Lambing is Done

Lambing is all done here at Kalwa Taure Shetlands this year. Now, you'll remember that I said, due to surgery, I wasn't going to breed any sheep this year - and I didn't. However, I am babysitting some sheep for my friend Shauna - and well - 4 of them were pregnant.


This first little darling - is our first ever bottle baby. In 13 years of raising shetlands, we have never had a bottle baby before. It's very heartbreaking to watch a baby that's been rejected. So, you'll forgive me for not posting this past week - but I have been busy. This is Windwater
Bertram. He's a beautiful black spotted gulmoget out of Willow Garden Latifah, and Verilaf Silver Streak. Bertram has a twin brother, Bernard.

This is a picture of Bertram and Bernard together. Bernard is all black and has a large white krunet. He tries very hard to spend time with Bertram - against his mothers wishes. At least the other lambs haven't rejected him. For the first 2 days he screamed bloody murder. Then I figured, he may just want to be cuddled. Sure enough - after 30 seconds wrapped in the blanket and rocked - he calmed right down. Now, he follows me around like any lamb would follow their mom - and he's as quiet as
a mouse. What a sweetie. He will be going to a good home near Ottawa some time in the very
near future.

And last but not least - Windwater Flower was born on June 25th. I came home to find this little
lovely laying with her mom in the barn - no issues with her. She's very delicate - all black with a little white krunet. We also lost one lamb - a beautiful mioget ewe lamb. Unfortunately, she was born during the afternoon when I was at work, and her mom started to clean her from the wrong end. She suffocated with the sack over her face. By the time I got home it was too late to save the lamb even though she was still warm - I tried everything - cleared all the passages, tickled her nose with straw, swung her around - nothing worked. It was a heartbreak to take this lamb from her mom.



So - along with Rose, we had 5 lambs - 3 ewes, 2 rams - 4 survived. I have to say that I do enjoy watching the lamb races, so I'm glad Shauna did give me an opportunity to have some lambs here this year.


And finally.................................................

Last week I arrived home with a very unusual flock of sheep :-)


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I went to a raku bash (no- not a raccoon bash) - and made up these little guys.

Raku is a type of firing that is done in pottery - in Japanese is means "Just Right".
These are so fun to make - as with raku - you never know just what you will get - it all depends on the intensity of the heat, where they sit in the kiln - and what you do during reduction.
I actually have several more that I have to photograph yet. But keep in mind - these are all about 2 inches long x about 1 1/2 inches high. The hardest thing - is not losing them in reduction.

I did some more raku last Saturday on my dragon pots. I will try to get pictures and post them in the next few days.