Still Waters Farm

April 27, 2022 BACK ON THE PASTURE AT LAST! Boy, the sheep sure were happy to be back on the pasture and eating lush veggies! They were very patient while we were waiting for the grass to really get a good stand going. We had them mow the yard twice and had them work over about 5 acres of wooded area. They also had two large bales of very nice hay. But none of it was as good as spring pasture. Their bellies were quite full this evening. 😂 Except for Wilbur’s injury, it was an excellent day and very enjoyable to see them back in business.

April 24, 2022 Coverage of Saturday’s Barn Briefing for April 24. Topics include: — Good news on the pasture! — Upgraded fencing — Kudos to Duchess and Wilbur — The hay roof “incident” (And Gordo decides to be the class clown…)

March 1, 2022 FINAL UPDATE ON THE LAMB: I am very sad to say that our little buddy did not make it. Though he had a pretty good day on Sunday, he took a turn that evening and never recovered. He was a fighter, so we fought with him and for him every step of the way. He was going to be a permanent resident and become our farm mascot. We so wanted him to make it. Life is precious. All life. We can too often take it for granted or be dismissive. None of us can give life. We can only take it. Even with these sheep, I cannot make lambs. I can make arrangements and bring all the players to the table, but I cannot make them give me lambs. Even they themselves cannot give life. The Lord does that. I spared him. Not gladly, but dutifully. I did what had to be done when mercy demanded it. And I don’t mind telling you, I cried. Little buddy was only with us for one week. And though his brief life was a constant struggle requiring almost every spare moment we could afford and long nights of interrupted sleep, he brought us joy. The joy of seeing a new life and the creation of priceless precious moments, unscripted. Like the time he peed on my foot while I was making his bottle. Or when he would wake up at night as he slept next to the bed and make me reach down with my hand to comfort him before going back to sleep. Or just laying on my lap while I worked. Or, on his good days, when he would follow Debbie and I around the house like a puppy. Or, when he and our grandson were just as curious about the other. I can only imagine how fun, and funny, he would have been later. Because of that, our efforts were not wasted; they were rewarded with memories we will cherish for years to come. And his life was not a waste. We will be better farmers because of him. Thank you all who said a prayer for him. Good night, little buddy.

February 26, 2022 Coverage of tonight’s barn briefing.

February 28, 2022 Today was the first day for the flock in a paddock fully bordered by electric netting. Half the flock is broke to just one wire of electric fence, but the other half is not. Plus, I have a couple of troublemakers who go out of their way to break out. That’s bad enough, but just like with people, they always take a few with them that would otherwise stay where they belong. So, we had to temporarily abandon our plan to use only 1-2 hot wires as mobile paddock fencing and move to more expensive and more difficult to maneuver, electric netting. The upside is that it will also work to keep predators out. Hopefully, the troublemakers will eventually break to the fencing. If not, we will eventually have to cull them. But, day 1 was a success! Something to build on. And, as I promised them Saturday, they went home today to a barn with fresh sawdust bedding. They’ll feel like they’re at “Sandals, Barn Edition”. 😝🐑 (I threw in a few seconds of the creek, just cuz. Love a creek.)

February 21, 2022 Right after dawn this morning I led the two new ewes we had purchased last week out into the field to join the rest of the flock in the paddocks for the first time. I don’t think these girls had the pleasure of so much elbow room at their prior home. I do think they are going to love it here. Here in the video, you can tell they are little unsure, but by the end of the day, they were mixing in quite nicely. Boy, they are some beautiful sheep.

6-11-2022 It’s a loooong walk to the last paddock in the rotation. Will we get there??? Will we have everyone??? 😂 This is what we do every morning—we take the sheep from their “safe zone” in the barn lot out into the field to the paddock de jur. Some days they move faster than others. When they feel food is more scarce, they move more quickly. When they’re fat and happy, they take their sweet time and tend to get distracted by the various goodies along the way. But when they finally get there, there is something so satisfying about seeing the flock being fed on good pasture.

June 3, 2022 It is amazing how quickly these lambs are on their feet and running! Winnie crossed the swollen creek last night like a pro at only 29 hours old! Here’s some video of her heading out to the field yesterday morning and back at the barn (post creek crossing) for the evening. Love these critters.

