10/25/2009

October Color & Shearing

Now on the other side of the New York Sheep and Wool Festival, at Rhinebeck, NY. I had an amazing experience at a Berkshire County sheep farm this past week. I helped with Shearing Day for a flock of 500 sheep. There were 3 shearers for 2 and a half days shearing all fine wool sheep. Colors and white wool. It suffices to say, this was the highlight of my year! More later………

9/19/2009

Breeding Begins

Starting off the breeding season with three groups! We’ve got two Leicester Longwool rams and one Bluefaced Leicester ram in with three ewes each. We’ve purchased another BFL ram and he’ll be arriving in mid October, and he’ll have a few ewes as well. All but one of these rams is breeding for the first time, so it’s their "proving" season. There are both purebred and crossbred efforts afoot. The focus on the crossing is for Natural Color.

Speaking of Natural Color; the National NCWGA sheep show will be taking place September 27th at the Big E! I am in charge of the Silent Auction and with the help of Kate Lowder it will be sure to be a success.

The upcoming New York Sheep Fair at Rhinebeck on the weekend of October 17-18 is fast approaching. The Leicester Longwool is the featured breed and there will be alot of excitement and interest in the breed. There will be a Card Grade show to watch and learn more about the breed and their characteristics and attributes. Just as the Bluefaced Leicester benefited from this type of exposure, the Leicester Longwool will begin to blossom and make a presence in more sheep shows in the future.

Hay is on it’s way. Thank goodness. I only buy second cut, whenever possible. With our good source just down the road in Worthington I’ll have two wagons very soon to stash in the barn. It’s been such a wet summer the hay has not been harvested as quickly as in the past years. The straw harvest is due in soon as well. 

8/27/2009

August Ascent

I can not believe it’s almost the end of August already! Yikes! The 145 th Cummington Fair is this weekend. Unfortanately we will not be attending it. There’s way too much on the docket; including mucking the sheep barns and finishing touches on fencing for the new goats and working on the timber frame sheep barn in Cranberry Cove. Yes, I did say goats. We are expecting two does to arrive at some point soon. They are welcomed guests in the new area cleared for more pasture. There is tons of stuff to browse on to help begin the process of clearing the land. The trees are mostly felled, but there are brambles, blueberry bushes, stump sprouts, goldenrod and creeping vines. All good stuff for a goat to eat. The older doe will be bred and we’ll milk her next season. Looking forward to that.

The sheep story/ saga continues. Two of the rams left this week to go to a nearby farm. One yearling that will be used this season for breeding and one lamb for next year. Both were good rams and I’m happy they will have a good situation, lots of green pasture and lovely ewes to service. My preoccupation with a breeding plan is slowly getting more defined. At this point I’ll have three breeding groups, but I may add another. For such a small flock, I am making efforts to get more genetic diversity. Stay tuned on the breeding plan.

7/15/2009

July Bursting with Sunshine!

Yeah, hurrah, the SUN has finally come out to warm the green wet pastures. It was a very wet June and though the grasses grew well, the weather was not so good for sheep to graze. I usually wait to put the sheep out on pasture until after the dew evaporates. I do that to help control some of the parasites that like the moist grass. Luckily we’ve had enough nice second cut hay to feed out. On the other hand, late first cut harvest may bring in late second cut harvest, which is what we only feed out. The choice of second cut is two fold, higher quality and protein, and no grass heads, which offer an abundance of little seeds that gets trapped in the wool. And since the wool harvest is our main goal, keeping the wool free of debris is of utmost concern.

Sheep sales have been good this year. We have ram lamb stock left, pretty much. A waiting list is starting to develop for 2010. That’s a nice feeling as we plan who is being bred to whom. Though we run a small flock of sheep, we have alot of diversity within it. Stay tuned.

Have a wonderful Summer!

5/22/2009

May Day, May Day!

Got your attention? No real emergency, just wanted to let you know we will be attending the Massachusetts Sheep and Woolcraft Fair in Cummington, MA this Memorial Day weekend, Saturday and Sunday. Our booth is located in the CRAFT BARN #6. I’m bringing a bunch of natural spinning and felting fibers and locally grown and produced yarns, both handspun and millspun. The theme this year is “The International Year of Natural Fiber” which I honor by focusing on undyed fibers mainly from America. We have such an abundance of good wool to share.

In addition to the fiber I will have some of my photographs for sale. I am selling two starter flocks; one Leicester Longwool flock and one Natural Colored flock. I need to downsize abit and this is a good opportunity for some interested shepherdess or shepherd to purchase some beautiful fleece animals.

To finish, the lambing season is over, had ten lambs arrive in all. 5 rams, 5 ewes, 5 white, 5 black. It’s quite the checkerboard arrangement and when they run and jump and leap around the paddock, it’s like watching a game of fast moving checkers.

