And I sold lots of yarn, batts and pelts. Saturday started off with lots of visitors inspecting the goods, but few purchases. I was anxious that no one would be in a buying mood! But suddenly around 12:30, an unheard “buy-things-now” alarm went off and suddenly 4 pelts, a pile of yarn and half ofContinue reading “We Went to the Festival”
Category Archives: economics
More Sheep and Wool Festival Preparation
Just a taste of what I’m bringing to the Vermont Sheep and Wool Festival this year. I have about 100 skeins of yarn, hot off the mill(?), soft, huggable pelts from lambs and adults, hand-carded batts, some natural and some hand-dyed, and patterns. My mom wrote a nifty new cowl pattern that we are excitedContinue reading “More Sheep and Wool Festival Preparation”
Chorizo!
The much-anticipated Chorizo is here! It’s not like the Merguez we made in June. Without the benefit of added pork fat that we put in the Merguez, this sausage is, frankly, more like ground meat in a tube than sausage. Cooking it is a delicate affair, since fat creates juiciness and crispness. On the upside,Continue reading “Chorizo!”
Preparing for the Vermont Sheep and Wool Festival
Somehow, getting ready for my second Vermont Sheep and Wool Festival seems like it will be more challenging than the first. First, I am not currently certain whether I will have yarn or not for the show. With three weeks to go, it would be helpful to know if yarn is happening or not. Continue reading “Preparing for the Vermont Sheep and Wool Festival”
The Tractor
Matt and I bought a tractor last weekend. Here it is, sitting at home! (Weird pyramid in the background? Our ingenious method for storing 800 lb square bales!) Owning a tractor will make a huge difference in my ability to manage the summer feed for the sheep. Mowing suppresses parasite populations and encourages tender regrowth.Continue reading “The Tractor”
Exploring the Pasture
I talk a lot about moving sheep from one pasture to another, but not much about what’s actually in those pastures. While we may picture sheep just munching huge mouthfuls of grass, their actual eating habits are very much the opposite. Sheep move around the pasture selecting the tenderest, freshest morsels while completely ignoring oldContinue reading “Exploring the Pasture”
MSWF Part II – At The Festival
(read Part 1, if you haven’t yet!) We were up at 6:30 for a second day in a row (well, I get up at 5:45 almost every day, but still). We were out of the hotel before the continental breakfast was out, so we made do with IHOP. The traffic reached the festival before weContinue reading “MSWF Part II – At The Festival”
MSWF Part I – The Bos-Wash
It happened. I’m still recovering. We started on Thursday with takeout and our master planning session. How would we load the sheep? How would we give them water? What time would we need to get to the festival? You can try to lay out a plan in 15 minute increments, but good luck carryingContinue reading “MSWF Part I – The Bos-Wash”
Some Fond Farewells
The tough part about bringing in some new sheep is having to part with a few old friends. When I reserved two new Bluefaced Leicester rams, I knew that Cinder’s days on my farm were numbered. As delightful as he is a companion, he doesn’t have the value of a purebred, registered ram with productionContinue reading “Some Fond Farewells”