Well, things had to slow down sometime! At least for a while...We had the last of the purebred lambs for now. We didn't loose too many this year. Which is good! They all seem to be pretty healthy and happy and the mud doesn't seem to keep them from playing at all! I could sure do without though. Keeping three small children out of the mud on the way to the car seems to be a lost cause. The Valentine's day detail lasted longer than a bouquet of flowers or box of chocolates...but can't last forever! I think I can hear Spring coming! And boy am I ready! More later!

I'll be Baa-ck!
Lola Wooly

The Six-O'Clock Dinner Club showed up just as we were finishing frying up some lamb chops (what else!?). As we were setting up the feed line a faint but unmistakable noise could be heard coming from the back of the house. "Did I just hear a LAMB in the Bathroom?" Well, it is that time of year again! With the new lambs always comes at least one BUM. The cute kind of Bum. This one happened to be a little all black ewe lamb, now named "Pretty" by Miss Chloe. The kids had a day off of school and so did their cousin from across the Wyoming border. We had a sleep over and a lunch on the town with others in the family. We stayed as long as we could stand, surrounded by seven small children, and then headed home. The first thing we noticed when we got home was Dad washing dishes in his coveralls. Upon further inspection we noticed that it wasn't dishes in the sink. Dad had brought home the first bummed lamb of the season. When a momma ewe can't or won't take care of their lambs we say the lamb has been Bummed, hence calling the lambs bums, or bummers. The boys were on such a mission to hit the sled slopes again that they didn't even notice until the second time thru the kitchen! The girls were a different story. They had grabbed a chair and were right there under foot lending all the moral support one could ask for. "Pretty", as she is now known, was born only a few hours earlier. For whatever reason her momma didn't tend to her. She had been cleaned off but not suckled and she was COLD. Half frozen to be exact. Which brings me to why she was in the sink. Albert got to her just in time to see that she wasn't being tended to and wasn't doing well. He brought her home to be given a warm bath to bring her body temperature up and to try to get some warm milk in her.  After about 20 minutes of rubbing in the warm water and re-warming the water several times she was dried off and placed in the kid's bathroom with a heater to dry off and stay warm. Albert then went back down to finish feeding and check the rest of the lambs. He milked some colostrum from the momma to bottle feed to the baby (colostrum is the pre-milk that is thick and rich in vitamins and protein to give new-born babies a good start). It only took a minute for the baby to figure out how to work the bottle and after a warm bath, warm food in her tummy and LOTS of excitement in her first few hours she slept like...well... a baby! Now if we could just contain the girls' enthusiasm to help feed her EVERY 5 Minutes! Today "Pretty" got a new neighbor (I think they named the new one "Baby") and we have two bum lambs in the tub. It won't be long and they will both get stronger and demand more space. Hopefully we can get them back out to another ewe soon! Too bad we started lambing so soon, the in-laws usually have a goat or two that has kidded and can help out with feeding bums! But, that is a story for another time! So until then...

I'll be Baa-ck!
Lola Wooly

Yesterday started out UGLY. Aside from the morning Valentine kiss and a good lunch with Great friends, the day was gloomy. The daily trip to the Winter Range to feed the herd was postponed due to Highway closures. The wind and snow had drifted parts of the Highway so much so that it was impassable and the visibility was next to nothing. That did make it possible for Dad to take in an early lunch with his "Girls", but it also made for a long, late day.  By the time lunch was finished the road had been cleared and was again open. Albert headed down with a load of pellets to see how bad the road in to camp was and to feed. After busting through several drifts, getting caught in one was inevitable! Dig, Dig & Dig is all you can do! He was able to manage getting out of the drift, feeding the sheep and getting back to the highway in one piece! On visiting with the herder (this one is from Peru, as most of our sheep herders tend to be!) he learned just how bad it had gotten in the night. Jose (the herder!) had to dig out a group of about 25 ewes that had huddled together in the storm. They had literally been buried alive by the drifting snow. He was able to dig out all but two that were still alive. Two had suffocated in the snow and two more weren't doing too well. Time will tell if those two make it or not. This winter's hardships are becoming more and more evident in the livestock as well as wildlife in the area. We have been in a drought for some years now and these types of events have softened in our memories. Grandpa Clair remembers past winters and this one is mild by some comparisons. In one winter somewhere in the 50's, down by our winter permits, a neighboring herd was also buried alive by blowing and drifting snow. The BLM had brought in equipment to clear a road in to the herd. A group of 4-5 guys (Clair included) took team of horses in with a sled. Where they saw steam rising they would shovel out a sheep. They would then load them on the sled to be pulled to an area where the snow wasn't so deep.
Hopefully this is the last "nasty" storm for us on the winter range this year. This country really needs the moisture and we'll be thankful for that. However, we can be just as thankful with a slow melt and some sunshine! Not to mention...we haven't seen how MUCH snow is in our high country yet! I for one am looking forward to a great Spring! Did someone say....MUD!

