I remember singing Come, Ye Thankful People, Come  in Elementary school every year around Thanksgiving.  My favorite part was this line: “ All is safely gathered in, ‘ere the winter storms begin.” I love winter storms ~  the November winds and sleet that come as the temperatures fall and the darkness overtakes the light, the snows that start in December and go until March. I channel my inner bear ~ sleeping is good! ~ and feel like I can purr as the warmth from the wood stove seeps into the house. Now, though, we have sheep, and quite frankly, I have no clue how much I need to “gather in” before the winter storms begin!  I thought, though, I’d share where we are as November begins! 

Betsie and Wilma are still their own small flock of sheep, which is okay for the moment since the main issue seems to be that Wilma is protecting Betsie ~ and Betsie definitely benefits from having a protector! So far, Wilma has run Cricket off multiple times and head-butted Mary away at least four times. Bella just keeps grazing. I’m still working toward acclimating them into one flock, though the progress is very slow. As my mother once told me, some things require micro-steps in nano-seconds! 

Lots of our efforts, though, have been trying to prep their stalls for winter, when they will spend more time inside than outside ~ especially Betsie and Wilma. John has “water-proofed” the doors and roof, which actually means he’s blocked a LOT of holes through which the water and wind used to just pour! As for me, after a lot of experimenting with different bedding combinations (straw, stall mats, pine shavings), I think I’ve finally arrived at a plan that I want to follow ~ at least to start the winter: stall mats for the stalls, with pine shavings on top of those and straw against the walls nearest the barn door leading to the pasture.  The stall mats provide insulation on top of the cement floors; the pine shavings are bedding that does a great job of absorbing urine, neutralizing the smell, and not weighing a ton when wet; and the straw will block any remaining holes that would let wind in.  

And this leads us back to “All is safely gathered in.”  Before I even think about gathering in bedding, I need hay. I have about 45 bales of hay that none of the sheep like. (No more second cutting hay for us!) I know I can use this as straw, so I’m not worried about straw. However, because I only have around 40 bales that they actually seem to like, I think I’ll need more hay. I’m on that next. We’ve purchased the stall mats, and they cover about three-quarters of both stalls, plus a nice piece of the play area. Then I need pine shavings (60 “bales,” which at four a week will last until March 15th-ish). We’ll have that after the next load comes in.  

That really sounds like we’re gathered in, doesn’t it? Or at least close. But I have no clue if this is all going to work or be enough! And then there’s the chickens, who need straw, and Tiger and Echo and Steve, who need straw. Oh and then there’s trying to get fresh water ~ unfrozen fresh water! ~ to them all every day… and… and… oh my. Perhaps I’ll just keep gathering.

Have a happy November!