She’s Doing Fine

 

No. This isn’t a post about Apache. But here’s a photo of her taken this morning. Can you see her through the blizzard?

No. This post is about another special horse (and another critter, too. More on that later)……….

It’s been a year since Baby Doll went to go live with her new owners.

You can read my heartfelt tribute, see her doting owners, and the last moments we spent together, by visiting this link:

Letting Go Of The Rope

Not more than a week has gone by, this past year, that I’ve not thought of my first horse. Sometimes I’m just remembering her scent, some of her endearing mannerisms, the good rides she gave me, or her beauty and spirit. Sometimes I remember the not so great things, too.

I wonder if her memory will fade someday?

I don’t think so.

Baby Doll will always have a special place in my heart.

At least I know that she is happy and doing well. Her new owners, who live in Eastern New Mexico, in Portales, adore her. They take good care of her, ride her often, and treat her like the princess she knows she is. The following photos were sent to me by her owners, so please excuse the photo quality. 

Baby Doll has some good neighbors and very nice living quarters.

 

She is ridden a lot, by her Dad, T. He takes her out on the trails, with his wife and her mare, and, during the summer, he works on a cattle ranch and takes Baby Doll with him, giving her a job herding cattle. I’m sure she loves it.  

 She might even get more love and attention from T, than she got from me.

 

I sure hope T’s wife, B, doesn’t mind sharing her husband with the other girl in his life.