I'll be Baa-ck!
Lola Wooly

I just finished the last post and looked at the time...it's tomorrow! Happy Valentine's Day! Enjoy the day, I know the kids & are going to do some fun things to celebrate. We'll keep you all posted if we have any lambs born on the day of love!
I'll keep this one Short & Sweet, just like our wishes for you all this day of St. Valentine!

I'll be Baa-ck
Lola Wooly

Just kidding! We started a nice run of sunny, warm (mid 30's) weather and would have kept melting quite nicely, but what's that I see outside? Yep...it's snowing again!
I drove across icy, snowpacked roads to deliver a lamb order to Denver and drove home on mostly melted wet roads. I'm glad I won't be anywhere near them tonight when all that running water freezes! On the bright side, we have another day to get all the snow that is piled up behind the house moved before it really starts melting and floods the place!
Just a quick update if you have been watching the calendar. You may have noticed a couple of OOPS! We are starting to get quite a few early lambs. The first little bugger was born Feb. 1st & he sure is full of himself. Now that he has 10 others to keep him company they are having a ball. The real Lola Wooly had a speckled little ewe lamb on the 4th of February! Keep an eye out for pictures!  I'm thinking we'll get them on the site soon! I'd love to try out the US version of Adopt-A-Lamb! The Scottish version is quite a kick! Stay tuned!

I'll be Baa-ck!
Lola Wooly

So Monday morning we wake up to at least 4 more inches of snow!  By this time we are feeding the herd on the winter range, thanks to the snow being too deep for them to dig down thru it to get to the grass & brush. We have had FIVE new baby lambs in the purebreds in town, which by the way, is WAY early for that! Some sneaky little buck must have jumped a fence last Fall before it was time to get put in with the ladies! And on top of that...the elk have moved in. Don't get me wrong, elk are beautiful! That is until they move in on you and start harassing your livestock and horses to get to the hay they are being fed. Which ends up being the hay that the elk have now eaten. We have even started feeding earlier in the day to give the sheep a chance to eat & get out of the way for when the elk move in. A herd of about 100 head tend to trample the smaller sheep when they move in to the pens to eat, and remember those five new lambs!!! Not to mention the damage they inflict on otherwise good fences. So we are watching the weather channel, surprise...more snow in the forecast, and it's going to be cold. So much for that January thaw we usually get. That's when the husband says "When is it going to stop snowing!!???" Of course he is the one who gets to drive 90 miles in it every day to feed the herd, tromp thru it twice a day to feed the sheep that we keep on the 40 acres at the house, plow the driveways and pasture to be able to feed the horses, shovel the path for Kelton to feed the rabbits and occasionally shovel the walks as well.  It's no wonder that when my reply was "Just think February and March are typically the Snowiest months..." he rolled his eyes like a professional teenage girl and muttered something about me being Smart_ _ _ under his breath as he headed out to shovel some more!

On a positive note to all of this snow...provided that it doesn't all melt too fast...we have over 100% of the normal snowpack. That should help fill ponds, grow grass and alleviate some of the stress that the drought has had on this country for several years now. And my final thought for today!!! We do live in the Rocky Mountains...when all this snow melts...the Coors Brewing Company makes Beer out of it!

I'll be Baa-ck!
Lola Wooly

Welcome Everyone! We are glad to have you with us!

There isn't anything resembling a "set schedule" around here! Our lives revolve around raising sheep and raising our four children. Often our computer time is limited to late nights and sometimes we are away from it for days at a time. That being said...we will try to keep our "diary" up as up to date as possible! Keep an eye on it and we'll share as much about the day to day ranch life as we possibly can!

I decided to start this ranch diary due to the overwhelming interest we have received in our busy ranch life, and the livestock that we raise, since starting this site. General interest is now being peaked by knowing just what it is that we are putting on the table anymore! We are no different here. We want to raise the best product that we can for our family's table as well as yours.

I'll keep the welcome short and I promise to try to keep you as up to date as possible with all that is the life and  business of Villard Ranch! And I'll have a little fun doing it! That's where Lola comes in! (Thanks for helping pick a great name Grandma Bonnie! Half 2006 Fair lamb/Half fun Surname!!!) I hope you enjoy the ramblings that are sure to follow! Be sure to keep an eye on us here, you never know just what you might learn!

I'll be Baa-ck!
Lola Wooly (aka Melody Vilard)