Hope to see some of you this weekend!
Cheers, Lisa

4/2/2009

April Showers

The weather has turned into a rainy reality. It has successfully melted all the snow patches in the open areas and almost all the snow in the woodland. It’s so refreshing to have warm air to breathe in and a hope to get into the garden soon. The pasture grass is beginning to green and rhurbarb is emerging.

The lambing to date has gone very well. We have six more ewes to lamb. The flock is blended with the ewes and lambs. We’ve had the ewes with lambs in jugs for at least three days each and there hasn’t been any pressure to move them out quicker to accomodate another ewe. Last week we had four deliveries, one day after the other. How civilized.

Check out the Sheep page for updates on lambs and stock for sale.

3/16/2009

Waxing of the Spring Equinox

It’s true, the Spring Equinox will enter into our New England realm this week. May I just say, "What a Relief !" Thank goodness we can see light at the end of the tunnel. Winter’s grip is slipping into the muddy mess of Spring thaw. Not quite arrived, but I think we can safely welcome the new days of Spring.

With that said, we are ready for the lambing to begin. Yes, we did have three lambs so far, but the larger group of bred ewes will begin together, very shortly. Everyone looks pretty full with lambs and I just can not wait to see what we’ll get this year for lambs. Especially the Leicester Longwool lambs. Could this be my ewe lamb year? Sure would be nice.

Ernie has put his requests in for locker lamb as have several other friends. My main objective is selling breed stock as you know. So the harvest will be contingent on how those sales go. But my husband will get what he wants, no matter what. He’s been so awesome with helping me around the farm. Mostly with clearing new pasture area, milling wood from that effort, with the plan to build another shelter for the rams and storage of equipment. Really busy winter for him as alot of trees were felled and alot of broken trees from the ice storm back in December.

So, stand by and wait for some updates on the lambing over the next month. Enjoy the new Spring air.

2/11/2009

First Lamb Arrives

A new day, a new life on our little farm. The nesting and mothering instincts are very strong in this Bluefaced Leicester ewe (#57). She delivered a single ewe lamb early this morning with no assistance. She has a beautiful full udder at the ready to nourish and bring her ewe lamb to life. I’ve named this ewe lamb “Alexandria”. Since this is our first purebred BFL born on the farm, the first letter of the alphabet starts us off. I’ve had this tradition of using the alphabet to name registerable stock for years. Now with a new purebred line, I can start a new series of names. Naming is the funniest part of lambing. So, we wait on one more BFL ewes to lamb and I can breathe a sigh of relief until mid March when the rest of our flock starts in on lambing.

On a side, we did get the three Leicester Longwool ewe lambs on Saturday. It was a full day trip driving down into NYC and into PA. It was very intense driving. The sheep travelled very well and hardly made a peep. They are settling in fine.

1/30/2009

January con\’t

Well, as it turned out, I brought four Bluefaced Leicester ewes home. Two are bred and ready to lamb any day in fact. There was a ram available, but I decided not to take him since I have five at the moment. The bred ewes were bred with a very suitable ram line and if I get a ram lamb out of this lambing, I will keep one for using on at least two of the BFL ewes. They are very well mannered sheep since they were shown on the fair circuit last year. They halter well and are easy to approach, though they are very strong and if they feel threatened put up a pretty good fight. I experienced that this morning when I put the two BFL yearling ewes in with the rest of the ewe flock. Somewhat to my surprise "Luna" has taken the lead ewe position, from her mother "Blossom". Afterall, Blossom will be retired after this lambing and perhaps we ALL know this fact and are giving way to the next head mistress. I think the transition will be swift though, because Glory and Liberty are large enough and eager enough to get into the hay feeder to find food. Next on the docket is to travel down to Pennsylvania to pick up three Leicester Longwool ewe lambs. They have been exposed to a ram and may be bred.  On a side, my customers are AWESOME ! I just love all the unique requests I get, from handspinning Leicester Longwool for a special tapestry for the International Year of Natural Fibers, to wool for a movie set, to washed wools for an art installation and wool for stuffing beautiful handmade stuffed animals. I’m happy to be keeping busy and working with such creative people.

1/11/2009

January FREEZE

We are just about half way through January and we have had some pretty frigid temperatures that have brought ice and snow storms. Nothing as bad as the ice storm in mid-December, but still challenging for clean up and getting outdoors.

The flock is doing great. The ewes and rams are all quite comfortable in their barn and the numbers of sheep are perfect for the space. On that note, I’ve decided to add two new ewes to the flock. In a flock dispersal of Bluefaced Leicesters, I choose two of the unbred ewe lambs, which actually will be one year old by the time they arrive here next weekend. The decision was quick because of the situation, but it is fully in line with my breeding program. