We’ve been preparing for lambs over the last few days. Ever-rounder ewes have warned us that it’s time to plan. These are some of our most ostentatiously pregnant ewes: We started by placing our order from Premier 1 Supplies. We bought fresh new bottles and nipples for the inevitable bottle lambs, smore syringes and needles,Continue reading “Lambs Arrive”
Category Archives: Farm Photos
Lamb Open House – Y/N in 2021?
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?”
Sheep Behaving Badly
I have some entertaining pictures of recent sheep activity. After 45 days in the barn, the ewes express their restlessness with weird stunts. Activity #1 – Fighting BFL 129 Amelia and Border Leicester 1736 go head to head, with our resident ram lamb goading them on. Sheep flocks have a hierarchy, and apparently these girlsContinue reading “Sheep Behaving Badly”
Snow Too Soon
I’ll be the first to admit that we put off fixing the barn for too long. Though we have a wide-ranging array of skills, neither Matt nor I are woodworkers. Wood is a tricky medium – it warps, shrinks, grows and splits. Matt prefers metal, plastic and electronics, and I prefer spreadsheets and graphics. SoContinue reading “Snow Too Soon”
Responding To A World Without Festivals
Recently, I wrote about our anxiety about the cancellation of VT Sheep and Wool Festival and Rhinebeck. I’m glad the festivals were cancelled – we simply cannot risk joining each other in crowds during a pandemic. We’ve spent several weeks reimagining our sales efforts. We can’t rely on folks to come find our yarn, touchContinue reading “Responding To A World Without Festivals”
Bottle Lamb Shenanigans
This is a Covid-19-free post, so read and enjoy! We have a whole passel of bottle lambs in 2020. We have the two remaining ewe lambs from the quadruplet situation. We have a BFL ram lamb who never caught on to nursing his mother. We have a Border ram lamb who was rejected due toContinue reading “Bottle Lamb Shenanigans”
Shearing 2020
We had the sheep shorn today. Though it feels early in the year, we know we need to have the sheep shorn before lambs are due. The forecasts calls for continuing mild weather, so we aren’t concerned about cold or wind for now. The ewes were eager to itch all of the itchy places theyContinue reading “Shearing 2020”
Winter Chores
We have arrived successfully at the quietest time of year. The ewes are eating and gestating, quietly growing and waiting. The rams have calmed down and decided to get along again. Every morning, I put on my coat, hat and gloves and head to the barn. The ewes are eager to see me. They haveContinue reading “Winter Chores”
Pregnancy Checks and some Updates
With temperatures in the low single digits today, we are surely in the thick of winter. Last week, we finally received the replacement barn-ends that we ordered after the back of the barn tore in half during the Halloween storm. Unfortunately, Matt and I concluded that we won’t actually complete the repairs until spring. NeitherContinue reading “Pregnancy Checks and some Updates”
UnGlamorous
This is the unglamorous time of year. The two big Sheep and Wool festivals we do are over, and it’s time to get back to routine farmwork, All but the most stubborn leaves have blown off the trees and hit the ground. Frost has ceased the growth of the grass, so all grazing now isContinue reading “UnGlamorous”