PICS FROM AWESOME ASS ACRES!

Hello again, everyone!!  I feel like I might need to re-introduce myself!!  I've been soooo busy here, it seems that every time I think of posting an update of what I'm doing, something else happens to keep me from it!!  We've had hay baling, garden chores, canning, some illness (with my sweet mother-in-law), my gosh, when I think of everything, I give out! 
Well, I've also managed to paint some, but not as much as I'd like.  I thought with this post, I'll show some of our critters here at AWESOME ASS ACRES...

One of our sweet, egg laying machines...from a flock of 8 Golden Comets!

Our front sheep pasture...looking out from our front porch, on our little piece of paradise!

Our WONDERFUL flock of guineas...insects don't have a chance!!

One of our 3 Boxers...AWESOME BONNIE JANE DOE (BONNIE for short) and my sweet, sweet Soapy...she was a tiny feral kitten when our son, Jordan brought her home after finding her at the car wash! 

I will post again soon...since I have dial up, it's sooooo hard to down load pics, but I love to blog and hope you'll stop in again!!

WHERE to begin???

I can't believe it's been so long since I've posted, but...there's been gardening, camping, riding in the mountains, keeping the grandbaby, camping, riding in the mountains, keeping the grandbaby...oh, I think I've repeated myself, well...you know I have turned 54 since I last posted, and you can see by the sequence of events, what my priorities are!! :-) 

Is it hot where you are??  I know the last few days it's been in the high 90's here and we're in the mountains.  Humidity, heat, sweat (that, I hate) has kept us in the house for the most part.  We go out and do our chores early in the morning, but we're back in the house ASAP.  We went camping for a week at Cades Cove about 2 weeks ago and had to have cover at night...saw 11 bears - 3 momas with babies and a big male.  Met up with a mule buddy (Lynda Carr) and she brought her mules over from Sevierville and we rode the Cove trail one day.  Ten miles, 5 hours in the saddle with my stirrups too short...knees hurt that evening, but was fine the next day.  Went riding again with her this last Friday, took my saddle, rode 12 miles, 6 hours in the saddle and went up 5000' elevation...Rich Mountain trail out of Cades Cove...BEAUTIFUL overlooks and views of the Cove and Tuckaleechee Valley, cool but humid AND NOT sore a bit (guess this ol' gal's still got it!)!!  Wonderful memories with a great friend!  All's great here at AWESOME ASS ACRES...the hens are laying, the rooster's crowing, the peahen's settin' (YEA!!), the peacock's struttin', (in fact, I think he's in love with me...he fans his tail feathers every time I'm around), the mules are braying, horses neighing, the goat and sheep are bleatin' and we're all healthy!!  We're having fresh tomatoes, squash, beans, cucumbers from the garden, so we're eating good AND I forgot to mention that we have a new lamb.  He was born while we were camping, but he's healthy and cute as a button...black and white, just like Ray, our ram.  BTW, we're calling him FAA, to add to the others -- Doe, Ray, Mee! 

I've also been painting "in my spare time"...several ACEO's, a couple of guineas on old roofing slates, and I'm trying my hand at a "Paint Your Own Painted Pony".  I should have it finished and listed on Ebay by the end of the week. 

Last, but definitely not least, we've had Alayna (our 2 1/2 yr. old grandbaby) visit twice in the last month!  Her mom and dad (our son and his wife) are expecting another little one in December.  Mom's doing great now, but had a few days of needing a little extra rest, so.....we were the chosen ones to entertain that sweet little girl and entertain we did!!  Barbies, coloring books, story books, feeding chickens, gathering eggs, building blocks, painting, playing in the wading pool, cuddling in the rocking chair, taking naps, telling tales, a whole lot of laughing and of course, the BIG thing...riding in the golf cart around the farm, was our daily routine while she was here!  Too much fun AND soooo looking forward to her next visit!!  Take care, God bless and happy trails from AWESOME ASS ACRES!!  I'll be posting pictures soon!!

ONE WORLD ONE HEART GIVEAWAY...Fun for ALL!!

