Goth-Gawking

I took this picture late this afternoon. It is my old ram Goth who spent a week of his life almost every year at the Western Washington State Fair in the Animals of the World barn . Our exhibit was directly across the aisle from the zebras, zee-donks, yaks, and reindeer. Many thousands of people saw him and stared at him over the years and I watched hundreds of people photograph him.

Now that we've relocated to the other side of the mountains Goth is retired and enjoying life in a pasture situated in front of our new home. The gravel road that fronts our property is actually a well traveled road between our home and the hills and mountains across the road. Often I discover a vehicle parked in front of our place and see , yes, people gawking at Goth ! Goth still attracts attention even in his old age. ( Goth is 13 years old.) I hope he lives for many more years, I am quite fond of this old ram.

Washington State Fair ~ (A Simple Account from a Fair Exhibitor )

 My stint at the 2015 Washington State Fair ( formerly known as The Puyallup Fair ) is over after 5 very long , labor intensive, and fun days and nights at the fairgrounds. I am still recovering. The picture above is of me and our oldest grandchild Bugs *  in my Jacob Sheep exhibit in the Animals of the World barn, an exhibit that is only at the fair for 1 week. I don't think I could have done this  without his help and enthusiasm. ( Did you know that each and every exhibit at your local and state fairs is completely designed, set up , and maintained by the exhibitor for their duration of the fair ? LOTS of preparation and hard work go into these exhibits often done for free or for very little monetary compensation.You should take that into account when you visit your local fairs and thank the people in the exhibits you like. )

 Exhibitors are required to be in their exhibits, or have someone fill in for them for all the hours the fair is open. We ( grandson and me ) were there a minimum of 12 to 15 hours daily, beginning our day an hour and a half before the fair opens to clean out the sheep pens and get ready for the public to view. Here is our oldest grandson ready to greet the public and answer any questions they might have about my sheep.

 Goth, my Jacob Sheep ram and the main attraction of my exhibit. He is 10 years old and this is his last year at the fair. He is now happily at home and sharing a pen with two female Jacob sheep ( ewes). Maybe they will produce some very special spring lambs for me. :)

 Blitzen ( center ) believed himself to be the main attraction and he did a very fine job of looking cute while begging for soda crackers. Since he is a wether ( castrated male sheep ) he was penned up with two ewes ( female sheep ) in my exhibit. We have been getting Blitzen used to a halter and handling so I will have a hands-on and tame sheep for public displays.

 Two of my sisters and their husbands visited me at the fair, but I only had my camera handy for my sister Karen and her husband Kaare , shown above.. ( Thank-you Tom & JoAnn for visiting us too ! )

 My husband was tending things at home and going to work while I was away for so many days but he was able to help out on the last day, Tuesday, after hauling our travel trailer ( home away from home at the fair ) back to Cedar Pond. Here he is with our grandson , ready to greet the public and answer any questions regarding Jacob Sheep.

 Cedar Pond's Tovah (rt.) and her ewe lamb Tauriel shared the pen with Blitzen.

I had a good time at the fair, so did our grandson , but the days of preparation for the fair were also consumed with constant watering of our gardens and livestock, canning a bumper crop of grapes late into the nights preceding the fair, and simple home tasks . We returned home from the last day of the fair after midnight  to begin  unloading sheep and tending to animals missing my presence. I am only now beginning to feel I've caught up on my lack of sleep and with things around Cedar Pond. I've now begun my list of needful things to be done soon. Blogging is one of them...I've missed my blogging time and my blogging friends. But life is good, my animals and gardens keep me busy, my family fills my heart and time spent with them is a blessing of the best kind. (Photo is of Blitzen )

Bath Time For Goth ( A Jacob Sheep )

 Baaa huh ? Bath ? For me ? I had a bath last year before the State Fair. I don't need another bath...

 .... oh, I guess I'm going to the fair again this year.

 Does this mean I get to eat all the alfalfa hay I desire, snack on soda crackers and apples, and watch thousands of people walk by ? Some of those people are pretty funny looking and a lot of them take my picture.

O.K. then , off to the fair we'll go ! I hope my friends are there. I love the yaks, watusi cattle, zebras and turkeys . Those little donkeys are pretty cute too and they make a loud funny noise. Do you think any of the reindeer will be back ? I loved that little reindeer. ME : " Yes, we'll be off to the fair and most of your friends will be back. Many of my friends will too ! "

Goth got his bath and looks like the black and white sheep he is instead of a brown and beige sheep. If you're in the area please visit us at the Washington State Fair in the Animals Of The World exhibit  from September 11 thru September 15 in Puyallup, WA. Goth will be in my exhibit along with 3 more Jacob Sheep from my flock. We're looking forward to our time there and maybe we'll see you at The Puyallup Fair !

Ummm, how's this for a striking pose ?

