Today, 14 beautiful registered Border Leicester ewes joined the flock at the farm. Sue and Bruce Johnson came up from Hinesburg with some of their finest yearling and two-year-old ewes. The sheep are wide, square, clean and lovely. They represent decades of careful breeding and it’s really an honor to have them here. Sitting inContinue reading “The Wonderful Gift”
Category Archives: open-source shepherd
And We’re Out
July 1-4 – I am at a retreat at the Abbey of Regina Laudis, coping with the fact that we just bought a house in Albany, VT, just north of Craftsbury and Hardwick. July 5-12 – Every day, I wake up in Williston at 8, handle the sheep, cat and birds, and pack the carContinue reading “And We’re Out”
Saving the Best for Last
To our surprise and delight, the house we thought we might have to walk away from has been freed from bureaucratic encumbrance, and is ours again to buy. Some poor file clerk pulled the file again, found the missing document, and suddenly we were good to go. We close on Friday. About our new farm:Continue reading “Saving the Best for Last”
Still in Limbo
I’ve been away from the farm blog and our Facebook page dealing with sheep lately. We’ve been working hard at buying a farm, and it hasn’t gone particularly smoothly. I mentioned a farm in Brownington. It would have been a great farm, but we couldn’t come to an agreement with all of the parties whoContinue reading “Still in Limbo”
How to Evaluate a Potential Farm
I didn’t think it would be easy to find a farm. But I didn’t think it would be this hard, either! Matt and I have been looking at farms for over a year at this point. We know that we need about 50 open acres, and we just want a modest house. Our budget isContinue reading “How to Evaluate a Potential Farm”
The Problem with Sheep and Pickle
Matt and I are making steady progress in buying a property and establishing an enterprise on it. We have 25 more sheep reserved, we have found a property we are hoping to buy, and we have much of what we need to begin making hay as soon as we see some promising-looking land. ThereContinue reading “The Problem with Sheep and Pickle”
A New Breed
In my last post, I acknowledged the issue that has persisted in my flock for a number of years. I haven’t succeeded in getting them to be as productive as they need to be, and I’ve concluded that I’ll be better off working with a pure breed intended for the kind of farm we areContinue reading “A New Breed”
Off to the Auction
In my last post, I mentioned that we are actively gearing up to buy a farm, make our own hay, and raise sheep full-time. Yesterday, we went to the Rene Fournier Equipment Auction to search for useful implements for our farm. Picture a huge lot filled with new, used, and well-used equipment. A few title-lessContinue reading “Off to the Auction”
Progress
So we’ve gotten some results from the first round of testing. Little Moose and Marianne are on the low side of positive for CL. Bobolink is also on the borderline between exposed and potentially positive. Obviously, these are not the results we wanted to see. I admit that I considered some pretty drastic action. DoContinue reading “Progress”
The Aftermath
I took Valentine and Peggy to Vermont Livestock yesterday morning. I felt deep shame. I like to prepare for bringing sheep on their final trip. I want to do it knowing that their lambs are raised and independent, the sheep are fully healthy, and that the sheep are at peace knowing that the business ofContinue reading “The Aftermath”