were built in 1836-1838 and until the canal closed in 1924 there were two general stores, two warehouses, a dry dock, mule barn, post office, school, farms, and houses in this community. 
The lockhouse at this location is available to rent for overnight stays.
That is the mule barn in back. I read that there were 3000 mules working on the canals moving boats between the locks. I found it fascinating to imagine the effort that went into this endeavor--not only the construction but also moving boats up and down the canals. I hadn't made it to the Visitor Center yet so didn't yet have the full story.
Virginia bluebells.
After walking around Four Locks I wound a few more backroads to find McCoys Ferry, a crossing on the Potomac. That is the railroad passing overhead. Then I got back to the freeway to head to Cumberland.
This is Sideling Hill Visitors Center, a rest stop along the highway with a great view over the pass and interesting geology in the road cut.
Stacy's face was split open to the bone. I called my vet and she said that if I wanted her to come it would be a couple of hours, but I could fix it myself. She told me what to do.
I thought that the hardest part might be getting the old goat clippers to work. I found them in the tool box and after oiling they worked fine. That showed that the wound was longer than it appeared with hair over it.
Then I scrubbed with betadyne.
Fortunately I had bought the staple gun (meant for this purpose) a long time ago. I had forgotten about it until the vet suggested using staples. She barely flinched throughout this.
Nancy also suggested putting some kind of cover over this for a few days just to protect it. Since I haven't worn pantyhose in more years than I can remember so it was lucky that there were some in the back of a drawer.
The most stylish sheep are doing it!
While I'm at the barn, here is a photo of the long-awaited work on the southwest corner where a lot of the wood is rotten.
And speaking of veterinary issues, these are foxtails I pulled out of Rusty's chest this morning. You can see on a couple of those how they had worked their way into the skin.
The Fiber Friends' sign said that they were "Celebrating the Royal Wedding with a Royal Shawl".
These are two of the JSBA inspectors that I communicate with via email a lot. Royal on the left, is the person who bought the sheep I brought. 
Here is a photo of showing Serrano that Royal just sent me.
As things were winding down on Sunday afternoon I helped Royal load the sheep for his drive to Pennsylvania. That's my two with their new friends.
Serrano in the trailer.
As I left the fairgrounds I took a few photos of the gorgeous countryside.
I love seeing the farms and these old barns.
...I laid out my winnings.
Stay tuned for one more day of Maryland adventures!
Saturday morning I met up with a Ravelry friend and her crew for their annual tailgate breakfast before the show opened. They went to get in line and get organized for the day and I went in the back gate to take care of sheep.
After my minimal chores I went out to see the show. I showed photos of sheep at MSWF in 
The number of people at this show is amazing. This was probably an hour after the gates opened and people were still pouring in. (I can't help but think about the fool who, when I was involved with organization of Lambtown in Dixon, insisted that the beer booth would be the big money maker and didn't give much importance to the activities for "ladies with the quilts" [did he even say 'old ladies'?] )
The main street. Food on the right. Sheep and vendors on the left. More vendors behind me and more in the distance.
My first stop was the Fiber Arts show. I was surprised to see this award for Best Woven Article on the shawl I entered in the commercial yarn division. This is 
I had high hopes for the handspun V-shawl that I finished just in time for the show. It got second, but there was stiff competition... 
...very worthy of a win in this class. (There is a connection for some of you to this shawl if you read the card by kbdoolin.)
I had also entered photos. (I had a whole suitcase devoted to the weaving and photo entries--good thing that Southwest allows two checked bags.) Another surprise!
The main exhibit hall was packed with people. It's hard to even get around.
This is where the t-shirts, caps, etc. are sold. The line zigzags a couple of times with those barriers keeping ordered. I didn't even try to go in there on Saturday. Writing this post reminds me that I did go back on Sunday and bought a t-shirt. There were only a few left from this year's festival. I must have left the bag somewhere because it didn't come home with me. :-(
Outside the t-shirt building.
The fleece show.
Jacob horn necklaces. 
In the parking lot.
Unique "flower" arrangement.
Speaking of friends, another great thing about this trip was meeting up with people who also raise Jacob sheep. Some I had met before and others were just names from Facebook. Now I have met them in person.
