Sweet Autumn

The rams went in with the ewes on October 6 and 7. Lambs will be due March 1, give or take a day. The ewes are split somewhat equally between Bull's Eye, at my dad's house with a group of 19 ewes; and Hurricane, at my house with 21 ladies. They'll switch places in a few weeks.

I'll wait a few weeks before putting rams with any of the ewe lambs. At least that was my plan. Twice now, the ram lambs have jumped over the gates to get to the young girls. If the girls lamb a little earlier than expected, it'll be okay. They're all big enough. Snow Wolf, my homegrown RR ram lamb, is anxious to be a father. So's the black ram. Well, really, all of them. They're young boys!

We weighed all the ewes before putting the rams in. George, my pet wether, tipped the scale at 206 lbs. I knew he was fat, but WOW! As for his condition score, it's probably 5 out of 5. I keep telling George that he needs to go on a diet, but he just ignores me. I might just have to put him on a treadmill.

Fall is my favorite time of the year for many reasons. I love breeding season because it is full of new hope. I enjoy the fall weather and the leaves changing colors. And, I'm a big football fan. Actually, a diehard Redskins fan. Their 2-3 start is nothing to be excited about, but I think they will do okay this year. They're in a tough division, so perhaps they won't make the playoffs, but as long as they're in the hunt, I'm a contented fan. I wouldn't be surprised if this is Joe Gibbs' last year as head coach. Most of us Redskin fans have Joe Gibbs up a pedestal. After all, he brought us three superbowl victories.

Basketball season isn't too far behind football season. I'm a big basketball fan, too, plus it's my favorite sport to play. The Washington Wizards, my home team, should be decent this year. Don't know about the University of Maryland. I've never been much of a fan of Maryland football, but I've always been a Terp basketball fan. I remember the year my Dad and I went to several Maryland games. During one game, we saw an unbelievable shooting exhibition by Ernie Graham. We went to a game a couple of years ago, too, when a colleague gave me a few tickets.

My parents got me interested in Dancing with the Stars. Apparently, Jerry Springer is still alive in the competition. He's hilarious. But, I'm rooting for Mario Lopez, from "Saved by the Bell." He's a natural dancer and has a good chance of winning, if he doesn't keep breaking the rules of the competition. His dimples don't hurt his case either! In a few months, another season of American Idol will start. I suppose I'll watch again. I sure enjoyed it last year. I was tempted to return to the Virginia State Fair to see Elliott Yamin, my favorite Idol, perform in his first concert.