flown by

january has been a blurr.

busy with life and taking down christmas...cleaning out junk...celebrating birthdays...reorganizing spaces...cooking like crazy...trying new things....doing research on the internet.

gardening in january is pretty nill but thoughts about what to do have

been at an all time high. it gets pretty ugly around here in january.

it makes you think about doing all kinds of things.

one of those things that have been going around in our heads for a few years is that we want to raise our own sheep. so i have been reading everything i can find online about being a shepherd. after much research and disscussions on which breed we thought best suited our needs....we have decided on, and this is a mouthful, olde english babydoll southdown miniature sheep.

i have found some great info online at sheep 101 ~ http://www.sheep101.info/index.html

• (Olde English) Babydoll Southdown
  
  The Olde English Babydoll Southdown is a miniature variety of the Southdown breed. The Southdown breed of sheep originated in the Southdown hills of Sussex County, England. It is one of the oldest purebred sheep breeds in the world. Southdowns were imported to the United States in the early 1800's. The 1960's saw increased importation of the larger New Zealand Southdown to upscale the American Southdown.
  
  Around 1990, small flocks of the original smaller Southdowns were rediscovered and labeled Olde English Babydoll Miniature Sheep to differentiate them from the larger modern breed. This miniature sheep is only 19 to 23 inches tall. Babydolls usually have off white wool with cinnamon or gray faces and legs. Currently people raise these docile sheep for their wool, as pets, and grass trimmers perfect for today's smaller acreage farms.

  Breed categories: medium wool, novelty, meat

my hubby and i wanted a rare breed, of good stock and hardy. there are a lot of breeds out there with many great qualities but this is the one we have decided on.

we are starting with one ram, two ewes and a whether(a neutered male).

the ewes we are getting haven't been born but are due in march and we will

get them in may sometime. i found a ram just born on january 15th that is available and so arrangements have been made to get "mc gruber."

we will pick him up in the middle of march from

sweetwater creek ranch

just outside of atlanta, ga.

he is quite adorable.

we are preparing for his arrival and are very happy to be adding

raising sheep to our little dash home farm.

this is both exciting and scary since we are new to this adventure.

so i will continue to read and discover how to raise sheep.

happy winter days.

renny's arrival

renny arrived safe and sound on tuesday afternoon around 2:30.

brad, esther, and grace drove up with the trailer and "renny."

all at once we were living another one of our
dreams...having a horse of our own in our field.


as soon as renny got used to his new surroundings...riding ensued.

somehow in the excitement of bringing renny, abbey's saddle was left
behind but bareback will do for now.

you see renny is the ideal horse...sweet natured...laid back...well adjusted...

...all around a wonderful horse.


everyone wanted a turn.

grace has grown up around horses and all kinds of
animals...she is quite comfortable with them.

if only you could hear this little sweetie talking...she is articulate and
"unfallible" which is what she said in her own words.



what she meant was' infallible ' but come on she is only two.

It is something that cannot be proved false.
It is something that can be safely relied on.
It is something completely trustworthy and sure.


this is could be a very accurate statement of her.

she is our precious little granddaughter...who is a sheer joy to have around.

i wish they lived closer.

abbey was willingly taking her around.

see what i mean by comfortable...

we took a shade break and let renny eat some grass/clover on the

other side of the wildflower meadow.

big sis, esther is telling little sis, abbey all kinds of horse secrets.

there is always a flurry of activity around here...gwyne

was taking grace for a ride on the 4~wheeler.

ellery had been patiently waiting for her turn( with this question every

few minutes)..."marmee can i ride renny."

next came gywne's turn...

then jesse...

then ellery again...renny is not going to lack attention around here.

finally as the sun was going down the two big sisters rode

together...esther and rachel.

wow did that bring back memories of two little girls doing all kinds of

things together...now grown with their own families.

we had another arrival...i hesitate to say...but we have another puppy.

i don't want you to think i am crazy...oh well...it might be inevitable.

