Preparations

Every summer, we have the sheep sheared. It is probably the longest farming day of the year. The day starts early and lasts until every animal has their wooly coat removed. We just made the appointment with the shearers Kevin Ford and Bruce Clement. They are coming on July 14th. By then, everything has to be in order. I can feel the tension building as The Farmer hopes for good, dry weather and tries to erect some kind of temporary, wacky shade shelter that has to last only one day.

As you know, the sheep have been up the road on our neighbor’s hill for weeks now. The fields surrounding our farmhouse have been looking rather neglected because the animals haven’t been around to graze. Honestly, how much can 30 grazing chickens do – nothing compared to 200 sheep.

And so in preparation for shearing and for some much needed mowing, we moved the sheep down the hill to our place yesterday afternoon in the heat of the day. The Farmer made sure the sheep were good and hungry so they wouldn’t mind being moved from their most recent home.

Here they are peacefully hanging out before the move. They knew something was up because I was there along with the two dogs.

Here’s the group bunching up – you can see The Farmer and Nessie on the far side.


After a few false starts and wrong turns, they found the road we wanted them to be on and off they went.


We knew they would stop at our neighbor Joanne's hay field - that green grass is simply irresistable. It was a rather long stop for some snacks.

I waited patiently down at the shed, hoping I could move them in the right direction. It's pretty hard for one woman to control 200 sheep. I stopped them from going back up the road which was key.


They found our garden and front yard more alluring than the field we wanted them to be in. After some nibbles on the grapevines and lollipop hydrangeas.......


Then they went where they were supposed to and The Farmer fenced them in with the temporary electric fences.

It surely feels nice to have them back here - they look so splendid in full coat grazing the overgrown pasture.

Otherwise around here, we're trying to duck all the rain and thunder and lightening. I am terrified of my computer being zapped by lightening so it seems to be off more than on. The rain has made the planting of the sunflower field very slow. It is too wet to get on. Some of the seed has germinated but the large part of it hasn't even been planted. I fear we won't have as many flowers as usual. Haying has also proved difficult - too much rain daily that it makes cutting impossible. We'll see if it dries out soon..... Then we will madly plant it and hope for the best.

And so, as most Americans celebrate the 4th of July, we will be too - only we'll be fitting in a picnic in between raindrops and farm chores. Hope you enjoy the long weekend!

Country Happenings

The sunflower field has been plowed and harrowed. Last weekend, The Farmer began planting the seeds. Between Sunday and Tuesday, the rain came down in buckets. Nothing compared to the people in the Midwest, but more than enough to rectify the dry ground of last week. There’s a real possibility that the seeds all washed away or will rot before they germinate. There is a reason he never starts planting until late June – the field can quickly become a quagmire and you have to start all over again. Time will tell…..

Early this morning there was a loud knock on the door. That usually means only one thing – the sheep are out. I ran upstairs to find some clothes and let The Farmer do the “Come on in” thing. When I got back downstairs, I found out that the sheep weren’t out. It was just Brad Baker delivering our annual invitation to the Landowner’s Barbeque put on by the Vermont Coyote Association. It’s an annual “thank you” for allowing the hunters "the privilege to use our land for their sport."

I’m dying to go to one of these events, but every year, I seem to have some other obligation. Once again, I've got to miss it this year. It's such a social contrast to last weekend in NJ sitting around a pool eating chips and dip. I’m sure the menu will be similar, it’s just the people who will have different interests.

Two weeks ago, the coyotes knocked down the electric fence and killed two ewes and that sweet little black lamb that was born up on the hill that I told you about not too long ago. It seems like a fine arrangement we have with the coyote hunters – there’s always plenty of coyotes around and no matter how many they manage to hunt, more still prey on our sheep every year.

The sheep are working their way down the giant hill they are grazing. Every evening, the fence gets moved a little giving them more grass to eat. The coyotes haven't been back since that night a couple weeks ago. It's hard to keep everything safe - we just try our best and deal with what nature throws our way.

Sunday

Early Sunday morning calls relayed the news of a sheep escape. Three quarters of the flock were grazing a fresh field up the road. The fence was down and tangled but fixable. Who knows why - they looked peaceful and happy enough Saturday evening. Must have been up for a late night adventure.

Late Sunday afternoon, before the escapees started grazing, we all went to move them back with their friends. Julia and I were awaiting their arrival patiently - doing what we were told.... The sheep were a half mile up the hill. They knew they weren't where they should be.... It was a matter of The Farmer taking Phoebe and Nessie to boss them back towards where they should be.

Here they come.


Then they stopped dead in their tracks when they saw us blocking the road.