Western Washington Fair 2014 ( Puyallup Fair )

This year's state fair has come and gone in a whirlwind of activity and busyness that still has my head spinning. I could not have enjoyed the time there without the help of 2 of my grandchildren and my husband. The Western Washington Fair formerly known as The Puyallup Fair is one of the biggest state fairs in the nation. Literally thousands of people passed by my exhibit in the 'Animals Of The World ' barn and my husband and oldest grandson were often answering questions regarding my Jacob sheep , giving me a break.

We set up our exhibit the day before the fair opened. It takes planning and preparation to set up a fair exhibit, and also packing for the whole week I and my grandchildren will be camping at the fair. Here is my husband standing next to my ram pen. Yes, my ram ( not my husband ) is dangerous.

My ram's name is Goth , here is part of my display. The rugs shown were crafted by me using the wool of my sheep. You can also see a Jacob sheep skull and hide on the wall.

We cart the blue "walls' in too, giving the display a border and a place to hang up info regarding the breed of sheep.

This is the back of the display. Usually my exhibit is placed in the middle of the big barn so we created the walls as a way to also define the space visually.This also gives us a little bit of privacy since we are open to the public from 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. for five days and nights. With record breaking attendance at the fair this year we often had so many people passing though our barn there was no room for us to get out of our exhibit. At least there was an interesting animal to view pretty much everywhere in the barn for those stuck walking at a snail's pace because of the crowd. ( That is one of my granddaughters above. She was a big help this year )

Goth doesn't seem to mind the crowds and must have had his picture snapped thousands of times over the years. He does play with the big rubber ball while at the fair, and enjoys soda crackers and apples as frequent treats for being good.

A partial view of  the aisles filled with people. This is what Saturday & Sunday look like until after 7:00 p.m. A non-stop flow of people viewing the animals . We are very happy and honored to be able to exhibit our sheep here and love answering questions about them , and we do get a lot of questions !

The table in front of my exhibit contains wool, horns, things made from the fiber of my sheep. All hands-on for the public.

All's quiet before the barn is open to the public. We get there at least an hour before they're open so we can clean the animal's stalls , feed & water them, and prepare for the day.

The sheep on the other side of my display. I keep the ram separate from the girl sheep & their lambs. Yes, the girl Jacob Sheep have horns too.

My best help comes from our oldest grandson. I really don't think I could do this anymore without him, so thank-you C.T. ! This was a great year at the fair and we're hoping to be asked back again next year.

Whimsy & The Puyallup

Look at my birthday present ! My daughter is holding my new German Shepherd puppy. I named her Whimsy. She is 9 weeks old now and since this picture was taken her other ear perked up. She has been very easy to house-train and a joy . I have already had her with me in the sheep pens, and plan on teaching her to herd sheep. But that will be later in the spring. For now I just want her to be exposed to my sheep, their sounds & movements. She isn't afraid of them, nor is she aggressive. We are going to have so much fun together !

I spent my birthday preparing for our annual September tradition, taking sheep to the Puyallup Fair. This is a busy time, and for the next week I'll be occupied with the fair. Goth ( my Jacob Sheep ram ) can tell it's that time again too and he even seems resigned to his 5 day stay. Last year he appeared to enjoy the crowds gathered 'round his pen. He would stretch, lift his head high and strike a pose for them.

I'll be back to blogging after the fair. If you're in the area ( Puyallup, Washington ) stop in at the Animals Of The World barn & say "hi ". You know you want to  Do the Puyallup !

Morning ! ( Before the fair opens)

 Before the fair gates open, before Goth is surrounded by people taking his picture and also enjoying so many other animals, the 'Animals Of the World Barn' is busy preparing the day to greet the public.

Our granddaughter KN is spending her first time with myself and her brother for a week at the fair.She chose to spend her birthday with us here and I am thankful for this.

 A blur of activity and work. The mornings before the fair begins, each barn is busy being cleaned by the exhibitors. We know and appreciate our time in the barn to be available to exhibit the animals we love is a privilege. We start the day early, cleaning our animal pens and making sure they are presentable to the public. Hoping our exhibit is pleasing and also a good presentation for our animals and the fair. After all, that is why we are here, for you!

 KN is camera shy, but allowed me to take this picture of her. My beloved granddaughter is growing up so quickly, and for her to choose to spend her birthday with me and my sheep at the fair means more to me than I can express.She worked hard here, and there was no birthday cake & ice cream, but she seemed to be O.K. with that.

Early morning pictures of our barn. The exhibitors are slowly arriving, quickly cleaning. After our areas are clean and ready for the public, we have our doughnut & coffee break. We visit, we share, we learn about each other's animals.We become friends and begin to care about one another. We hope to see each other next year.

