So my prayers for “not lambing” during our deepest cold last night were not answered. At maybe 2:30am, Matt woke me to say that he needed help in the barn. It was -15F out and one of our oldest BFL ewes, Kay, was lambing simultaneously with Wild Thing, a Border Leicester. Kay is 9, whichContinue reading “Lambing Mixup”
Category Archives: bluefaced leicester
Lambing Under Duress
Our exposed, West-facing hillside got 63mph winds with 52mph sustained gusts. Combined with raw, cold snow, the weather is absolutely brutal right now. We can feel every crack, fissure and draft in our house. It is cold indoors and worse outdoors. Much worse. So I was worried about what I’d find in the barn. Mostly,Continue reading “Lambing Under Duress”
An Ice Storm
Last night, we could hear the logging trucks trying to drag their loads up the temporary road. At the top if the hill, the skidder helped pull the truck onto the ice-covered road using its chained tires. The logging job is almost done, but our logger is scrambling to get the crop off the fieldContinue reading “An Ice Storm”
The Snow Came
Did you wake up today, look outside, and then decide to say in? Or was it time to go to work anyway? On the farm, it’s time to go to work anyway. After all, the sheep are already up, working hard at growing beautiful lambs, so the least I can do is put on someContinue reading “The Snow Came”
We Went to Rhinebeck
This post should have been part of a series of posts where we prepare for Rhinebeck, talk about our journey getting our stock together, and then go. I didn’t get that done. Picture me weighing and packaging just-finished roving from the flock the night before I left, because that’s about the pace things were taking.Continue reading “We Went to Rhinebeck”
Porcupine
Poor 1616. When I saw her this morning, I thought she must just have some lingering frost on her nose. But closer inspection showed that she in fact had a dozen porcupine quills stuck in her nose! My working theory is that the porcupine came to dine on the salt I put out for theContinue reading “Porcupine”
A Big Opportunity
A while ago, I had thought to put in my application for a booth at Rhinebeck (formally, the New York State Sheep and Wool Gathering) because I had heard that it could take a decade to get a booth. So I figured I’d just send applications their way for a few years while I putContinue reading “A Big Opportunity”
Going to the Vermont Sheep and Wool Festival
It is that time of year again! We are headed to the Vermont Sheep and Wool Festival, where we have 350 skeins of Border Leicester yarn to sell along with many other fiber goodies. For starters, both my Northern Borders and Derby Line yarns have been selling well. Even though the Montpelier Farmer’s Market isn’tContinue reading “Going to the Vermont Sheep and Wool Festival”
Farm Truths
Just some fun farm facts that are on my mind right now: Sixty percent of all sheep photos look like this, or the sheep are little specks in the distance. They don’t like to be in any of the space between bonking into you and escaping your visual field. This is how your sneakers willContinue reading “Farm Truths”
So Much Going On
I’m afraid this will have to be one of those bullet-point affairs: We got a couple of additional BFLs from Ohio last weekend in order to grab the last available breeding-age ewes from a breeder who sold out her flock three years ago. They are MAGNIFICENT but don’t seem to particularly want to be photographed.Continue reading “So Much Going On”