Scottish Blackface.
Lincoln Longwool.
Kerry Hill.
Leicester Longwool.
Tunis.
Herdwick.
Hog Island.
Clun Forest.
Shropshire.
Border Leicester.
And of course, Jacob. This is not my ram. This one had never been shorn.
My sheep were shorn in February which put them at a disadvantage at this show.
This is Jolene and Saffron waiting for the show.
Andy, who drove the sheep filled trailer out here, offered to show one of the ewes.
He is an experienced showman, but I'll bet this is the first Jacob he has shown.
My sheep place in the middle. The ram, Serrano, placed 4th out of 7 or 8. Jolene was 3rd and Saffron was 7th in a class of about 10.
I hung around the Fine Natural Colored Wool show in case Andy needed help. This is one of Terri M's fleeces. Color like a Jacob, but much finer.
Look who was also on display. Making their debut, these are 50% Valais Black Nose sheep, the first generation in a breed-up program with the goal of producing almost 100% purebred sheep.
Elegant and cute at the same time!
Seen in the parking lot!
I got them situated near the other Jacob sheep and hung my newly made sign (that includes my location). I delivered my entries in the fiber and photo contests (a whole suitcase full--it's a good thing that Southwest allows two free bags). Then I went exploring.
This was a pretty area. It was "mixed use" including developed playground and lawn areas, but I stuck to the trails. I was not dressed for the weather. According to the news it was 90 degrees on this day and we haven't been that hot at home yet. Too bad I hadn't brought shorts...although the ticks that I found later made me think that maybe jeans were better anyway.
Dogwood. That's one flower that I knew.
More of the trail.
No one knows for sure why this place is called Soldiers Delight but the purpose for preserving it is the unique geology and ecosystem. 
From Wikipedia: "The site is designated both a Maryland Wildland (1,526 acres) and a Natural Environmental Area(1,900 acres) ... The site's protected status is due to the presence of serpentine soil and over 39 rare, threatened, or endangered plant species along with rare insects, rocks and minerals."
"Weathered serpentinite is dissolved rock, transformed into thin, sand and clay poor soil which is easily eroded. This creates a land surface which is stony, unfertile and sparsely vegetated and is the reason that the term "serpentine barren" is used to describe these areas.
Signs explained that "the serpentine grasslands and oak savanna systems are now imperiled due mainly to the lack of American Indian and lightning fires which are critical to this fire-dependent ecosystem...The oak savanna ecosystem is one of the rarest communities in Maryland." Over 90% of the less than 1000 remaining acres lies within Soldier's Delight NEA.
Praire warbler.
I hiked the 2-1/2 mile trail around the grassland area and came back up to the main road. I decided to take another trail that went to the chromite mines. Half way through this one I started to think that maybe I should have brought water...and food. I realized how hungry and thirsty I was. It was already about 3:30. Did I say that it was very hot? I started to have visions of having to be rescued. Or not--how would anyone know where I was? I also found a tick on my hand. Then I started to feel like there must be ticks everywhere. Forget those mind games. I was still enjoying the new landscapes.
I happened to look up and saw this.
Here is a closer view.
Along the way I found the Choate mine that operated from 1818 to 1888 and for a brief period during WWI. I had expected something bigger when I read the sign pointing to a pit mine (picture the massive mines I've seen in the west). It's hard to imagine that it was a few holes like this produced the world's supply of chromium.
This is one of the other mines. I did make it back to civilization without mishap (and only one other tick).
I didn't want to take the main highways because I love seeing the farm country.
I pulled over in a couple of places just long enough to get photos with my phone.
You can't tell from this photos but that tractor is big enough that the car I'm driving could have almost gone right under it. I don't know what crop that is for.
Crossing the Potomac River. I crossed a couple of times before I found the parking area for the National Historical Park at a place called Point of Rocks. (Actually I parked elsewhere and finally found this when I started walking toward the river.)
The C & O Canal follows the Potomac River for 184 miles and was used for about 100 years as a way of transporting lumber, coal, and agricultural products. 
The bridge from below.
I walked along the towpath for an hour or so.
Here is a tree I haven't seen before. Flowers on the pawpaw tree.
I don't know what kind of insect this is but it is a big one.
