The gate to the right in the above photo is where we were taking the sheep out of.  The driveway for the house and shop are directly across the road from the gate, but I wanted the sheep to run down the road about 100′ to the gate just past the hedge in front of the house.  My quad is there on the left of the photo, just off the road.  I used the quad to round up the sheep (quad = food, to the sheep), with a fresh bag of grain on the back for an enticing smell and a white bucket in my hand filled with grain for added interest — they followed me out the gate and down the road and into the pasture by the house.  Unfortunately, my sheep have cliques and while one batch followed me, the other chose a different leader and came in the driveway.  I had to turn around, jump off the quad and try and get the other girls to look at the grain I had in the bucket, which quickly revealed to me that all the “piggies” were in the pasture and the independent thinkers were out checking out the parking area.  All of a sudden the sheep saw my bottle lambs and the rams in a pasture to the left of the driveway and they ran in to a small fenced area where I keep my hay.  Thankfully the gate was open and they all charged in, not balking a bit.  We quickly closed the gate on them!  They were contained for a moment, albiet in the wrong spot but atleast across the road.  Not one car came by while they were crossing.

A new game plan was being hashed out by the humans involved in this great sheep migration, meanwhile Chamomile and several other lambs had their turn at climbing the few hay bales I have left.  The rams were certainly excited to have these pretty neighbors all of a sudden, but they kept their cool and weren’t causing any further trouble.  Meanwhile, we decided that we’d have to run the sheep down the left side of the shop toward the back where a future pasture awaits fencing.  We’d have to divert the girls and head them toward the pasture they’re supposed to be in, without them bolting past the shop or house and back out on the road.  Hubby’s shop employees all lined up their vehicles with cattle panels between to keep a sort of fence up.  Meanwhile people were stationed here and there to keep the sheep moving in the correct way. 

During all this planning and moving of “fencing materials” one of my hens, Lacey, decided to do her morning duty and squeeze through the fence to go lay her egg in the hay — she quickly decided that she had made a foolish decision and made her way back in to the chicken pen with several sheep noses smelling her hind end, escorting her out.

So we finally swung the gate open and playing the pied piper, I set out with my grain bucket.  My bottle lambs, Jasmine and Archie, really helped me get the girls moving.  They followed the freshly mown path down to the large gate of the pasture, past all the vehicles and cattle panels.  It worked like a charm!

From what all the boys of the shop said, it was pretty neat looking seeing  a tight clump of sheep following down the path in to the pasture.  We had a few stragglers I had to go back and coax in, using my trusty bottle lambs once more.  But we got every sheep in and without much trouble at all.  So thankful for that!

I’m amazed at how a much smaller pasture such as this one has swallowed up the sheep.  They are loving the grass and I’m enjoying having them so close to the house.

Taking photos of individuals is much easier in a smaller area, though the sheep’s personal bubbles are still pretty large.  The nice thing about having them in here is that with time I’ll be able to move amongst them a lot easier with them getting less and less flighty.

And shooting photos off my deck seems like the lazy man’s way of photo taking.    I’m enjoying it!

Mud Ranch’s Nettle (Kenleigh’s Tristan x Mud Ranch’s Sierra) – lilac ram lamb, twin, super wide two horned.

Mud Ranch’s Papaver (Kenleigh’s Lancelot x Mud Ranch’s Lou Ellen) – lilac ram, twin, four horned.

Mud Ranch’s Vitus (Kenleigh’s Tristan x Mud Ranch’s Hazel) – two horned, black and white, lovely fleece potential, great markings, and a nicely put together.

Mud Ranch’s Peppermint (Kenleigh’s Tristan x Mud Ranch’s Lily) – four horned, lilac and white, neat markings, good fleece potential.

Mud Ranch’s Linden (Kenleigh’s Lancelot x Mud Ranch’s Sarah Jane) – four horned, lilac and white, nicely put together, consistent fleece.

