The Canadian horses are beautiful, smart and willing. Willa, the mare, is 4 and her son, gelded now, is 1. As much as my dreams involved keeping horses on the farm, having sleigh rides in winter and wagon rides in summer, the costs are prohibiting. A good sleigh and harness for 2 horses is over five thousand dollars. Some sleighs have interchangeable wheels to make a wagon. Training the horses is a long process, something I have precious little time for. It is not like training a dog, where the dog can be with me while I am doing chores. Training a horse is basically all one can do at one time. So, with the price of feed, the extra work to feed the horses and carry water, and the return, which is currently nil, they will be sold to a good home. There is no hurry to simply get rid of them. When the buyer who really wants them presents himself, then it will be right to sell them.
They are very beautiful and will be missed.

The Muscovy ducks are sunning themselves on the warm and humid afternoon. The weather brought the small mosquitoes out and they are vicious, biting right through jeans. 

Andy, the farm carpenter, has built a rain and sun shelter for the sheep. This will have a half plywood back for a wind break and a tarp over the entire structure except the front. The livestock panels have to be wired together to stabilize them, but the shape makes the structure wind resistant. Even when we had a near tornado last summer, none of these structures budged.

Andy also worked on the Tajmacoop, a three season chicken coop. The upper compartment has three perches for the birds and they are housed by plywood on all sides except the bottom.
For winter, bubble foil wrap insulation will cover the structure, straw bales will line the bottom and sides and two heat lamps will be installed. There is also an insulated chicken coop, but the floor is not insulated and the feet froze on some of the birds that did not perch.

The goats were allowed out in the main yard today. Yesterday several small poplars were felled with the skid steer and the ground was torn up for terraced gardens. The goats were out and the llamas thought they would visit too.

Zeb thought he would help me set the electric fence up, but got his hoof caught and broke three wires, of course.

You would think, that with the new found freedom, the goats would head for some of their favourites, like the caragana, lilac or poplar leaves that are just emerging, but nope. They head straight for the grain. Grain is like heroin to them. One taste and they are hooked and must have their fix. Fortunately, the bags were all tied with the anticipation of this episode.

I had to separate the male Llama from the male alpaca immediately. Stanley was hurting the alpaca quite badly, biting him and knocking him down. They are terrible in fights. The alpaca wanted nothing to do with the Stanley though. Stanley stood and spit at him for a while, just in case. Willa is in the foreground supervising. And that was today at the Fat Ewe Farm!

What sort of people throw garbage out of their vehicles? No one I know personally does that, at least, they say they don't, and I believe them. I am aware that some one in a big, big truck had been parking at the driveway entrance and eating lunch. Why my driveway, I have no idea, but that person or persons, also fed my big dog, Ofcharka. He then got the idea that every big truck was going to bring him food, so he would run out when he heard the whir of the motor and stand in front of the truck wagging his tail. Measures were taken so he would stay home and so far, they seem to be working.
But, this load of garbage is from the entrance point of my driveway. There are pizza boxes from the Pizza Hut fast serve at the Tags gas station in Elk Point, beer cans, cigarette papers, chip bags, McDonald's trash most likely from the McDonald's in St Paul. Some one even graced me with a container from oil and windshield washer fluid. Numerous corrugated cardboard bits, plastic bags, papers, candy wrapper, chocolate bar wrappers and Subway trash were part of the mix.
I am disgusted. Much of this fast food garbage could have been disposed of properly, but in this part of the world, very little to no recycling is done and everything is tossed into the landfill containers. Plastics, glass and cans are not recycled. When I asked about the glass, I was told it only turns to sand in the dump, so why bother. Oh well. Picking up the trash will not stop people from throwing it out of their vehicles. I just wanted to rant a little about the horrible job of picking up after people who are not conscious enough to take care of themselves and the environment. So sad.