There are some lock houses still standing along the canal. These were houses provided to the locktenders who would be available to operate that lock 24 hours a day. This house, built in 1837, has been fixed up and is available for rent.
A view of the lock.
This photos shows the scale and proximity of the house, the canal and the railroad. Point of Rocks is famous because it is where the battle for the transportation rights played out. The mountain on one side and the river on the other left a narrow strip of land. "Both the C&O and B&O [railroad] fought in court for primary access to this “point of rocks.” The C&O won but the two companies compromised, sharing the narrow passage from here to Harpers Ferry.
Goat paparazzi.
I'm not sure that I'd call this mannerly but everyone had fun.
After a rainy and overcast week the sunny day was a welcome change and the ranch was a beautiful place to spend the day.
The sheep were in pens when we got there.
We helped to move them toward the lane into the barn.
Most of the lambs were born much earlier but there were a few late lambs too.
The shearer works in the old barn where there are signs of what shearing would have been like in the "old days" when there would have been hundreds of sheep to shear in the day.
We brought each fleece to the skirting tables...
...and inspected them for strength, length, and VM (vegetable matter)
I ended up with 270 pounds of beautiful fleece.
We dragged it on a tarp over to the baler...
...where the shearer baled it. 
This is our 270 pound bale in the truck. I am grateful to Farm Club members for helping out on this day. It not only made the work easier, but it was fun to spend time together.
Farm Cub members are invited to be vendors. This is Jackie with Sheep to Shop.
These are some of her handspun, handknit pillows.
Colleen has Fiber Confections.
She usually sells at the Davis Farmers' Market.
Gynna makes socks.
Here are some of her socks knit from my 
Joy sells dye plants...
...ready to use for dyeing and ready to grow. Her butterfly is made from a 
Of course, it's all about the animals, especially the lambs.
Betsy, Mary, Sue, and Marina helped children pet lambs.
My little goats were an added attraction this year since Julie, who usually brings goats and bunnies, couldn't be here. 
This fence helped keep the kids in one place. Moms could relax temporarily.
I saved the small field behind the shop so that the sheep would be enticed to come to fresh pasture for the weekend.
Now I find out that she likes watching videos with friends.
"Don't you like watching videos with friends?"
"Yes Jade, you have nice white teeth."
"You too, Lisa"
Zorra had plenty of cuddling while she was still in the lambing area with her mom. Lisa is a lamb cuddling Pro.
This is pet sheep Jade's lamb (and me).
This is her again being held by Peggy. We'd really like her to be friendly too.
This is Zorra again with Sumi.
As the lambs get a little older we have other Farm Days. This was Betsy's first day on the farm and she jumpred right in holding lambs as we ear tagged and castrated. 
I don't castrate many because it's hard to know how they will grow out and which might be a great flock sire for someone. Some are easy though--too much or too little color to fit within the 15-85% breed standard. This one's horns are already touching at the base under that hair. As the horns grow they will fuse and not grow well separately.
Marina and Maggie (no photo) helped catch lambs too and Mary handled the clipboard. The lambs were all tagged with their white ID tags right after they were born but we put added a colored tag on Farm Day. I like to use a second tag for back-up ID if the first one falls out and also to color code the sire. It's interesting to keep track of that and it also helps to find a lamb when you're looking for one among 75. You can narrow it down some if you have a color to look for.
This year Cayenne's lambs got orange tags. Pink tags go in all the lambs that have been castrated.
Green means these are Buster's lambs.
Blue was for Catalyst.
Peyton's lambs are obvious so don't need an extra tag.
After we tagged all the lambs Marina and Betsy stayed to help me set up the pasture for the sheep. I had put the sheep out for a few days but hadn't cleaned and moved the water trough.
We walked around the pasture and took stock of things. I always point out the issue that I have with the dallisgrass that is out of control. That's what all that dry grass is. I'd much rather see green grass growing. The whole pasture was looking somewhat dismal from a growth standpoint. At this point we had just had March rain after two very dry and cold months. I wasn't seeing much growth--at least not enough to feed 55 ewes and 75 lambs. 
We spotted this grass that I don't recognize.
I took photos to send to a friend of Marina's who she think might recognize it.