What makes a ranch? Chicks, ducks, big goats & little goats, cows (to train the Aussies on) Jag the horse, a pony, an amazing garden, mud, and SHEEP!!!!!!
What makes ESTROGEN RANCH? Girls -
Hilerie, Andrea, Quincy, Luna, Sage, Teal, Wider, Rosie, Wiggett. This is the work crew at my sister's ranch in Idaho that I made a quick driveby visit to this week. All these girls do answer to 1 Guy, and he's a big one - BOLO, The Great Pyrenees. He's Luna's boyfriend and the guardian for all sheep and their babes from things that go bump in the night. Don't let this photo fool you he's on it!
Look at this amazing SE Idaho garden - what a difference a little heat can make! New raised beds and fencing (critters!) this year but look at those tomatoes, artichokes, and soon to be huge cauliflower. This garden looks like Jurassic Park compared to what's going on in my soggy, no heat, wind, and hail garden in Washington. I grew up in Idaho and have to admit I'm completely jealous of the early heat and just the weather in general. I did have a little friend helping me out in the garden while I was there - Bambi the baby goat/dog. I'm sure he's part dog and his little friend Rosie.
But the real reason for Estrogen Ranch is the sheep! Raising sheep is hard! I had no idea. There is so much work, long hours, coyotes, bottles lambs, and the losses are hard but the joy of seeing all those babies it's worth it, oh, and the little bit of income they bring in. They're delicious! That's the reality of a working ranch, life, and death. The ranch had two little bottle lambs this year, Runt and Emma, two of the last born. Runt's Mom just needed a little help but Emma lost her Mom and her twin.
Little Emma's Mom, Valentine was quite famous, you see she almost didn't make it when she was born but my sister would not give up on her. My sister has worked in NICU for 30+ plus years and she just did what came naturally to her. She did CPR on this tiny newborn lamb and brought her back. Valentine went on to be a good Mama to many lambs but had trouble with Emma and her twin and she didn't make it.
Watch Emma out with the rest of the Moms and babies for the first time. That tiny little thing was not shy at all.
I think she's going to do just fine. A little bit of head butting and jumping for joy - she's a happy girl.
This trip was so different than the 100 or so I've made before. We practiced our social distancing, wore masks when needed but it certainly did the soul good. Now I just need some 80's come on sun!
See you in the dirt -
.