I can't believe that it's been a year, but the time has come for another "ONE WORLD ONE HEART" giveaway!  This wonderful event is promoted to help fellow bloggers connect and it's a FUN way to meet friends and associates that share the same hobbies, ideas and interests!! 
You can see that my blog reflects life here at our farm, "AWESOME ASS ACRES".  The namesake of our farm and my studio (MagicalMuleFolkArt) is our sweet, smart, spotted Appaloosa mule, King Solomon.  We've raised him from birth and show him throughout the southeast.  My art is inspired by Solomon, along with the many other farm animals (chickens, guineas, peafowl, horses, mules, sheep, goats, dogs and cats) here AND by frequent visits by wildlife...deer, fox, raccoon, oppossum, coyote, skunk... 

My giveaway item is a handpainted wooden sign, with a sheep on the front.  It will come ready to hang with a piece of latigo on back!

The creator of this idea is, Lisa Swifka, of "A Whimsical Bohemian"...she started the event in 2007 and now, the participation is global!  My first year to participate was 2009 and I've met some wonderful on-line friends through the process!  To join our "Magic Carpet" ride, just follow the easy steps below...

Rules for One World - One Heart Giveaway:


1. The giveaway starts today, 1/25/2010 and ends at 11:59 PM on 2/15/2010...I will use "Random Generator" to choose the winner, then announce the name on my blogsite on 2/16/2010.


2. EASY to enter...just leave a comment here on my blog and you will be in the drawing!


3. EVERYONE is invited to participate! If you don't "blog", just leave your email address, so I can let you know if you win.


4. Be sure and check out the list of participants at:  http://awhimsicalbohemian.typepad.com/a_whimsical_bohemian/
and visit all the other artists that are involved...SOOO MUCH TALENT, SOOO LITTLE TIME!

**BE SURE TO "FOLLOW" MY BLOG!!  I will be offering other giveaways in the future!!
Take care and GOOD LUCK!!
Sharon Anderson ~~~ Magical Mule Folk Art Studio

2 @ 52...Who Knew??

Who knew I'd be a moma again at 52 (53 next week!)?? Yes, we've been given 2 more lamb babies this week from a friend in Knoxville! He called on Wednesday night and said that he'd had 2 sets of triplets born...one set on Tuesday and the other on Wednesday. Due to the circumstances that I've posted before, lambs grow better when there's just two...I said yes, of course, so now we have 3 babies. I met him near Knoxville yesterday, (Thursday) and picked them up. Doe is the first of my "herd"...3 months old and growing like a weed and now, Ray and Me-Me! Get it...Doe, Ray, Me...!! Ray and Me-Me are soooo tiny and soooo sweet! Ray is the black and white spotted male and Me-Me is the white female! Since they're only a couple of days old, I'm feeding them a bottle EVERY 4 hours, yes, that's day and night! Oh, how I've forgotten nightly feedings and HOW WONDERFUL breast feeding was!! These babies are still fragile with their digestion and there's alot that could go wrong, so PLEASE wish me luck!! I'm one that gets really attached to these critters around AWESOME ASS ACRES and I don't want to lose one! I've posted pics (that's normal for a proud new mom, right??), so let me know what you think!!

AHHHH!! New Baby at AWESOME ASS ACRES!

Okay, all you sheep folks out there...pleeeease, you've got to get involved with my blog this time and LEAVE COMMENTS, SUGGESTIONS, IDEAS...!! Last year, we found the perfect place to buy bulk feed for our critters...while there several months ago, I met a super nice guy that raised Kahtadin and St. Croix sheep. He was filling his containers at the same time as we were, when our conversation turned to our animals. I'm always asking questions about different farm animals, so we hit it off discussing sheep, mules, chickens...Long story short...he explained that when lambing started, he always dreaded when a ewe produced triplets. Apparently, two are best and the third had to be bottle fed for optimum growth. I mentioned that our sweet pygmy nanny goat, Blossom needed a buddy to share her pasture with and he offered one of the next triplets born. Welllll, that happened 3 weeks ago and as of Wednesday, 2/18/09, we're now bottle feeding and raising a very cute, baby lamb. She's snow white, but she reminds me so much of a baby deer...we've decided on the name, "Doe"! I'm feeding her twice a day now and she weighs about 15 pounds. PLEASE BE SURE TO POST ANY COMMENTS OR SUGGESTIONS ABOUT THIS TYPE OF SHEEP OR ANY OTHER, FOR THAT MATTER...this is my first lamb, EVER, so I need input!! I'll be posting pics soon!! Thanks ahead for any info!!