April 20, 2022 SEVEN TIMES TODAY!!!! 😅 Wilbur…what are we going to do with you??? We can’t help but to love him through it, but sakes alive! 🐑 ❤️

April 10, 2022 Our Saturday Barn Briefing had to be postponed until Sunday. We covered the following topics: — Pasture update 😋 — Foot treatments 🤕 — Duchess’s increasing dermit count 🤨 — The chute “incident” yesterday 😓 Ahead of the briefing, we included some footage of the sheep munching on the grass— there is just something so enjoyable about that— as well as some footage of an up close moment with Fuzz and Norman.

Saturday Barn Briefing, Monday edition — No demerits for Duchess this week — Wilbur’s struggles continue — Surprise grazing spot! — The tilt table is ready for setup (Cameo of Ben feeding the flock.)

April 16, 2022 Y’all say hello to Wilbur. Say hello, Wilbur. I’ve got a feeling life with Wilbur is going to be full of adventure. 😂

April 12, 2022 What are we waiting on, and why??? Several folks have asked what this “waiting period” is and why we are not yet putting our sheep back out onto the pasture. I thought I would take a few minutes to explain. BONUS Footage: Up close introduction to Duchess, our little trouble-maker, and some lambs just goofing around.

April 2, 2022 Well, apparently full bellies make for a quiet crowd. A very different tone for tonight’s barn briefing compared to last week’s rowdy and vocal bunch.

March 26, 2022 Boy! We had a rowdy bunch tonight for the Saturday Barn Briefing. Maybe we will feed them first next week. 😂

March 23, 2022 Today, we used the netting and moved the flock to our yard to give them some green leaf and also to get an early start on our mowing. Which got my entrepreneurial juices flowing...😜 #TheBorrego3000YardMachine

March 19, 2022 Coverage of tonight’s weekly Saturday Barn Briefing, 3/19/2022.

Coverage of the special weather briefing ahead of forecasted snow.

March 16, 2022 Lambs, just funning around.

March 10, 2022 It was a beautiful quiet morning here on Still Waters Farm. I couldn’t help but grab a few snippets while doing my early morning chores and share them with you. The sheep were very quiet this morning taking advantage of some early spring grass that has shot up with the recent warm snap. The last of the recent rains are draining off the bottom field, and just listen to those birds singing and chirping.

May 21, 2022 Well, I promised Wilbur we would make it better. Here we show the solution Mawmaw and I put into place this week.

May 14, 2022 Coverage of tonight’s barn briefing. Topics included: — Wilbur’s tragedy — The proposed solution — Kudos for Duchess / driveway fence update — Continuous improvement (Sorry the video quality is poor. It was even darker than it looks.)

May 3, 2022 Update on Wilbur: Well, our little mascot is hanging in there and doing rather well for the time being. Each day, we give him a small bottle of milk laced with a crushed up Advil to help with pain and inflammation. Sometimes he drinks all of it, sometimes not. He doesn’t seem to be in much discomfort at this point—or perhaps he’s just that tough. He’s staying with the flock and running wherever they go. We think that is best for him even though we can’t keep our eyes on him all the time. Being with his mom, sissy, and broader family probably does more good for him than our undivided human attention. Tomorrow or Thursday, we will have to remove the bandaging and replace it with new. I am not particularly looking forward to that. I hope we can accomplish that without re-injury. We are very happy with his progress so far and hope and pray he continues to heal up without complications. 🙏🏻 This video is from early this morning. What a cool little feller! 🥰

May 1, 2022 While we’re primarily sheep-oriented, we do have other critters and we have received requests for videos with the donkeys, so here you go! Also included some footage of our cattle. Yesterday was a loooong day. —Moving sheep —Trimming hooves —Hauling & vaccinating cattle —Fortifying fence —Getting attacked by 🔥 ants! 🥵 —Giving Wilbur his meds Enjoy!

April 28, 2022 UPDATE ON WILBUR: Last night, we immobilized Wilbur’s broken leg and managed to get some ibuprofen into him. He slept well in the barn sick bay but he was separated from his mom and sister (he’s very close to Willow, his sissy). This morning after dawn, we got more ibuprofen into him, fed him some pellets and fresh greens, and helped him stand on three legs for the first time. By the time we sent the flock out to the field, he was itching to get back to his mom and sister. We we’re going to carry him out and place him in the field, but…well, watch the video and see for yourself. 🥰