Mud Ranch’s Mallow (Kenleigh’s Wrangler x Castle Rock Sprinkles) – Mallow’s brother is staying here as a replacement flock sire for Wrangler.  Mallow has a consistent fleece, two horned, black and white.

Mud Ranch’s Currant (Kenleigh’s Tristan x Castle Rock Aphrodite) – Four horned, black and white with lilac carrier potential (twin is a lilac), nicely put together, blue eyes.

Going out to take photos of the growing lambs can be much like a treasure hunt.

This is what our flock looks like under the rule of a real sheep dog – such ready obedience!  Big, huge, thanks to my dear friend Shannon of Kenleigh Acres for bringing her very funny, and very smart border collie, Kate.  We were given a couple lessons on sheep dog-ness while Shannon visited over this past weekend.  Hubby and I learned a lot and admire sheep dogs all the more after their visit.

Fetching the flock from the lower pastures and pushing them up in to a corner of the upper pasture was much easier with a dog.  Shannon observed that I have many cliques in my flock, quite a few leaders and independent thinkers which makes a sheep dog’s job a bit hard.  The harsh sun and hot weather didn’t help either – nor did Kate’s very black coat.  We were all pretty hot that afternoon and I received my first sun burn of the season.

Getting photos of the sheep was awesome, however.  Getting their attention with a dog is very nice, and I love how the ewes and their lambs pair up so you can see who’s who in the mix.  It made identification of the lambs much easier – pictured above are Sarah Jane with her four horned lilac ram lamb, Linden.

Unfortunately the afternoon sun is not very nice to photographs – the light is harsh and the shadows are deep.  But I was still glad to be able to shoot some pairs.  Pictured above are Lou Ellen and her ewe lamb, Poppy, and her ram lamb, Papaver.

Another favorite pair of lambs out of Aphrodite, sired by Tristan – amazing what a little shade can do for a photograph.

Kate enjoyed a cool off in our little stream that runs through the pasture.  Being a herding sheep dog is hard work, both mentally and physically.  Kate is from Oregon too, and she wasn’t used to our odd April heat. 

She and Shannon are welcome at our place any time.  We thoroughly enjoyed their visit – and Annie loved playing with Theron too!

The above is Mud Ranch’s Nettle, he’s out of a black and white ewe and black and white ram but he is in fact lilac.  Lilac is a recessive gene and needs two recessives for it to show up.  Nettle’s dam, Sierra, doesn’t have lilac on her side until the fourth generation back on just her dam’s side with “Zee Woolies Esther.”  Then in the fifth generation, it shows up more often.  I had a big feeling that Nettle’s sire, Tristan, would throw lilac but I never imagined that it’d actually work with Sierra!  He sure is a cute little guy though, a favorite of mine.  I love his spotting pattern.

Another favorite of mine — one that I think I’m actually going to wind up keeping is this little lilac ewe lamb, Mud Ranch’s Poppy.  She had her twin brother ( a lilac four horn ram lamb) were sired by Lancelot and are out of one of my original lilac ewes, Lou Ellen.  I’m very excited with how well this cross turned out.  Definitely one of Lou Ellen’s best lambs in her entire motherhood carrier.

Okay, off to go check on Cyan!

The new mama’s are happy with fresh hay and water, while the lambs enjoy the warm dry straw.

Meanwhile outside isn’t as peaceful of a setting.  The “older” lambs are outside terrorizing the world and discovering all types of new things while their mama’s eat breakfast.

They zoomed every which way they could — especially these three; Fleur, Aster and Columbine.  Little Marigold is a “princess” according to her mama so she’s not allowed to get involved in too much silliness.  And Chamomile, well, she’s not exactly allowed to join in much either but not due to her mama –

More like Annie can’t seem to let her go!  Chamomile certainly takes after her name, she is calm and loves to snuggle.  Just a little sleepy time tea in lamb form.

Finally Chamomile was let loose and she got to enjoy some romping with her sister, Columbine.  I don’t know what it is about feed pans, but lambs are instantly attracted to them!

–Enjoying a sunny day here at Mud Ranch!