Desert Weyr Blog
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Winnie and the Rams
Winnie is in with the adult rams right now. She stays nice and warm among the woolly sheep. Continue reading
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The Backup Rams Are In
Yesterday, we got the two backup rams in with the ewes. Desert Weyr Kevyn is in with the live cover ewes. He immediately started sniffing and chasing them, and even tried to mount a few, but none of the ewes were in heat. Desert Weyr Kirk is the backup for the AI ewes. He went… Continue reading
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The Primary Ram Is Out
We got the primary ram, Desert Weyr Kai, out from the ewe pen late today. He’s the first ram for the control group of ewes. There will be no rams with them for the next two weeks, then we’ll put two backup rams in – one with the control group, and one with the AI… Continue reading
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The Winter Solstice
Farms mark the year by the solar calendar. The solstice is the traditional mid-winter festival that marks the return of the sun. For us, too, the solstice is turnaround time. The days when the sun seems to stand still are our time to reflect on the past year. We evaluate our accomplished goals and plan… Continue reading
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Big Snowstorm
We woke up to a lot of snow today. The ram lambs are covered in snow! A couple were just resting in their sheep nests. Cwningwn, AKA Bunny, was staying in her private house. She’s getting alfalfa pellets because she doesn’t have many teeth left. She’s by herself so the other sheep don’t steal her… Continue reading
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Sheep AI Experiment, 2009, Part Four: Inseminating the Ewe
It’s ewe insemination day. This is the insemination pipette. It’s a modified pig insemination device. It is carefully threaded into the ewe. Ken had to hold all of the ewes in the chute. Without a squeeze, this was the only way to control them. It worked fairly well, all things considered. Insemination is simple. We… Continue reading
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Quick Note-Taking Systems
A short recap: I needed a faster way to take notes during brainstorming sessions. After reviewing traditional shorthand, LiveScribe, and a few other choices, I narrowed my options down to EasyScript and QuickHand. To get a feel for the two systems, I bought two books off of eBay: EasyScript Express and the QuickHand Self-Teaching Guide.… Continue reading
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Sheep AI Experiment, 2009, Part Three: More Ram Collections
With the USDA folks back, it was time to collect semen again. This time, it will be a slightly different freezing protocol. Here you can see the rams in the sweep, ready to go. They are not happy – they know what’s coming. One ram, Desert Weyr Kai, got to go in with the ewes.… Continue reading
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A Solar Update
It’s been almost a year since we installed the solar hot water system. It provides both domestic hot water and supplemental heat for our radiant floor system. We learned several usage tricks early on, and they have not changed over time. We need to plan on doing most laundry and major hot water usage in… Continue reading
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RMPBS Signal, Lost in Translation
PBS is the only TV channel that we get with useful programs. They air real news via the Nightly Business Report and the News Hour, plus other interesting shows, documentaries, and entertainment. Unfortunately for much of rural America, the vaunted digital transformation is a joke. You see, a little-known exemption means that anyone who receives… Continue reading