I am not a cat lover, just an animal lover. I like cats outside only and really prefer independent cats that can feed themselves on the mice and birds available on the farm. So, the farm has only 2 cats, Barbie and Jane. Barbie avoids the dogs and stays away from the house, but Jane sleeps with Jade and sometimes, Ofcharka. Jade and Jane, the Maremma puppies, play a little too rough with the cats, especially Jane, and sometimes make her cry out. They do not mean to hurt her, but they are much bigger. Jade (dog) love Jane (cat) and they hang out together when the puppies are not chasing the cats. Neither one seems to be notable for catching mice or birds though, sad to say. Jane hangs out and meows for food all winter. Barbie goes elsewhere, but I am not sure where that is.
Sometimes cats do strange things. Barbie and Jane like to come around when I am out doing chores and vie for a little attention. Barbie was demonstrating her acrobatic nature and Jane was showing off her prowess at slithering in difficult places. Strange cats, those Fat Ewe Farm cats.

Felted soap is just soap with wool wrapped around it to form a closed cover. The process is entirely easy and anyone can do it. This soap bar, which is a home made deodorizing bar made with coffee, is wrapped with several criss crossed layers of Jacob wool. With each layer the soap is wet massaged to form a lather and create the felt. Once the wool is matted down, the soap is left to dry and the felted soap is ready for use.

Why would anyone want felted soap? Well, it lasts longer because the lather is in the wool. The wool forms a reusable pocket of felt, which can be opened with scissors and put on another bar of soap. The last of the soap is easy to use since the wool acts a lather catcher. There is the benefit of a built in wash cloth as well, as the wool can be rubbed directly on the skin. Jacob wool is very, very soft and not much of an exfoliation scrub, but a coarse wool, suck as Karakul, could provide a slightly abrasive quality, gentle enough for facial cleansing, but different than just the hands. 

Oh, and one of the best things of all...there is no soap melted in the soap dish so clean up is a dream. In the future we hope to sell felted soap, but for now, there are only a few bars ready. There is the possibility of also selling the wool with the soap for people to make their own felted soap, because it is rewarding and simple enough for a child. Even the infirm or elderly can manage this project and keep the soap around for a long time to share their pride in the making. Simple as pie, interesting and practical too! What is not to like about felted soap?

You will love the wool Cathryn! Try felting a bar of soap too. One thing is you don't have to add soap to make the felt because you already have the bar.  Happy spinning!

The basic hoop shelter is a wonderful, portable "building" with much versatility. The Fat Ewe Farm has five eight by ten foot models and one sixteen by eight foot model. The larger one is too heavy to pull with the little lawn tractor and is moved when empty, while the animals are out free ranging. The smaller coops can be moved with the birds inside using the lawn tractor. It is easy to watch the birds and they soon learn to walk forward along with the move and look forward to new grass.
These shelters are also used for summer rain getaways for the sheep and goats when they are in the electric net fencing on pasture. They make excellent growing out pens and the farm coops have had rabbits, baby goats, chicks, ducklings, adult ducks and chickens, turkeys and even puppies in them. For security, the ends that house birds have stucco wire fixed tightly so no predators can get in, or a combination of chicken wire over the livestock panel and hardware cloth and stucco wire on the ends. Perches are 4 inch fence posts wired to the spaces in the panels, though even large tree branches have been wired in place. This year we will be using slabs, which are pine or spruce boards rough cut to 99 inches by 1 inch thick by 6 inches wide. Cut in half to 3 inches, they are ideal for chicken perches so they can keep their feet flat and rest their warm bellies over the toes, rather than curl them under. That is where the risk of getting cold is problematic.
These coops can be covered with clear plastic and used for green houses as well. I think the possibilities are about as many as the imagination desires, but the best thing is I can build them myself, though I have been fortunate from time to time to have help.
Tomorrow, the plywood will be put on, instead of a tarp,  and maybe even painted. I suppose with a door and window, the coop could be a mini shed or garage for a lawn tractor. Hey, come to think of it, I need one of those....hmmm.