The Farmer was taking his sweet old time for a leisurely walk down the hill. Upon his arrival and a "Hey! Ho!" off they went. You see that arm flapping thing he is doing? Before our dogs, we both did that a lot - It would take a couple hours of arm flapping to capture a small flock. With two collies you can do that amount of work in about two minutes.


Things were getting back to normal. Phoebe puts any dreams of sheep escape to rest.


The sun was setting and they found the rest of their friends.

Way Up There

Just up our road there's a really large hill that is owned by our neighbors. They don't have their dairy cows anymore and so the land isn't being actively grazed. This hill is massive.


It can be seen from all over our county - a patch of green amongst the woodlands. We are lucky enough to be able to hike the hill frequently. And quite a hike it is. I just don't know how the dogs fly up it at warp speed - looking back at me saying - "Come on, what's taking you so long."

Our sheep have been helping out with the mowing of the hill. They started all the way at the bottom. Every day, The Farmer moves the fences just a bit higher. Now they are so high, you can't even see them anymore.


This weekend it was perfectly beautiful. Julia and I made the trek up the hill and helped move the fences even higher. As we climbed higher and higher, the sheep eventually came into view.

I looked at them and couldn't believe the luck - puffy clouds and puffy sheep in full fleece. It was pretty magical.


And then, amongst them all, a brand new little black lamb born to a yearling ewe. Very bright and doing beautiful up there, enjoying the view.


Lucky sheep. Lucky us. Hope you too had a lovely long weekend. Aaahhhhhh, back to the every day.

Sheep in Massachusetts, Wales, and Spain

Our sheep are looking like they are living in Ireland. The grass is so green and lush and almost electric looking at different times of the day as the light shifts, shines, and fades.


I just finished a fabulous book by Horatio Clare called Running for the Hills. It is about a young boy and his brother growing up on his mother's sheep farm in Wales. The writing is so beautifully phrased and the story is brilliantly told. If you have a fascination for farming and escaping the rat race, I highly suggest it. Even if you don't, you will still love it. I didn't want the book to end. Interesting review here.


These sheep are so quietly grazing somewhere in a lobby of a building. How funny they are constructed of phone cords and rotary dial telephones. There's a whole flock of them here. I think they may be in Spain but perhaps someone can tell me. Via Make:blog.

Finding Green

We had a big job to do this past weekend which ended up taking the better part of three days. The sheep were in constant jailbreak mode and something had to be done. From the photo above, I can hardly blame them. The supplemental hay just wasn't doing it for them. It's spring, and they demand green grass. The Farmer hitched up his trailer and started to attempt to move all 200 sheep complete with many little lambs to a neighbor's field that is large and full of plenty of grass for the sheep to eat.

His first attempt, with Nessie's help was quite successful - the sheep didn't realize what was happening and about 25 hopped on the trailer. He was hoping the rest would continue partcipating in the project but they were on to him. The next batch numbered about ten and he became frustrated. I could tell he needed help.

Off Phoebe and I went to see if we could help. Phoebe is our Border Collie who really doesn't want to be a sheep dog. She decided long ago that her calling was as my companion and chicken herder - she has never wanted much to do with sheep. We got her when Julia was almost a year old and the breeder chose her for us because she wanted a pup that would be good with a small child. Things were busy back then and we had Paisley, our first Border Collie who was full of natural talent and lived to herd sheep. With dogs, there is always a pecking order and Phoebe naturally became subservient to Paisley. Our life was quite crazy back then, crazier than now and The Farmer never got to properly training Phoebe - it was always just easier to take Paisley out and get the job done lickety-split.

After Paisley died, we knew we had to find a new dog that would really help with the sheep. We got Ness hoping that she would have talent - but she was just a pup. Miraculously, with Paisley gone, Phoebe started taking interest in the sheep and the sheep started to notice her. They started moving for her and she started to enjoy it a bit. It was clear that she was much happier to work when I was around - she feels more confident, I think.

Nessie is now almost three years old. She's got more power and enthusiasm for working sheep than Phoebe but together they have become a little team. When they go to a field together, the sheep definitely begin to move. Their working style is different - Nessie works in closer with Phoebe staying back. They both will lay down on command and things get done quickly. They seem to be more efficient when they are both working together. They're very far from being much of a talented team (like the dogs of Dave Kennard - read about his fabulous dog Mist here) but they sure are helping us out moving lots of sheep around.

Several trips with a trailer full of sheep were needed to get the flock onto their new pasture. As you can see, there wasn't much to eat on the old pasture. Here the sheep are coming over the rise with the dogs behind them.