A special benefit of being here is the opportunity to see animals not common to so many. We get to watch camels, zebras, yaks, zedonks,Watusi,and so many other animals show their personalities. This camel was spotted by me reaching his tongue out beyond his pen to gain hay. He would also watch me closely and follow me as I worked. When I got my camera to snap photos he seemed to become very savvy and camera-shy. He would duck, dodge, and hide when my camera was seen. This is the best photo I have of him. When I put my camera away he was  in my face!

Brother and sister, grandchildren I love. A pleasure to be able to camp with them here at the fair, a pleasure to have them here to help me. A family tradition I hope they will remember with love and maybe continue.Even better, that they might love Jacob Sheep. A grandma can hope!

Best Birthday Present Ever!

My birthday always falls on Labor Day weekend. Usually we go camping, but this year I requested a very big present. I asked my family to give up their time and energy to help my husband & I rebuild and repair our sheep fences. No presents but their presence. Some dear friends volunteered to come help too. (above from left to right, friends Paul Fryer, Mike Ritter, and our youngest son Daniel )

 My husband & youngest son. Guess some men are always boys at heart.

Paul & his brother-in-law, Mike. They added a LOT of muscle and worked hard all day. Thank-you Mike & Paul !Thank-you to Carol & Katie, their wives, for allowing them to spend a weekend day here.I truly appreciate this gift of your time.

 New fence posts for the new and improved fence-line,makes my heart sing.

Old fence on the left, repaired and restructured fence, the right.

Goth, prior to being confined while the men worked.He seems to glory in his pen of destruction. Maybe he loves to see what his power & horns can do, but now, gone are the ugly tarps he ripped, the bent and mangled fences he destroyed.

Our son's dogs Ruger 

and Mongo supervised the work,

while Goth, confined to a small area for the safety of all, played with his rubber balls,and napped.

I cannot express the gratitude I feel for the actions of my family & friends that show their love in a very tangible way. Their presence was present enough, and more.My husband & I could not have done this without them.In a soon coming  post I'll show more of the work in progress. But again I say to all who were here, " thank-you!"."Present:anything presented, a gift." Webster Dictionary

Ram Tough, Ram Destructive

I happened to be looking out an upstairs window one morning last week while I sipped my first cup of coffee.I heard a loud "THWUNK" and saw the tall stump of an old cottonwood tree sway. Then I saw my ram Goth take aim and run full force into the stump again and topple it! Goth examines his handiwork. ( Head work?) The other cottonwood stump still stands, but for how long? The two cottonwood trees towered over our property when we first moved here. We built a ram pen around them and years of my rams ramming them and chewing away their bark killed the trees. ( They are cottonwoods, we did not care ) Even though the trees are dead and the stumps have begun to rot, I could not have pushed them over with a sledge hammer, or even a car without causing damage to the car . So you can see, the power of a ram is mighty.Now the tall stumps of the trees are finally being pushed down by the mighty force of a ram.

"ram, n. 1. An instrument or device for driving, forcing, or crushing by heavy blows or thrusts. " Funk & Wagnalls New Standard Dictionary I think the pens the zoos build for rhinos would be perfect for Goth.

Yarn & So Much More

My heart has been bursting with the joy of these Autumn days, sunshiny and crisp, how can it not? Perfect for spinning my wool up into yarn as I sit on the porch.I can enjoy birdsong and bird squabbles over the feeders full of sunflower seeds .I take in the changing colors of the leaves, I watch my sheep from my porch.There is time to be quiet, to think. Look at this beautiful wool. It is from my ram, Goth. Who knew such a bashingly bad ram could give me such lustrous, soft fleece. My husband has been very patient with me as I keep showing him this wool while I spin it up. "Look at this! Isn't it beautiful?Look how much wool I got from Goth! Look at the long staple, isn't the color scrumptious...yadda, yadda."Sometimes I even push the lovely wool into his hands or make him sniff it! ( What a patient husband I have.) Can you see just a little bit from this picture how pretty Goth's wool is?The variations of black and white.His black is fading into a very sweet shade of blue-gray. What is the point of this post, well....I am happy and thankful for my sheep, for the ability to use their wool AND enjoy watching them. I am thankful for my husband who builds all the pens and housing for the sheep, even though he would prefer to have NO sheep.I am thankful for a husband who will let me fill a room with wool, loom, spinning wheels~ and not begrudge me the time to use it all. I am thankful for the time to meditate on The Shepherd, who watches over me, one of His sheep. I pray He allows the wool of this sheep ( me) to be spun up into even a tiny strand of wool yarn to be knit and woven into the fabric of a life glorifying Him, all else is but fodder for moths. To God be the Glory, forever and ever!

"The web of our life is but a mingled yarn, good and ill together." Shakespeare

"Charm is deceitful, beauty is vain, but a woman who fears the Lord, she shall be praised." Proverbs 31:30 "Let the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be acceptable in Thy sight Oh Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer." Psalm 19:14