Shearing Day Prep
/Shearing Day was a week ago and I've been so busy that there has been no time to sort through my photos or do anything fun on my computer (like writing blog posts). Now I'm going to try and catch up. Shearing Day at our place is an Open House event so it's a good time to get the place cleaned up and ready for visitors. It took me several hours to finally deal with the mess in the "milking stall" of the barn. That's where we used to milk the goats but it is now kind of my barn office. I don't have photos of before and after but I did take a photo of one solution I found for organizing some of the vet supplies.
I not only found a plastic tub to keep the dust and cobwebs and rats away but I wrote the names on the tops of the bottles so that I don't have to pull each of them out every time I'm looking for something. This is so simple, but it makes me inordinately pleased--why didn't I think of it before? 
While I was cleaning inside the barn Dan was working outside. We had finally had some rain so felt more comfortable burning the brush pile.
By the way we burned this on Thursday. This doesn't look like much but it was a pretty not fire. Even though it looked like it was out on Monday there were still hot spots and smoke.
That burn pile is right next to the ram pen. Here are the five of them. The 4-horned rams are Serrano and his dad, Buster. The lilac 2-horns are Cayenne and his sire, Catalyst. That's Gotham in front. 
In the meantime, Dan is working on the west side of the barn. This has been a multi-year project but I think it may get finished this year.
I was trying to get ready for shearing but was also dealing with taxes, the clutter I still haven't taken care of in the house after painting my office, weaving deadlines, etc. I found another way to procrastinate.
Let's put the GoPro on a sheep. Jade is the obvious choice, being the best pet sheep.
The first thing she did was run into the barn. When one sheep runs, they all do. Then she shook her head and it was obvious that I didn't have the camera secured well enough.
At that point I needed a scoop of grain to entice her. 
I had used the headgear that is meant for wearing the camera, but it was meant for a human head and didn't wrap around the horns very well. I found the brace I use for my elbow and that seemed to secure it better.
I've looked at the footage. It's not as exciting as we might hope for. Maybe if she wore the GoPro all day (and there was enough battery life to do that...and then we condense it all into a minute) it would be interesting. But it's not like she's going to be skydiving or snorkeling. For this trial run she pretty much just looked at the barn, the pasture, and me.
I will still do something with the video but it probably won't be winning any film festivals.
This is Serrano and his dad, Buster.
One of these days, Serrano may come out the boss.
But not yet.
Buster is still boss.
This is Gotham sleeping on a foggy morning. When the rams lie with their heads propped up by their horns they do look dead.
It's hard to imagine now with unseasonably low-70's daytime highs for the last few days and predicted for the next week, but during most of January we had fog and drizzle. On he morning of our Farm Day this was what the brush pile looked like--a wool flower forest.
I don't really like to see this because it means the sheep are rubbing on these branches.
We are shearing tomorrow. This is Cindy in full fleece. 
The lilac ram, Catalyst.
I love Shelby's blue eyes.
We caught each sheep and inspected their fleeces. Farm Club members get first dibs on fleeces on Shearing Day and they can pre-select them on our Farm Day.
We also clean the ear tags so that they will be easy to read on Shearing Day. That's Carole with the towel working on the tag.
Mary makes sure that fleece reservations are recorded on cards and that the ear tags match the ID on the card.
Another great day with Farm Club.
I noticed that white line in the fleece of Terri, a 2017 lamb. I don't have an explanation for that.
I love the ability to write on the photos on my phone.
I bought sample cans of paint. How to choose? I was tempted by all the sheepy choices, but I wasn't going for gray. I thought I'd start with Pure Wool and a couple of the yellows.
This is our unused "guest room" which really has never become a guest room because there isn't a bed right now and it has been full of overflow from everything else--extra looms, boxes, kids' stuff, etc. Now it is a real disaster area.
Back to the now un-cluttered room. The prep is always the worst part (besides moving all the Stuff.) Dona and Carole didn't come just for the painting part. They helped with all the prep work.
Ready to try out the paint. Carole is a remodeling pro and has the right tools for the job. She brought the Merino wool roller (and I found that you do get what you pay for). 
We started with samples. Soft Wool was the obvious choice for the white. I thought that I was going to like You Are My Sunshine, but decided to go with the lighter Float Like a Butterfly.
I had taken metal shelf brackets off the wall and in doing so started peeling off old wall paper that was covered by layers of paint. It made quite a mess but Carol knew how to fix it. This was step one. Notice the bright orange closet. Also, my husband said that he'd add electrical outlets since this room had outlets on only one wall. Therefore, we took a section of the lower paneling off two walls.
This is how we left the room after the first day. I did a second coat of primer that evening, but we had to let the mud (joint compound) dry before painting that part of the wall.
I don't know why Sunny thought this was a good spot. Maybe because the printer is under the tarp and he loves to stalk the printer when it is printing.
The next day Carole textured the wall to try and disguise the joints and set up lights so that it would dry more quickly.
In the meantime we started with the yellow. It doesn't show well in this photo...
...but Float Like a Butterfly (on the left wall) was a bit more intense than I had anticipated. It seemed like it might be overwhelming when painted on all the walls but I was going to just go for it, even with reservations. I didn't want to go back to the store. Carole convinced me that we had other options. 
We mixed the white (Soft Wool) with the Butterfly in a 1:1 ratio. That mixture is on the wall to the right in the upper photo. Just right.
So we took the gallon of Soft Wool and blended it with the gallon of Float Like a Butterfly to come up with Woolly Butterfly. Since we mixed two gallons I have a lot of this left over--I think I'll need to paint another room with it. 
I love how it looks. Note that there will be a trim board between the yellow and the white. That is another one of those things that is never as easy as it should be. That's a long story, but I need trim that is wider than the standard to cover up the mess left from peeling old wallpaper and layers of paint. Next week maybe.
It took me awhile to figure out how to connect these boards properly. It helps when you read the instructions and watch the video and then DO WHAT THEY SAY.
Once I figured out the method I won't say that it went quickly, but I knew how to install it properly so that the joins would be tight and it would lay flat...
...like the importance of removing foreign objects from the floor before installation.
The biggest hurdle was that the paneling on the walls was not firm. You use spacers to leave a 1/4" gap between the flooring and the wall but need a solid wall when you're tapping the lengths of flooring together. I looked around the barn and the garage for something that would work and finally found an old rasp and some pieces of metal. The rasp was solid enough to be firm and the other metal pieces made up the 1/4" necessary.
Here is the room after putting the flooring in. I put my desk and a table back in so I could get back to work, but I haven't dealt with all that stuff in the other room yet. I hadn't even put the desk drawers back yet. I have high hopes for how this will look when I have it all back together and have de-cluttered the rest of the house.
Work was already underway when I got there.
When a tree is this close to a house you don't just make a cut at the bottom and fell the tree. You start at the top. You also don't just let the branches drop any which way.
There ares a lot of ropes and gear involved.
Ground crew is important.
Some of the ropes keep the tree climber safe and others are for controlling the parts of the tree as they are cut.
This tree was taken down in many separate pieces.
Each cut is carefully planned and ropes are placed so that the branches fall safely.
That red rope is tied so that the chunk of wood will be caught on the pulley...
...and lowered to the ground slowly.
Cutting the next piece of wood.
Spikes on the boots.
Like I said before, there is a lot of gear.
At this point Matt decided that he could take the rest of the tree down from a cut at the bottom.
It was sad to lose that big tree, but fascinating to watch the process.
This is the area where we camped. I got up when I saw the sunrise to explore near the river. We had heard rapids but couldn't see the river from the campground. 
After all the signs at the previous day's stops I did start thinking about mountain lions as I walked along deer trails though those willows and brush to reach the river. So I made plenty of noise, but I also decided to move to higher ground where there was no cover. 
I was also glad when Matt showed up with the same idea (early morning photography) in mind.
Logs and rocks in the river were enough to create the sound of rapids that we heard from camp.
This is the view back to the camping area. That green speck in the middle is the truck.
We looked at the map to see where we might hike in this park and found Closed Canyon.
This is a canyon that leads to the Rio Grande.
Absolutely stunning! The photos don't do it justice.
You can walk in about 7/10 of a mile before you can't go farther.
If you're a mountain goat you can try to go farther ... or if you want to get wet.
Matt went around the bend and came back. The map shows that it is a relatively short way to the river.
You wouldn't want to walk here in the flash flood season.
That slot in the shadow is the entrance to this incredible canyon.
On the road again.
The next stop was the HooDoos Trail.
Hoodoos refers to these eroded formations.
Matt showed me how to do photos with my camera that you can later turn into panoramas. This isn't distorted like the pano shots on the phone.
More spikey things.
We left the park and were on our way to El Paso where we would spend the night and Matt and I would take an early flight home the next morning.
We entered the town of Marfa and Matt found on Trip Advisor that visitors could check out the dome of the city hall.
That was a good excuse to get out of the truck and stretch. This small West Texas town may be worth a second visit someday to investigate it's art venues and to find out more about the Marfa Lights (google that).
Entering El Paso.
Flying over southern California where the fires were (are) still burning.
Our first stop at the river was at raft/canoe take-out. Wildlife! I wish this was a sharper photo but I'm going to say that the javelina's coloring makes it look blurry. I just looked up javelina and learned something. Javelinas (collared peccary) are not in the same family as the pig. There are a multitude of physical differences including the type of stomach (complex versus simple), gestation length (5 months versus 3+ months), and structure of the leg and foot.
Here is a look at the river. Mexico is on the other side.
We drove on to find the entrance to Santa Elena Canyon. This is that slot seen from a distance in the previous post. It is hard to imagine from this view what it looks like in that canyon.
The 3/4 mile trail into the canyon begins with rock stairs built at the lower part of the cliff.
The view looking back from the stairs.
The trail ends where the cliff walls go right to the water.
At some points the cliffs rise 1500' from the water.
Coming back out of the canyon. In this view of the Rio Grande, Mexico is on the right. In the photos walking up the canyon, it is U.S. on the right and Mexico on the left.
Roadrunner seen near the parking lot. We left Santa Elena Canyon and continued on a loop road that traverses the western edge of the park.
We stopped at Luna's Jacal (Jacal: "a hut in Mexico and southwestern U.S. with a thatched roof and walls made of upright poles or sticks covered and chinked with mud or clay"), where Gilberto Luna raised "a large family"...
...and later when I spotted ocotillo that looked as though they had recently bloomed.
There were remnants of the red blossoms that grow at the end of the branches when there is moisture. Same with the leaves that cover the stalks for a few weeks after rainfall.
We weren't able to find an open campsite to reserve, at least according to the person working the computer at the last visitor center (whom we had reason to doubt, but what could we do?)...
...so we ended our day at Big Bend and drove on to finding somewhere else to camp for the Next Adventure.
Sunrise from the campsite in the morning. I wouldn't have seen that from a motel room.
We spent the night in the back of the truck. Notice Matt's cot and sleeping bag. Fortunately no one was bothered by bears.
...although we saw this sign at the trailhead right near our camp.
We left camp early and went for a hike up the Lost Mine Trail. I was glad that I had a walking stick with me because much of the trail was icy and slippery.
This is the view to the south from where we were standing in the last photo. The southern border of the park is the Rio Grande but I'm not sure which of these mountain ridges border the river.
We had only a day and a half to spend in this area so we didn't plan to do any long hikes, but instead see as much of the Park as we could and get out where there were signs and shorter trails.
This stop was at the Sam Nail Ranch where there is a short trail to the remnants of an adobe dwelling built around 1909 when the Nail family lived here.
The family planted fruit trees and raised livestock, living here until the 1940's.
