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”
Category Archives: Hard truth
Goslings Arrive
We have goslings! The geese sat patiently on their eggs for most of April. One goose set herself up beneath some haying equipment, allowing us to leave her generally alone. Approaching the tarp-covered implement would invariably elicit a hiss. The second goose laid her eggs in the ram barn, right next to the rams whoContinue reading “Goslings Arrive”
Making a Few Changes
I’ve had a long-term struggle with this website and blog that I am finally ready to talk about. There is a conflict between my efforts to sell yarn and my efforts to sell meat. It seems like the folks who are here to see the sheep and the yarn aren’t always keen on meat, andContinue reading “Making a Few Changes”
Lambing Mixup
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”
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”
It will never be perfect
We called the vet yesterday afternoon for two sick sheep. One of our Border Leicester ewes lost her ability to use her hind legs a few days ago. Earlier this year, we had treated her for hoof issues. She limped for a while, even after the hooves had healed. We assumed that she was stillContinue reading “It will never be perfect”
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”
Real Talk About Selling Lamb
Our first year selling lamb at a larger scale is almost over. Time for an honest assessment of how our year has gone. Our initial plan was to build both retail and wholesale capacity in Boston and New York. We contacted several wholesalers and have one wholesale company to partner with. We have also madeContinue reading “Real Talk About Selling Lamb”
Honestly…
I really want to understand what is behind all of the meal-kit and meal-replacement services proliferating in my Facebook and Instagram feeds right now. When I started raising sheep, we were at the height of post-Omnivore’s Dilemma. Farmer’s Markets were peaking in popularity, and it felt like I’d have no trouble selling my products. SmallContinue reading “Honestly…”