I can’t think of a title for this post. Unplanned Tasks. Distracted by Other Stuff. Digging up Bones. What I did instead of weave or wrap presents. Sheep Skulls.

This is from two days ago. I remembered these sheepskins in the barn. We had three rams harvested in early December. I salted the hides and they cured like they are supposed to. But then I forgot about them. Last week we had a significant amount of rain and dampness for several days. The hides were in the barn and weren’t rained on, but the salt absorbs moisture from the air. These were very wet, including puddles of water on the skin where it wasn’t well supported. I took them outside and put them on racks that I tilted to help water drain. I knew if I put them back in the barn they’d be wet again overnight. I brought them to the house. Fortunately I have “the weaving house”, another house on the property that I have taken over for my projects. I spread them out there, and turned on the heater and the ceiling fan. I was going to box them and ship them yesterday, but decided that they weren’t quite dry enough to pack into a box since over the Christmas holiday there would be a delay before the box was open. I spread them out in the house again, but moved them into my sewing room (second bedroom) because my son and DIL just arrived from Idaho with their cats and dogs. They’ll be here a week. I’ll ship these hides the day after Christmas. The skulls on the upside-down tub are another story (below).

That evening I found a scrap of a sheep coat on the barn floor and knew that there must be more of the coat somewhere–hopefully not entangling a sheep with a fence or branch. I found SilverSun, the same lamb who featured in this post from December 6 with the same problem. The coat was around her middle so tight that it was difficult to get her front leg back through even bent at the knee. Eventually I got her out of the coat.

This one is not going on the repair pile. It’s not worth it.

I debated leaving her without a coat, but with only four weeks until shearing I hate to do that. None of the sheep are coated all year but she has worn a coat for several months.

I put this coat on her. I think it is a little snug and I hope that I don’t regret that, but I don’t want to risk her getting stuck in one again.

The skulls on the tub in the first photo are from the many skulls in the barn waiting for me to do something with them. I hosed those off and was letting them dry. Yesterday I decided to soak them in a peroxide solution to see if they would lighten up. That led to thinking about all the other skulls around. I have an email from someone who wants to find out about skulls AS IS without me trying to do all the extra work. I needed to figure out what I have and take photos.

I didn’t go into detail but this post of August 27 says that I found the ram, Townes, dead two days prior. There is a photo of him (alive). To be realistic about the farm as a business I need to try a salvage what I can from the sheep. A skull with four horns that size has real value–if it’s cured and cleaned properly. By the time I found Townes, it was too late to take his hide. We didn’t take the head at that time because it was so swollen I wondered if it would explode if I used a knife or saw. We buried the whole ram. I tied baling twine around a horn so I could keep track of where to dig later. I don’t have enough experience to know for sure how long bones should be in the dirt. I’m sure conditions of heat, moisture, and type of soil all have an effect. And this was more than bones–it was the whole sheep with skin and wool all intact. So that was four months ago.

Here is what the skull looks like after hosing it off. I was able to pull the outer horn off the bone. Now I have to figure out how best to thoroughly clean the skull. I have saved several recommendations. I think the first step is to make sure there is no more tissue–that may mean simmering (but paying close enough attention so it doesn’t come to a boil) for awhile first. That’s always challenging because I get distracted by doing other things. Even with a time set I may not pay close enough attention. This is the kind of thing that I’d be simmering outside and not on the kitchen stove. If that is successful, then there is degreasing in soapy water, then soaking in a peroxide solution. All of it will have to wait at least a week.

Then I decided to dig up the rest of the skulls I’d buried after harvest days throughout the summer. Many may have been in the ground too long. At least I should have pulled off the outer horns because they deteriorate faster than the skull. There is still tissue on some of these especially at the base of the skull. Some of the bones on the front of the face are missing. This is why I may sell them AS IS if someone else wants to tackle them. I feel like this is something that I should be able to do, but there is always something else I want to do too.

These two aren’t bad and I think I’ll experiment to see how well I can clean them.

Here are two more that are in worse condition.

I have many more in the barn from earlier in the year and there are still a few out back that I did not bury. I guess I should check on those.