Each load was between fifteen to twenty-five sheep. When they got to the new pasture, they hopped on out and start eating, as if nothing happened.

Over the course of three days, we had almost all of them moved. This is always tricky because nursing lambs get separated from their mamas no matter how hard you try. By Sunday, there was about fifty sheep left to go. The ones that were left were the most stubborn and wild including The Jumper. ("The Jumper" can jump any fence, no matter how high and she is constantly where she shouldn't be. She makes good lambs so we keep her around and try to put up with her quirkiness.) We knew it would be a challenge. The Farmer set up the fences to form a funnel so that we could crowd them all closer to the trailer. Lucky for us, David and Debbie, Mark's brother and sister-in-law, were around and they helped the three of us and the two dogs capture the last hold-outs. We must have been a funny site - 4 adults, 2 dogs and a child circling the band of rogue, wet and bedraggled sheep.

They're all much happier now - eating lots of fresh green grass.

Phoebe and Ness were definitely the stars of the weekend. It would be impossible to move this many sheep without a good dog or two around.

We've had a lot of dogs in our lives, between The Farmer and I, including four Border Collies. Every one is completely different with their own personality traits and habits. We have loved them all for their quirkiness and constant devotion. If you are new to my blog and you love dogs, you may enjoy an essay about Paisley here.

Jailbreak

For the past week, the phone has been ringing early in the morning. When it rings that early in the springtime, it is usually one thing – the sheep have escaped their fencing and they are grazing on greener pastures. Traffic jams ensue usually including the school bus. Even in the country, people drive too fast, talk on their cell phones simultaneously and don’t pay attention. I guess when they come upon lots of sheep in the middle of the road, it may make them slow down some… at least I hope so. Definitely good for water cooler conversation.

The Farmer’s brother and sister-in law are extremely patient. Our sheep winter in our greenhouse barn across the road from their dairy farm. I guess they are used to people stopping by and telling them the sheep are out. We also have pastures for grazing near our barn but not enough grass for the number of sheep we have. In early spring, the grass hasn’t really started growing at any great rate. It is a challenge to keep the sheep fenced in. Even though they have plenty of food to eat including hay for supplemental food, they always want what’s outside their fence. It's all about the food for sheep.

This was the scene this morning as I arrived with the two Border Collies. The sheep were having a grand old time on top of one of David’s fields.


When they see the dogs coming though, they know we mean business. All of a sudden the entire flock of 200 creatures begins to move, dogs pushing them. They all know where they are supposed to be, they just don't want to be there.

Then it was time to increase their present fenced-in pasture. We wound the woven wire electric fence up through the woods and through a pine grove. They’ll probably stay put for a day but I’m sure we’ll be getting another call tomorrow.

New Member of the Gang

It’s been a crazy few weeks for me. Upon returning from Detroit, it was spring vacation for Julia. I don’t even try to get any type of professional work done when vacation time rolls around. We took a bunch of day trips to The Carle (did you see the write-up on it in the most recent Home Companion?) and Boston. It was a rather uneventful week but Julia and I had a great time spending time together. The Farmer was very busy doing all his farming things – when the weather finally warms up, there literally aren’t enough hours in the day.

We had ordered a new ram back in January after we had heard about him on the “shearer’s grapevine.” The "SGV" is a great place to find new additions for our flock because sheep shearers know flocks all over New England. We picked him up from a small flock owner in New Hampshire. He’s a Border Leicester which is a new breed for us. He’s very tall and has an open face (no top knot between the ears like the rest of our sheep have). He came with the name Big Boy. I've always thought that Border Leicesters in full fleece were quite handsome

The Farmer subscribes to Farmer’s Weekly from the UK. It’s one of his only indulgences because it is quite pricey to get it stateside. But every week, when it arrives, we lose him to the pages of all things farming across the pond. He really likes it because there is “sheep coverage” every week and it’s real farming sheep information, as opposed to many of the sheep publications in the States which cater to hobby farmers with a flock of twenty sheep. From the pages of Farmer’s Weekly, he has learned that many hill farmers in Scotland commonly use a Border Leicester ram for producing some very nice ewes that do well on hill pastures. So that’s why we ended up with “Big Boy.”


The only glitch with Big Boy is a small one. He was shorn after we decided on the pick-up date. The shearer found he and all of this farm’s sheep had sheep lice. He was treated at his old place but now we have to quarantine him in separate quarters on our place awaiting his second treatment the second week of May. I feel bad for him because he is lonely but it’s better than getting our whole flock infected with sheep lice – something we really don’t want to have to deal with….