everyone meet..............."lylah"

while i was in florida this past may...these sweet little puppies captured

my heart...i was going to get one for jesse but they all got sold. so i said

it wasn't meant to be...besides we already have 4 dogs.

who needs another dog...c'est la vive (such is life).

a young couple from n.c. who adopted this puppy were

somewhat overwhelmed by the needs of delilah, the aussie puppy.

they wanted to know if they could return her. esther took her back.

as she was preparing to bring renny up here...we were having many

phone calls and emails she told me the story about delilah.

in esther's words...this is the best one in the litter and

very laid back...those are the words i like to hear.

so of course i had to ask dh...poor thing i am an animal lover...so are

most of my children. this is something jesse has been asking for

for a long time...to have a dog of his own...the time is right and the right dog is here.

lilah spelled lylah is jesse's dog and is already bonding to him well.

she fits right in with the rest of the herd...dogs and people and of course with renny.

post script: grace and esther took a kitty home, heidi ella was the name grace chose for her.

my florida views

from the moment of our arrival in florida...we were having nonstop fun.

abbey's first full day with renny and lessons.

on everything from grooming...

to proper etiquette with a horse...

even brad shows her how it is done...

...until a fine horsewoman/girl is made.

getting to play around with the mini's was great...

from driving the cart...

to just messing around with them....

and riding bareback.

i knew i was leaving abbey in good hands...so off i go to meem's house.

we took in a tea room in plant city.

there's nothing like some down time with your sis.

we had lots of catching up to do.

we strolled down the streets...

did some antiquing...one of the things we both love to do.

after a couple of days at meems i head back up to check on

abbey's progress at the farm.

all is well and everyone is having a great time...playing in the sprinkler,

trail riding, beach going, puppy playing, birthday parties, watching pups

being born...what more could you ask for.

dahlia's are in bloom there...

grace is captivated by their beauty.

and their petals.

after checking in and making sure abbey was doing well...i am off

to meems for the evening in her garden.

every vantage point in meem's garden is spectacular.

she is the queen of caladiums...and has hundreds maybe more.

since i have been back home i planted these beauties(miss muffet)

in a large black glazed pot. the ones above are hers mine just got

put in the dirt.

i hope my look half as good as hers.

as most of you know from visiting hoe and shovel

these gardens are lush and full.

there is no reason for me to compare my 2 year old garden to her 30 year old garden.

there are sweeping circular views...full to the brim with every tropical plant you can imagine.

it is breath taking...

i was focusing on the individual beauty of many of her blooms.

even the newest arrivals to hoe and shovel are thriving.

she has an artist's eye when it comes to the garden.

one of my personal favourites are the magnolias.

the veggie garden is on it's way out but i am

intrigued by it non the less.

we have different climates, different planting schedules,

different blooms and foliage but the same love of the garden.

so we talk endlessly about what each of us is doing this year.

her sunflowers are out and brightly blossoming.

mine are still waiting in the wings to show forth blooms.

we are able to plan some well needed time off at the beach for some glorious sunsets.

some bird watching...and of course photographing.

meems is ever on the watch for getting some wonderful captures.

we had a regular little visitor outside of our cottage room.

he let me get quite close.

night after night of beauty.

the things you can see at the beach are so special and unique.

lots of long walks and talking going on.


so many beautiful tropical plants/blooms.

and just like that...in a flash our beach time was over...

now it's just a memory...so we head home and i know it is

going to be a while before i can get back to the beach.

it has been great (where time sped by at an alarming rate.)

what a wonderful vacation for me with you meems. thanks.

meems and i did manage to make a trip to her two favourite nuseries on my last

morning there...i might try to post about those later.

i am off to pick up abbey and see how she is getting on with

her horseriding lessons with her big sis, esther.

abbey proudly shows me how she is now loping.

this is a summer that abbey will always remember...thank you

esther and brad for making abbey feel right at home...for giving her

valuable life lessons. she will have fond memories forever of this summer with you guys.

all is well and time has gone...we head home for the hills of tn.