No matter how much I pet them, my sheep crave attention. I have several who will stop at nothing for shoulder-scritches, up to and including the yearling ewe from my last blog post who now will try to stand on your chest for attention. Needless to say, but we are training her not to doContinue reading “Lamb Open House – Y/N in 2021?”
Category Archives: Farm Economics
Considering Sheep?
I often meet folks who are considering getting sheep. Many bashfully tell me that they only want a small flock and some seem to worry that they are wasting my time asking questions. Questions are never a waste of time! Judging from the kinds of questions that I see in sheep groups on Facebook, moreContinue reading “Considering Sheep?”
Our BFL Yarn is Here
I am so happy with the BFL yarn that came back from Battenkill Fibers this year. In past years, our BFL clip has been too small for me to send it to a mill. Bluefaced Leicesters are bred to have light fleeces. In the UK, this was done with the idea of reducing the fleecyContinue reading “Our BFL Yarn is Here”
How Haying Works
By request, here’s a basic primer on how haying works! First, some definitions: Hay is grass and grass stems that animals eat. It’s cut from fields that could also serve as pasture. Correctly made, hay provides most or all of the nutrients an animal needs to survive the winter. The best hay is greenish inContinue reading “How Haying Works”
Summer Arrives
Summer arrives to find the bobolinks have fledged from our neighbor’s hayfield. Three streaky brown birds making little plink calls were flitting and bouncing around the pasture I set up for the sheep. I’m grateful for the opportunity to provide habitat to this struggling species. We are so close to weaning time. I know the ewesContinue reading “Summer Arrives”
The Reality of Yarn
Don’t get me wrong. Playing with yarn gives me great joy. I love the texture, the sheepy scent, the slight dust of it. I love the whole sensory experience and I am always happy to have more yarn. This year, instead of having our yarn made into pre-measured skeins at the mill, we elected toContinue reading “The Reality of Yarn”
Lamb-burgers
Matt kept saying “MMMMMMM” when he tried this simple lamburger. It was hard to focus on my own lamb burger with all of the UMMM in the background. The richness of the lamb, the creamy tang of the cheese and the tart mineral of the capers blends into a delicious medley. As an aside –Continue reading “Lamb-burgers”
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”
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”