"Matt, hold still."
View from Sotol Vista. Do you see that slot in the middle ridge, just left of the photo's center? That is Santa Elena Canyon, about 12 miles southwest of this point, where the Rio Grande slices through the mountain, forming a narrow canyon with 1500' walls. That will be for the next post.
The Mule Ears View Point was the next stop.
I didn't identify all the different kinds of cactus, but noticed some that were distinctly purple.
We walked into Tuff Canyon, so named for it's volcanic origins.
Spectacular!
There were a lot of interpretive signs at this point. Castolon was first settled in 1901 and became a destination for refugees fleeing the Mexican Revolution. Barracks were built but never used by the army and in the 1920's the La Harmonia Company established a trading post and started growing and ginning cotton. That venture ended in the 1940's.
This is the modern day view of that same landscape.
One of the old building that still remains at Castolon.
I think this statement is true.
We stopped at the Dorgan House Trail, where there were more ruins.
It felt like lunch time. Dan couldn't fit all the way in where he had stashed the box with my granola. Eventually I squeezed in there and he pulled me out by my feet because I was laughing too hard to get out myself.
On the fifth day of our visit we took a field trip to Cabella's. There is plenty of entertainment even if you don't go for the shopping. We started with the aquarium.
There are rooms full of animals.
There are spectacular horns on these and other sheep. By the time we finished eating and shopping it was getting dark and we headed to Wimberly for the Trail of Lights.
Dozens of local businesses and families light and decorate the gardens of the 12-acre EmilyAnn Theater & Garden. This is an annual event and a major fundraiser for the theater.
Containing him worked a little better.
We had the truck loaded and I 
About 10 am. Dan and Matt and I got in the truck and headed for Big Bend National Park, about seven hours away.
Here the Chisos Mountains rise out of the desert. The park entrance is at an elevation of 2848' and the peaks rise to over 7800'. Our camp the first night was at 5400' which meant that there was still snow from the storm which had come through.
We got there towards dusk and found a campsite just as it was getting dark.
Kasen slept while...
Kirby helped make pink pancakes.
Then the big kids went for a run. Two of them tried the baby jogger but that wasn't going to work. Instead they took the real kids in the jogger.
The trail continues around the pool behind those rocks.
Public access is restricted by use permit from June through September.
I can imagine what a popular site this would be in the summer and being only about 20 miles from Austin.
This is the view looking out over the pool. 
Water drips from the ledge above. 
Someone didn't read the sign.
I remember well that as nice as it is to get out and see beautiful country it's not exactly relaxing when you are keeping track of a toddler.
When we got back to the parking lot they both still had plenty of energy to burn off.
Back home having dinner.
The view from the back walkway.
There is the decorated tree just inside the gate on the right.
Everyone else was still in bed but I went for a walk up the road as the sun was coming over the hills.
I got back to the house and checked inside the truck. Dan had chosen to drive to Texas instead of flying. He says, now that he has retired, "everyday is Saturday" and he preferred to throw a road trip into the plans. He had left five days before I did and spent time hiking and camping along the way. He met me at the airport in Austin on Tuesday. Now that all the kids were at the house we had to spread out with sleeping arrangements and he decided to continue with the camping mode and sleep in the truck.
Eventually everyone else came out into the snow.
Kirby started a snowman with the help of...
...Uncle Matt...
...and Aunt Meryl.
I love these kids.
We changed planes in L.A. Wildfires had started burning a few days before this trip and this is a view of the smoke from two fires blowing out over the ocean. We soon left that behind but even now there are fires raging in S. California. December! Here in N. CA we've had one good rain in November and nothing since. But that's a topic for another post.
I got there Tuesday night. Kirby and I went out the next morning. She showed me her chickens and we collected eggs.
She showed me the tree near the front gate that she and her mom had decorated.
We walked down the road...
...and I didn't know until this point that her ladybug boots have holes in them.
I have been told that Santa is taking care of that.
We looked at decorations on other properties.
Eventually Kirby got tired of being the subject of photos.
A picnic lunch after the walk.
We have another cutie in Texas as well.
I spent last Christmas there when he was only a few days old.
Brother and sister get along well.
Thursday afternoon it began to snow.
Kirby spent some time outside before it got dark.
Leaves are turning color and falling.
They will be gone soon.
The black walnut leaves are already gone. Or maybe this is one of the trees that is dead. I think the drought took it's toll on some of these.
The view looking southeast.
Ginny's ball was cracked and even with the "Chuckit" I couldn't throw it very far.
Rusty runs after Ginny every time she goes for the ball. Then he runs back with her but he doesn't always keep up with her now.
There were sunflowers in one of these fields and there were lots of seeds dropped on the road at harvest time. Now they are all sprouting.
This is Ginny while I was on the ground trying to take seedling emergence photos.
So you know that she put the ball right under my camera.
Ginny, do you know that broken tennis balls don't float? She spent time looking for it after she had taken it into the canal.
Back at my driveway there were beautiful leaves to photograph. A wild grape vine.
Walnut tree.
The Castle was designed by Dario Sattui who modeled it after European 13th Century castles that fascinated him.
His 
Sattui brought builders, brick-workers, and others from Europe and shipped containers full of old bricks, doors, hardware, and all kinds of other building materials that had been sourced from old castles in Europe. 
Although my first thought when I heard about this place was that I would the resent pretentiousness of spending this much money and "showing off", but this is a fascinating place and it is very cool to visit it. 
The Great Hall.
There is an authentic 13th century fireplace at the end of the Great Hall. The guide told us that those two chairs are "authentic replicas"--they were left behind by a movie company who used this setting.
Dan noticed all of the iron work. All of it, including the bolts and nails was hand made. 
Stone is all hand-chiseled.
After walking through some of those ground-level rooms we saw the equipment that is used in modern wine-making.
But then we went downstairs into the lower levels.
There are 900 feet of caves in four levels.
This barrel room is constructed with impressive brick Roman cross-vaulted ceilings.
Barrel tasting in the barrel room.
I will admit here that I am not a wine drinker. Dan and I were both more interested in the tour than the wine tasting but we stayed for that too. There were only about a dozen of us and the guide-turned-wine-expert poured about 8 or 9 different wines to sample.
I finally found a wine that I liked...
... and I'll admit that it's sweet and a little fizzy so I might as well just buy fizzy juice at Safeway, right? 
Leaving the castle. This door reminds me of the one in the Wizard of Oz moviewhere the wizard opens the little panel to look through at Dorothy.
View from the Castle to the hills where we hiked the day before.
I took one photo and then my phone died. So this is it--one of hundreds of odd corkscrews and other wine related gadgets. You know, the feet are some of the few parts of the butcher lambs that aren't used at this time. Could this be in my future?
My regular vet was out of town and I called U.C. Davis. The equine vets came out and evaluated her. This radiograph shows that there is slight rotation of the bone, which should be parallel to the hoof wall, but the coffin bone has not dropped down to the sole, which can happen in severe cases. 
Temporary pain relief was provided by some cushy pads that were measured and then cut to fit.
A paste of betadyne and sugar was applied to help the foot dry out...
...and then the pads were taped in place. 
This was just to help cushion her feet until the farrier could get here for the next trim.
She was also prescribed a variety of medications to help with pain and weight loss, some of which I had used before.
The instructions said to wrap the foot with plastic wrap when you first try the orthotics so that you can send them back if they don't fit. 
That is easier said than done. I got the plastic on the foot OK but by the time I had her standing on the orthotics they weren't in exactly pristine condition anymore. 
I decided that I'd just have to go for it and put the boots on.
What an amazing difference they made. This is the first time I've seen Amaryllis walk without obvious pain in weeks if not months. I don't know if this is a permanent fix, but at least she is more comfortable now and will maybe be able to get a little exercise--even if that is just me leading her around the corral every day.