In two week, Big Boy gets to meet his new family. In the meantime, he’s living the highlife with hay and corn in his very own little fenced in yard. He’s quite friendly (or just plain lonely). Every time we walk out the door, he baaaaahs and we talk to him.

Hay.... What's for Dinner?

"Hay, hay, hay.... that's all we get to eat. Isn't it about time you fed us something else?"

That's what I imagine our sheep are asking The Farmer just about now. Although they never go on strike and say "No, I won't eat." They wait patiently and then chow down in earnest.

The lambs run on the outside of the feeding fence because they are small enough to sneak through. They're also too small to fight off the larger ewes. And of course they are growing fast and need lots of food besides the milk their mothers are making.

By next week, some of the sheep will move out to pasture if the grass is well established. It's important that they don't eat the grass down to the root system. If they do, it takes a lot longer for it to re-grow. The Farmer is very anxious to get them on the hillsides. And I can imagine, the sheep are pretty anxious for some fresh greens since they have been eating pickled grass for several months now.

The Ram is Half Your Lambs

Every three years or so, we look for a new ram to bring new blood into our flock of sheep. It really is true that the ram is half your flock since his genetics will predominate all of his progeny. Long ago, we gave up having a purebred flock of sheep. Although the Romney sheep we began with are beautiful animals and produce lovely long wool, our goal of selling market lambs meant we had to look into other sheep breeds for their genetic traits. Most of the time, we aren’t around when the lambs are born and our experiences with the vigor of cross-bred lambs helped us realize that a cross-breeding program was the way to go.

Over the years, we have picked up rams from other local breeders. We have tried Dorsets, purebred Romneys, Rambouillet, Finnsheep crosses, all kinds of breeds. Often we will use a colored ram so that we get some colored lambs. Our goal is to breed a lamb that will grow out to a market weight in two to three months. We also look for rams that aren’t too large – this could cause difficulty in lambing. We usually will purchase a ram who is a twin so that our sheep will have twins too – this helps the lambing percentage. We look at fleece quality as a minor factor but we still do have some lovely looking fleeces considering most of our flock has Romney blood in it.

We run four rams with our sheep so we have a variety of parentage and breeds. We keep some of our own better ram lambs for breeding the flock. We have been using some nice Romney crosses and a nice looking Shetland-Romney cross (his lambs are quite hardy as one might guess). A couple years ago, we purchased this cross-bred Texel-Dorper ram. Texel sheep were developed for market lambs in Holland. Dorpers were developed for market lambs in Africa. They are hair sheep which means they don’t need to be sheared. Since most of our lambs go to market, the hair quality of his fleece wasn’t important. Picking up a new ram and integrating one into the flock is always a risk. But this guy settled in just fine.

We did notice the first summer that he was limping a bit. This is caused by a nasty condition called “foot-rot.” Certain breeds of sheep are more susceptible to it. Romneys are resistant to foot-rot and so we never have had much of a problem with it. Once in a while when the ground is very wet, they will favor a foot but it never was much of a big deal.

This winter, lots of this big guy’s lambs were limping terribly. (Notice we don't name many of our sheep - it makes it easier when we have to get rid of them.) The Farmer treated the lambs’ feet with the common recommended treatments and most of it subsided. We started discussing the problem in earnest when it began to take up a lot of his time and some money for the treatment. (The treatment is by foot-bath – the sheep walk through a solution that will help the condition go away.)

I was lobbying for a new ram. I hated to see the lambs limping. At first The Farmer wasn’t listening to me but after a few days, he decided that yes, this guy should go away so we don’t have to live with the foot-rot problem for the next twenty years.

This cute little half and half lamb was born a few days ago. The Texel-Dorper ram is definitely the father to it – notice how the wool is straight and has no crimp. He sure is cute though, isn’t he? This ram has fathered quite a few “Holstein” looking lambs. We’ll keep some of the ewes but most have already gone to the auction.

This summer, we are buying a Border Leicester ram. We’ll see how he and his lambs do. Raising sheep is always interesting because even after several decades, there is still more to learn.

From the UK

A fun little tidbit to brighten up your day. David Kennard, author and sheep farmer, used his sheep and border collies to spell out the word spring! We're still under snow here in western Massachusetts but it gives us hope.

Via the Daily Mail. Read more about it here.

New Life

After a slow bit in the sheep barn, last year's yearling ewe lambs are beginning to lamb. The first time mothers are a bit dicey. Some are natural mothers and some want nothing to do with their babies. The past couple days, the teenage mothers have been stars.

Yesterday, this little black lamb was born. It is a little spitfire and the mom is doing a great job.

Two days ago, a different yearling had this cute little thing.