I still miss her sometimes, but I know she is enjoying her new life and is doing just fine.

~~~~~~~~~~~

On the same note, but a different species of animal, I’ve been wondering how my two sheep, Blanca and Svetlana, that I sold last May, are doing. You can read about that day by visiting this link:

Farewell Ba Ba's

And you can check out a very endearing, funny story that their new owners sent to me last summer:

Blanca and The Llama

 

Last week I received an email inviting me to attend some interesting classes taught by traditional Navajo Pueblo Indians on processing churro wool and mutton. So I forwarded it to Blanca’s and Svetlana’s new owners, because they are focused on the history of Navajo sheep and preserving the Navajo heritage. Of course, I was also hoping for an update on my two very sweet and special ewes.

That evening, I received an email back thanking me for the information along with a few photos and some exciting news about Blanca.   

That’s right! She’s a Mama!

She gave birth to a little female lamb on Dec. 6th. This was not only Blanca’s first lamb, but also the first lamb born to her new owners and their flock. They decided to name her T’aala, which is Navajo for first!

Is that not the most wonderful news?! Receiving the news right before Christmas, was like being given a very special surprise gift! Really made me happy. 

I was told that Blanca is a wonderful Mama and takes very good care of her pretty little baby. T’aala inherited her lovely and unique butterscotch markings from her Daddy, a 4-horned Navajo Churro Ram. He must be very handsome, because she’s beautiful and quite exotic looking!

They are hoping to find Svetlana her own handsome ram someday, but in the US, Karakul sheep are very rare. They did have Svetlana out with the Navajo Churro ram this summer, because Karakuls and Churros are both coarse wool sheep. But her owners don’t believe she was bred because the ram had too much difficulty maneuvering around her tail…….the trademark fatty tail of the Karakul sheep, which is where the sheep store fat to survive in the desert when food is scarce (think camel hump). 

I did a post about my sweet Svetlana and Karakul sheep, as well as my friendly Blanca and Navajo Churros, the day we brought both of them home, when they were still adorable little lambs. You can see photos of them, including Svetlana’s fat tail, by visiting this link:

Welcome Blanca and Svetlana

 

It’s a great feeling knowing your re-homed animals are being taken good care of.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The snow is still falling hard here with wind gusts up to 55 mph. The weather folks said we should expect between 6-8”of the white stuff. I canceled a Dr. appt. I had this morning in Albuquerque, but I’m not sure they believed me that we had gotten about 3” of snow yesterday and we had a storm raging today. Albuquerque is only 20 minutes west of us, but while they are around 4,000’ elevation, we’re above 7,000’ elevation. Big difference when it comes to weather.

(The birds are well-fed and watered, with bird seed and leftover cornbread, and look pretty chipper, despite the blowing snow and freezing temperatures)

I really don’t like to drive in blizzard conditions with thickly falling snow that is blowing sideways, so I canceled about 2 hours before the appointment.

The receptionist was very nice, but she did give me a little speech about remembering to give a 24 hour notice. Well sometimes that’s just not possible, especially in regards to weather in New Mexico. It can change hourly and a common saying here is, “Don’t like the weather? Wait 15 minutes and it will change”

Then you get people from out of state who aren’t used to snow or the peculiarities of New Mexico and the elevation differences.

Reminds me of a story….

Ranchman John was in a Home Depot last winter buying some new snow shovels, and a know-it-all type, new transplant from California (It’s easy to tell, trust me), snickered at the snow shovels in my man’s arms, and told my hubby, “Well, those are a waste of money. You won’t need them here”.

I guess he doesn’t know that, in New Mexico, you can head up to the mountains to go skiing in the morning and head back down for a round of golf in the afternoon. And if you live in the mountains, you will need snow shovels.

Ironically, just about an hour ago, Ranchman John called me from his job in Albuquerque and said that they’re only getting a little rain, with some snow flurries in the foothills.

He called me a second time to tell me the sun was shining. And wouldn’t you know it, just 15 minutes later the sun was shining up here, too. But at the same time the snow was blowing!

Of course, the sun quickly vanished as the clouds, heavy with snow, commenced with their duty of making sure everything is covered in fluffy white.

Sheep Update

The gal and her husband who bought my beautiful hand-raised sheep, and gave them a great home, sent me an e-mail update that I want to share with you all. It made laugh and made me so happy, because she is obviously entertained and enthralled by my sheep and I’m so glad Svetlana and Blanca went to such a wonderful new home.

Here ya go:

“I have to tell you a funny story!  I bought a llama that looks like your white one with the brown rear.  He has never been around sheep.  I unloaded him from the trailer and Blanca thought it was her long lost friend (Catlinite). She was SOOOO happy, she and Svetlana chased the poor guy ALL around the pen!  She wouldn't give up!  He was so freaked out but she stayed by his side until this morning, and the two of them were drinking water together!  Love always conquers all!  I love them both but I gotta tell ya, Blanca has my heart completely!  She is amazing!  She lays by the horse pens where I have 4 mares and a stud horse(breeding time).  The mares were freaked out by the sheep at first but Blanca lays as close as she can get to the pens and the mares all groom her!  She is quite the character!  Watching the two of them chase that llama would have won me some money on America’s Funniest Home Videos though!  Thank you for them.  They bring me great joy and I love them both!
~Jo Beth”

Isn’t that the cutest story?

And here’s a photo of Catlinite, my white llama with the brown tushie. haha! This was taken the first time that Apache met the llamas close-up, back in March.

Farewell Ba Ba’s

 

After a year of hopping back and forth on the fence, and being wishy-washy about whether or not I should keep my 2 year old Navajo Churro Ewe and 2 year old Karakul Ewe, I finally sold them to a good home. I decided I didn’t much care for the coarseness, smell and greasiness of sheep wool and would rather focus on my angora goat mohair and llama fiber instead. I could have kept my sweet hand-raised sheep around as pets, but I wanted them to be useful and for someone to appreciate and enjoy them and their wool.

They left on Sunday for their new home out on the open grasslands near Tucumcari, New Mexico. Blanca and Svetlana will live with a flock of their own kind, instead of being bossed around by my grouchy angora goat, Luna. They will have over 400 acres to graze abundant gramma grass to their heart’s content. And their new owners are nice folks. The woman, J, is an anthropology major and is learning the age old art of Navajo Weaving and her husband, L, is a true cowboy through and through, raising cattle and horses out on their rangeland. They were even nice enough to invite me out to watch L compete in rodeo roping events and to bring my horse out to ride with them on their land. I told them to watch out or I just might show up on their doorstep with my horse and trailer ready to saddle up! haha!

J already e-mailed me this morning to let me know how easily my two ba ba’s settled in. Apparently their Navajo Churro ram made my girls feel right at home and they are already accepted into the new flock.

I will miss them, but I know they’ll have a great home. And when I drive out there to visit, I’ll be sure to bring with me their favorite treat of horse cookies. I’m glad I remembered to take one last photo of them before their new owners arrived to take them away. 

                                                 Farewell Svetlana and Blanca!

Wordless Wednesday ~ Double Trouble? or Monkey in the Middle? or?

 

Shearing Day

I’m a little behind in posting recent happenings. We had our two llamas, two sheep, and angora goat sheared two weekends ago. And of course, I took a bunch of photos to share with all of you. I’m nice like that. lol!

Please excuse the photo quality, though. The barn didn’t have the best lighting. 

Our shearer lives only 10 minutes away and I always try to give my business to local folks, if possible, so this makes me very happy. He and his wife, who joined us for the fun a little later are super nice folks, too.

We started off with Blanca, the Navajo Churro Ewe.

Sheep are usually easy to shear or trim feet. You lay them on their back or side and they seem to play dead. I’m sure that’s one of the reasons they are easy prey for most predators.

All done!

Next up was Svetlana, the Karakul Ewe.

The Shearer was surprised at how non-greasy (the grease is technically called lanolin) and dry a Karakul sheep’s wool is. This makes the wool lighter and fluffier than greasier wool.

 

See how limp sheep get when handled?

Next up was Luna, the Angora Goat Doe.

Goats don’t typically go limp and cooperate when being sheared, getting hoof trims or vaccines. So we put Luna on the Milk Stand/Staunchion and gave her a little grain to keep her occupied.

  

Half done! (Wouldn’t it be funny to just stop here and harvest half the wool?)

 

A little bit of enforcement showed up for the hoof trims and finishing touches.

Voila! Naked Angora Goat!

Moving right along, it was Llama Drama Time!

Cataleya, the female llama, was up first.

 

Llamas don’t typically enjoy the shearing process. They complain quite a bit. Sometimes they will spit, kick out, attempt to lay down (kush), and dance around.

Cataleya wasn’t too bad actually. She did dance around a lot, but she mostly just hummed. The Shearer was pleased with how my llama girl didn’t mind being touched on her legs or belly, or even having her feet trimmed. All those hours of me doing Tellington TTouch with Cataleya, desensitizing and stroking Cataleya’s legs, back and belly seem to have paid off.

Next, and last, up for shearing was Catlinite, the gelding llama. Now it’s time for some real Llama Drama!

Catlinite had been shown in county fairs and won lots of ribbons in his first year and a half of life, but then he was bought by an alpaca farm and used as an alpaca guard. So, even though he was handled a lot early on, he was mostly left alone the last couple years before he came to live here. Suffice it to say, he’s not happy being handled. He will halter easily and he will lead calmly, but he’s not an affectionate, loving llama and prefers no touching at all.