Some days are simply the best and today was one of those days. My cousin is staying out on the farm for a few days. He is retired and loves animals, plus is able to do many things and is willing to help, so that could not be a better deal for both of us. Today, he moved a great deal of winter's spoiled hay by forking it onto a trailer and then dumping and reloading. It is hard work to do that and at the end of the day, after a simple supper, he was tired and ready to sleep.
Two lovely ladies came from different areas of Saskatchewan, one for fleece and the other for ducks. This lady in the photo had a toy Fox Terrier, one of the tiniest dogs I have ever seen. She is still a puppy, but will grow no larger than 6 or 7 pounds, similar to a chihuahua, though she is not yappy and is very friendly, unlike  chihuahuas. Home with the puppy went two pairs of Khaki Campbells, two ducklings from the recent hatch and 4 dozen hatching eggs. I wish her excellent success with the hatch so next year she can have her own Khaki Campbell eggs and ducks. The other young lady took some mohair and several fleeces for hand spinning and was delighted with them. She will take some pictures and document her process so that I can post a page on wool from The Fat Ewe Farm. The farm is acquiring Babydoll Southdown sheep and Finnsheep this fall to add to the fiber flock.
Then in the evening, after the chores were done, I cleaned one coral, the pen that the goats lived in all winter, with the skid steer and my cousin assisting by forking some loose hay into the bucket. There is an old tennis court on the property where the spoiled hay with manure was deposited for planting next year as a goat garden. For this year, it can decompose and create some luscious soil so it will be ready after composting in place. And that, my friends, was a very good day!

Black glass, like a black flower, is not truly black, but a very deep violet colour. Often the contents stored in the glass containers is light sensitive and benefits from the dark glass storage due to the ability to block harmful light from destroying properties of the product inside. I stumbled upon this product searching for a bottle to put hemp oil in. Hemp oil is relatively stable with a long shelf life, but it contains a multitude of sensitive compounds that are best preserved in dark environments. The black (violet) glass is the perfect container for this oil.
During the research, I found that Oprah Winfrey discovered the glass and there is a set of different sized bottles and jars in a collection dedicated to her name. This is sold for the home pantry to preserve food freshness, vitamins and nutrients as no other container seems able to do this as well. The cost of the glass is somewhat prohibitive, however; it can be reused for generations and can be considered a precious heirloom to be passed from generation to generation. Studies do show that food stored in the glass containers is almost as fresh and in tact as the day it was preserved.
So, if all goes well, the search of bottles for the hemp oil will be ended and although it will add a great deal to the cost, the bottle is part of the purchase. Education of the consumer will be paramount. I am thrilled to have found this violet (black) glass and have been in touch with the company regarding distributing the product in Canada, though it requires more than I have to offer and was just a very nice thought. They did not say no, but asked questions..something I appreciated very much. Watch for the hemp oil in the black bottle or order it online soon, along with other hemp products from the Fat Ewe Farm.

When it comes to women's faces, no expense will be spared to look good. Marketers know this and have geared products to be outrageously expensive with claims of taking years off and wrinkles away. Most claims are not substantiated or tested and the products are made of chemicals that are not good for skin or the people who have to deal with the substances in the manufacturing process.
So, I made a facial cleanser. It smells amazing..mostly orange, vanilla and lavender and it is super fatted, which means it has more fat in it than needed in the saponification (soap making ) process, so the skin is coated with the richness, leaving it soft and silky, but not greasy. This product is a soap, made with water, lye and oils and a little goes a long way. It is packaged in a glass jar, though it is gold coloured, and this container is 100% recyclable. Revolution Gentle Facial Cleanser will be sold for $12.50 per jar at the St. Paul Centennial Farmer's Market and if it is demanded, a similar version will be added to our online store. Because it is so gentle, I wash my face and hands with it every chance I get, and that is many, many times a day on the farm,  and I LOVE the fragrance! My skin feels soft and moist, even my old hands! You will love to use Revolution too.

The first batch of eggs set in the old incubator were picked off the snow. I am convinced they were too chilled and the hatch was not viable. Most of the eggs, duck and goose, set a week later are hatching. There is a goose egg that the gosling has already poked an air hole in and one more duckling in the incubator. He is hatched, but still had a bit of his yolk sac attached to the umbilical and it bled a bit. He is weak, but hanging in there. The ducklings and goslings are good for three days without food or water after hatching, though the little ones hatched today are busy busy splashing and playing in the mud they make. They are on dirt and sand and are happy nibbling imaginary treats in the dirt. There are some blades of grass that I picked in there as well, but they are too little to eat them yet. We shall see what tomorrow brings. There are no more duck eggs to hatch, just 5 goose eggs, which take a few days longer than ducks. I could have a good mother's day, mother to newly hatching babies! And to think, I had given up and unplugged the incubator thinking they were done.