And here is super-mom Cora (Julia's bottle lamb from last year) with her January lamb Mora. Mora is growing like crazy and is looking strong and huge.


The bigger lambs congregate together constantly. Here some of them are having a party over along the fence line. I can't help but compare them to teenagers, hanging out with their friends far from the watchful eyes of their moms.

Another Winter Harvest

Tuesday was auction day. We take the lambs that are the proper weight to the nearby livestock auction where buyers are waiting to purchase lambs for Easter dinner. The livestock auction happens every Tuesday all year round. Lambs, sheep, goats, cows, calves, hay, rabbits, pigs, and a variety of animal skins are sold. Anyone can attend and buy or sell. Because of the recent new regulations (called NAIS) it’s a bit harder to sell. Every animal must be tagged with government registered eartags which will help trace an animal back to a specific farm. This is a rather contentious issue with farmers and you can learn more about it here.

Auction day is harvest day for us, to put it bluntly. It’s when we find out how much the animals we have been growing are worth in a monetary form. We don’t talk about it much – it just happens and we hope for the best return we can get. For me, I don’t expend much energy. I just move the gate to let The Farmer in and out with lambs. He gets the workout. Today, I brought the two dogs down to the barn to help round up the flock. The dogs haven’t seen the sheep since December when we moved them from pasture back to their barn. (You can read about that here.) As we approached the barn, both Nessie and Phoebe began to tremble. They knew what they were going to have to do and they couldn’t wait.


The two dogs flew out of the truck. A few quick short commands and the sheep were moving into the barn. In a couple minutes, all the sheep were contained and the harvest was to begin.

The Farmer is quite adept at catching sheep. He looks through the flock, sizes them up, calculates a weight in his head and literally dives. It is like a dance of sorts – if an odd dance. Lamb by lamb, he loads the trailer. I add my two cents every few minutes. “That’s a girl.” “Looks too small.” “Are you sure you want to get rid of that one.” The trailer was loaded and he took them to the auction yard.


Today we took two trailer loads of lambs – about sixty lambs in all. (Don't worry all you sheep and lamb fans - there are still at least another sixty lambs left for me to photograph.) Julia and I met up with The Farmer to watch the bidding. We like to watch our lambs being sold and see how much money we are going to get for them. We like to see if the buyers are appreciating the care we put into the animals. It’s all a bit hard to tell – the only way is to see if you get top dollar. It’s an odd world.


The first time I went to this auction was as a buyer. I think I was 22 years old – Oh boy, that was a bit ago. I was a kid from the suburbs enamored with all things farming. The Farmer and I went in search of a lamb to grow out for my parent’s freezer. We arrived and sat down on the very seats we sat on today. The auction hall has the feeling of a basketball court. High steep seats going up one side with all the action happening down below.

Back then, the characters weren’t very different than those that were there today. There were buyers for slaugherhouses. There were ethnic buyers purchasing for specific holidays (like Greek Easter, Ramadan). There were retired farmers wishing they were still farming. There were all kinds of farm people shooting the breeze. I love this place. The odor is unmistakable – billy goat mixed with cow and sheep manure, bad coffee and chili – all wafting out at you like a blowtorch as you open the door and enter. It’s a total way of life that I fear may disappear. I feel priviledged to have experienced it.

Back then in 1981, I was there to buy a lamb for my parents that The Farmer would grow out for their freezer. Being a girl from the burbs, this experience was like nothing I had ever seen before. I was astounded by the odor. I was intrigued by the people I was seeing – people unlike any I had ever seen growing up in New Jersey. We watched for a while and I got the routine. A lamb would enter a small holding area and be weighed. The auctioneer announced the weight and the lamb was let into the viewing area. Bidding would start immediately.

The Farmer and I watched for a while and then I finally got up my courage. A nice looking lamb entered the viewing area and the auctioneer started his spiel. “Beautiful lamb, looks good… Do I hear……” I entered the bidding, the girl from the burbs. The auctioneer looked at me, accepted the bid and asked for another bid. Noone came back at him. I had stopped everyone in their tracks. That’s it. Sold to the girl sitting in the third row. And I might say for extremely cheap. (Those ethnic guys back in the 80’s couldn’t find it in their heart of hearts to bid against a cute, young girl.)

I had bought a lamb at a livestock auction. The Farmer and I watched for a little longer and then we went to retrieve my mother’s lamb. We assumed it would be a ram lamb. I mean, who would sell a perfectly good ewe lamb when it could produce babies.

I had a little green 1979 Honda Civic hatchback then (it was the early 80’s – the USA was in a different oil crisis). We went out back to retrieve the lamb. It was a good looking lamb and lo and behold – he was a she.

