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 Projects
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”
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”
Our Bountiful Wild Harvest
At Cloverworks Farm, we raise lamb as an enterprise plus chicken and ducks for our own use. We also have some wild foods on the farm – you may recall that a few months ago, we were hastily picking a variety of berries. Now is the harvest time for our apples, crabapples and rosehips. WeContinue reading “Our Bountiful Wild Harvest”
Cloverworks Farm in the Media
If you’ve ever ridden in the car with me, you probably know that I’m a bit of a public radio buff. I am a huge fan of VPR, and particularly of Brave Little State, which is a podcast about questions about quirky Vermont topics. Recently, a question I asked was featured on the program! MyContinue reading “Cloverworks Farm in the Media”
Doner Kebab
Have you ever experienced the magic that is a vertical stack of meat, slowly rotating and barbecuing, then shaved into a pita or flatbread with lettuce and sauce for eating? I have. In a perfect word, I would have a vertical Doner Kebab spit, but this is not a perfect world and I don’t tendContinue reading “Doner Kebab”
Berry Picking
Many days leave me feeling utterly spoiled. Even with a huge bruise on my leg from handling a lamb who didn’t want to be medicated and scratches on my arms from moving through rough brush, I feel like the most fortunate person alive. After a long day of work, I took a moment to walkContinue reading “Berry Picking”
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”