He hated Tellington TTouch. And I think I can say with confidance that he hated being sheared, too.

But the Shearer didn’t let Catlinite’s disdain for having a hair cut, phase him and he just kept going. 

 

Even when Catlinite thought laying down on the job would get him out of being sheared, the Shearer just calmly kept going.

And while I tried to take photos and video, Cataleya kept sticking her nose in my ear, hair and face. She can be such an attention hound. lol!

Of course, all the while, Catlinite was kicking, growling, gurgling, spitting, making grouchy faces and just generally showing his displeasure.

 

But we got him done.

And then we let him go. And he was still unhappy. lol!

Catlinite also didn’t seem happy that his herd of sheep and angora goat looked so different either.

And he certainly didn’t seem to appreciate his llama sister’s new look either.

But he got over it when dinner was served.

Blanca had to take a few peeks to look at her new exposed shape.

And Svetlana just seem relieved to have shed a few heavy, hot pounds.

Cataleya was just happy to eat, figuring that now that she’s a few pounds lighter, she can afford to eat more.

And I was just excited to have all this wool to process and eventually spin into beautiful yarn.

Navajo Churro  and Karakul Sheep Wool.

Angora (Mohair) Goat Fleece.

Llama fleece. (Catlinite)

Llama Fleece (Cataleya)

Ooooh! Cataleya’s fleece is so soft and silky. I could just sit with my hands in it all day.

And as I sat on my bumper in the garage, skirting fleeces, and picking out vegetable matter, I had a couple visitors. My friend Val (Fantastyk Voyage), and her mare, Nadia were on their way back from the mailboxes and stopped by to say hello and chat for a little while.

I thought that Nadia might be concerned about the plastic bags and piles of wool, but she wasn’t phased at all except for her curiosity about the llama fleeces, which she just sniffed at. I suppose it was probably confusing to her why they smelled like llamas, but there weren’t any llamas around. lol!  

From the Tower of,

N~is for Navajo Churro Sheep

Today's post is about the Navajo Churro Sheep, another Heritage Sheep. We have one Churro Sheep, an ewe named Blanca. For a number of years I was fascinated with the history of the Navajo Churro and vowed to have one of my own, and maybe even a small flock of these beautiful, tough, enduring sheep.
No other sheep population in the history of the world has survived such selective pressure with such dignity and spirit.

Don Juan de Oñate, in 1598, brought settlers and over 2,000 sheep that formed the initial colonization of the Southwest. Spanish ranches prospered in Texas, New Mexico and Arizona with flocks numbering in the thousands.

During this period, Pueblo Indians were enslaved to herd livestock and to weave textiles. The Navajo people acquired a few sheep and horses by trades and raids. Following the turmoil of 1680 when the Pueblos revolted against Spanish oppression, the Navajos acquired more sheep. This is Blanca, last Spring, when she was still a little lamb.
Because the Navajos resisted the settlers who were encroaching on their homelands, the U.S. government ordered the military, led by Kit Carson, to destroy Navajo orchards and flocks. There was much bloodshed and in 1865 approximately 9,000 Navajos were forced on the Long Walk of 300 miles to a camp at Bosque Redondo, New Mexico.

Terrible conditions here caused the death of many people and their livestock. Some Navajos escaped capture and hid with their sheep in remote canyons of New Mexico and Arizona. After three years, the Navajo were returned to their homeland and were issued two "native" sheep per person from Hispanic flocks. Wasn't Blanca adorable?

The Navajo were such good weavers and shepherds that their mixed flocks grew to over 500,000 sheep by 1930. The large numbers of livestock were problematic for the severe drought conditions, so the U.S. government slaughtered at least 30% of each Navajo household’s sheep, goats and horses and they were thrown into arroyos or burned. This terrifying Stock Reduction is still vivid in Navajo memory.

This is a photo of Blanca taken last month. She's a very sweet and gentle sheep, and very soft and fluffy, too. I really enjoying having her around and hope to breed her one day.
Here is our Navajo Churro ewe, Blanca, just before I hand-sheared her a few months ago.
Poor Blanca having to endure my newbie attempts at hand-shearing. She was really easy and gentle to shear, though. It just takes a very long time to hand-shear and the results are not as smooth and clean.
The fleece is high yielding with low grease content. The Navajo Churro Fiber is admired for its luster, silky hand, variety of natural colors and durability. This is the fleece I sheared from Blanca a few months ago.
Even though the Navajo-Churro breed still exists, it is considered a Rare Breed.
The Navajo-Churro is highly resistant to disease, and needs no pampering to survive and prosper. A Churro Ram can weigh as much as 200 lbs. This one was in a flock on a farm I visited during the East Mountain Fiber Tour, this past summer.
Navajo-Churro sheep are coarse, long-wooled sheep for use as wool, meat and dairy animals. Mature ewes weigh between 85-120 lbs. This Churro Ewe is from a flock I saw while enjoying the East Mountain Fiber Tour this past summer.