We drove her back to the farm to join the rest of the flock in the back of my Honda. We called my mom and told her she had bought a lamb. Then we told her he was a she. For a while, we talked about growing out the lamb we named Clover for her freezer. Slowly, that reality disappeared. Clover became one of our little flock of sheep. She grew and grew and we became attached. She had a certain bossiness and liveliness that none of our other five sheep had. I could see it happening….. there was no way this sheep was going in my mom’s freezer.

And so Clover grew and flourished for many years. She, Clover, that crazy cross-bred, auction purchased ewe lamb lived to a ripe old age of 13. She produced many sets of twin lambs and even lambed out of season (this means a ewe will become pregnant twice in a year instead of only once). We’ve still got her progeny producing lambs for us.

It’s not quite the same now with 150 sheep as it was back then with a handful. Raising sheep is still interesting and fulfilling and a way of life. But I do miss those days of knowing the personality of each and every ewe and ram. The larger flock number does make it easier to get through auction day without tears. I feel like I am in participating in an age-old tradition of livestock trade that began who knows when. There are different channels now for distribution but it’s still quite the same.


The Farmer ran into a friend at the grocery store tonight. He’s known this man for over 30 years. He told him about selling the lambs at the auction and they shot the breeze for awhile - discussed the prices… the weather…. This guy is a local lawyer who raises bees, and makes beer and wine as a hobby. They have similar environmental interests. Charlie said something to The Farmer that really made his day. He said, “Yeah, Mark, you got that much for the lambs. But what you are really doing is keeping the land open and healthy. And that’s important.”

And that kind of made The Farmer’s day.

The Winter that Won't End

It's the end of February - where has time gone? We got yet another snowstorm dumping six inches on our little part of the world. The snow was so heavy, it was really hard to move. As you can see, everyone is getting tired of winter - even the sign up the road is leaning with the weight of all the snow.

Evidently it's a record for the most moisture in a February. Normally, our neighbors would be sugaring by now but the bitter cold seems to be here for at least a few more days.


When the sun finally came out the other day, the trees looked like they were covered with cotton balls. Against the blue sky it was pretty breath-taking.


The lambs are really growing quickly. Easter is early this year (March 23rd) and so we are preparing to sell the ones which are the right size at the livestock auction over the next few weeks. There will be buyers from different states in the Northeast who will truck them to slaughter houses with standing orders. We never know where they end up but we know someone will be enjoying them for Easter dinner.


Many of our neighbors are getting low on their hay supplies. Luckily, The Farmer put up quite a bit of hay last season and it is still waiting in the fields to be fed to the sheep. Picking the bales out of the field is tricky though since the snow is so deep. It is hard to get the tractor to the bales safely. I think The Farmer is getting a bit weary of the winter snows - it just makes everything more difficult - feeding hay and grain, watering the sheep, and spreading bedding to try to keep the sheep comfortably housed. He's ready for spring!

But we're in for another storm tomorrow night! Wow!

A Surprise for All of Us

The other day, upon arriving at the barn, I found Cora, Julia’s bottle lamb from last year, back against the wall of the barn. I said to The Farmer “ Hey, maybe Cora is going to lamb soon.” His reply was, “No, Cora is just being Cora - crazy as she is.” (Her nickname is “Crazy Cora.”) Cora is just a year old and usually yearlings don't lamb here until they are about 16 months and up to 2 years old.

But lo and behold, Saturday she had a lamb! Thankfully the lamb is a girl (which means she will live a long life here on the farm).


Julia is beside herself with delight. She has named Cora's lamb Mora. (She’s got a long list of names for future Cora-babies whenever they are born.) We kept Cora and Mora in a little enclosure for a day so we could try to tame Mora. They escaped - no surprise. Mora is the cutest little thing. Spunky with a zest for life. She’s big for a yearling ewe’s lamb. I doubt she’ll have quite the personality of her mom since Cora is nursing her so beautifully. This does give us a special reason to visit the barn which is fun for all of us.


Julia says this makes her a grandmother and me a great-grandmother. Considering I won’t get that chance in my life, I think I will take a lamb great-granddaughter anyday.

Observing

A while back, I asked The Farmer what's the most important job he plays as a shepherd during lambing season. I expected him to say something like pulling out a live lamb during a difficult birth. But no, not my calm, mild mannered, quiet Farmer. He told me his most important job is observing.

He spends all day and parts of the evening with the sheep. Lots of the time he is moving feed around - it takes a long time to feed 150 ewes and over 100 lambs. Once he is done with morning chores, he gets a little break for a quick lunch. Then it's back to the greenhouse barn to feed some more.

Often, when I arrive for a quick peek at what's going on, he'll be standing there, just looking. I think to myself, oh, he's doing the big part of his job - observing! He miraculously knows which ewe lambed the night before. He can tell you which lamb belongs to which sheep and if it is a single or a twin. He can tell if a ewe is in trouble and needs help with a delivery. It boggles my mind that he can tell them all apart. I can tell what breed one of the sheep is or perhaps about how old it is. I can guess how old a lamb is within reason. I can tell you if a ewe is having trouble lambing but the other stuff, not a prayer.

I guess it's a lot like a knitter going into a large yarn store. I can tell one fiber from another. I can pick out just the perfect ocean teal blue from one that is just not right. I can feel the difference between a superwash wool and a beautifully soft merino wool. I can guess which yarn might have mohair or alpaca in it.

I guess it's the same for all of us. We explore our passions and learn as much as we can. Then we observe and make decisions. But tell me, could you tell which sheep is the mother of which lamb?

Winter Grass

Busy weekend for us, even if it was a holiday weekend. On Saturday, Julia and I went to the Odyssey Bookshop in South Hadley for a talk and a booksigning. My plans for childcare fell through at the last moment so I had to bring her along. Luckily, Amy Greeman, Director of Publicity at Storey, brought her 11 year old son to the talk. Amy took Ben and Julia to the children’s book section (which by the way is very nice) while I talked about the projects in my book. Thank goodness Amy was there because Julia was going to steal the show. Thanks Amy so much!

The Farmer had to get up crazy early because he was going to a “Grazing Conference” way up in Vermont. First, barn chores and then a long drive to Vermont Technical College in Randolph Center. It is organized by University of Vermont’s Center for Sustainable Agriculture and the Vermont Grass Farmers’ Association.

I’m sure most of you are wondering what the heck they talk about at a grazing conference. It’s quite similar to going to a Stitches or TKGA Conference for knitters but it is for farmers and not nearly as expensive to attend. Farmers from throughout the area drive in and take classes on subjects that you probably haven’t thought about. The Keynote Speaker was Greg Judy who flew in from Missouri and spoke on “The Wonderful Grass Machine: Using Livestock to Restore Fallow Land.” This guy travels the continent speaking about his 2,000 head of cattle and how they harvest his and his neighbor's grass! I think listening to him may be similar to a knitter hearing Kaffe Fassett speak.

The Farmer was very excited about all that he learned at the different classes. He has attended this conference for years and brings back interesting tid-bits of knowledge. I quizzed him the other day so I might have something profound to report to you all. He's not much for flowery descriptions (that is my department). His comment was that it was nice to meet like-minded individuals who were trying in their own small way to preseve the bucolic (not his word, mine) farmlands of New England.


As you can imagine, the conference has to be in the winter when fields are not growing and being harvested. He said it is lots of fun to hear what other farmers are doing in their operations which include beef, dairy cattle, sheep, goats, chickens, and turkeys. He feels part of a small but hopefully growing movement, alternative as it is, to help do his part to keep the landscape of New England open, beautiful, and productive.


Our sheep are primarily grass fed. This means they eat grass in the spring, summer, and fall and hay (or preserved grass) in the winter. (Our larger lambs are just starting to pick at the hay.) Rotational grazing is an efficient way to harvest grass and turn it into a by-product (lamb and wool). But you have to stay right on top of the sheep and the grass so that they don’t over-graze a field. Overgrazing puts stress on the root systems of the plants and they can’t recover. Here are some of the other good side effects of rotational grazing:
•Permanent pastures provide habitat for grassland birds.
•Pastured animals are much healthier than any kept in typical feedlot situations, hence healthier to eat.
•Naturally applied manure reduces the need for chemical fertilizers.
•Less fuel needed to harvest the food and thereby reduces the carbon footprint.
•Reduces (or eliminates) the need for feeding of grain grown other places far away.
•Small farms whose fields are often abandoned can remain in agricultural production if grazing animals are used to keep the pastures from reverting to woodlands.
•And probably a knitter’s favorite reason for rotational grazing – a field full of sheep is just so darn beautiful.

I bet not much of this information was on your mind this morning. If you want to learn more about agriculture and food in the United States, I highly recomment Michael Pollan's The Omnivore's Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals. It's a fascinating look at large and small agriculture and the source of your food.

Flights, Talks, Life and Books

I’m finally feeling more normal and ready to tackle everyday life after my trip. I’m not sure what happens to me but it just takes a while to settle in and even assess what needs to be done. The jet lag and very long and overly stimulating days and nights at the show just do me in. Extra sleep the past few days seems to have helped. I am very thankful I don’t have to go on one of those long, extended book trips like some authors are expected to!

That said, the trip to Minnesota is shaping up. Thanks to all who e-mailed with suggestions. It looks like the speech at the Textile Center is going to work out - probably for Friday evening, February 15 at 7 p.m. Margaret Miller, the lovely Executive Director, got back to me and said yes. You’ll have to check back here for specifics in a week. Now we (that’s you and me, guys and of course the publicity team at Storey) have to spread the word so there is a good turn-out and I don’t look like a fool! I’m going to get the Publicity Department to create a poster and I’ll tell you all when it is available.

Now it is back to real life on the farm. The nice thing about returning to a farm is that nothing changes. Lambs are still being born and The Farmer is still feeding them. Mud comes and then freezes again and becomes muddy ice which is much easier to walk through than boot-sucking mud. Snow comes and goes (and it is coming again tonight). Farmlife is all rather comforting in an odd way since it really isn’t very peaceful at all.


The older lambs are racing around after each other playing their lamby version of tag. The younger lambs are close to their mother’s sides nursing and sleeping, nursing and sleeping – very similar to a newborn baby’s activities. When they lose sight of their moms, a frantic little baaaaahhhh can be heard and then the mama answers back with her lower pitched, comforting baaaaahhh. They are quickly re-united. It is not unlike going to the grocery store and losing sight of your young child.

The lamb population has grown so much that we have given up counting. There are close to 100 lambs. It’s hard to take cute little pictures of cute little lambs and moms because it is mass hysteria with lambs running to and fro. I keep trying.

I often get asked what it is like to live on a farm. I think most people have a rather romantic notion of the whole farm thing. But as you can tell, by reading this blog, there’s mostly hard work which is sometimes dirty and smelly and sad. There are lots of beautiful photo opportunities which are fun to capture and share. There’s a lot to deal with which the normal American person probably doesn’t want to hear or think about.

I have compiled a list of some very good books that we have enjoyed reading and which you (those farmer wannabees) may too. It is a combined list made by The Farmer and me and it is no particular order - just as they came off the stack. Some of them may be out of print and the British ones may only be available from British booksellers. Enjoy.

Hill Shepherd, A Photographic Essay by John and Eliza Forder, 1989, Frank Peters Publishing, Cumbria, England - lovely photos and a bit of words documenting hill farms in the Dales and Lake District of England.

Little Heathens by Mildred Amstrong Kalish. Bantam Books, 2007. A new book written by an octogenarian about growing up on a farm in Iowa during the depression. Not much about livestock but this overview of farmlife is very matter of fact and enjoyable to read. No sugar coating. It was reviewed in the NYTimes Book Review and was one of their "10 Most Notable Books of 2007."

Sylvia's Farm by Sylvia Jorrin. Bloomsbury, 2004. A little hard to get into (I started it, stopped it for about a year, and then eventually finished it). It might be a little sugar coated and a bit too flowery but a nice read. And Sylvia is a knitter.

Harvest by Nicola Smith. The Lyon's Press, 2004. Very real story about bringing back and aging farm organically. Not all about animals, some crops and flower farming too. Lovely photos by Geoff Hansen.

A Shepherd's Watch by David Kennard, Headline Book Publishing (UK), 2004.
Dogs of Windcutter Down also by David Kennard. Both of these books are very well written and so true to what it really is to raise a large flock of sheep. The author lives in England and tells it exactly as it is. As I was reading it, I kept saying to myself, "oh, that happens to them also." His sheepdogs play a major part in the book.

The Last Shepherds by Charles Bowden. Granada (UK), 2004. The subtitle of this book is "A Vanishing Way of Life on Britain's Traditional Hill Farms. The Farmer really liked this book and I've got it on my stack to be read this year.

Storey's Guide to Raising Sheep by Paula Simmons and Carol Ekarius. Storey Publishing, 2000. This book has been in print forever and we have at least four copies in various states of disrepair. It covers lots of the basic information you will need if you want to start raising sheep.

James Herriott's books and the BBC t.v. series All Creatures Great and Small. We enjoy reading and watching all of the work this prolific vet did. Can't miss with the humour and descriptions of a time gone by.

Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner

Sometimes when I think about what I do all day, so much has to do with preparing food, serving food, and cleaning up after the food. I think every person with a family feels overwhelmed by the feeding thing once in a while. That's why convenience foods have become so popular. And then when you add a baby to the whole pile of family work, it totally overwhelms any mother. I rememb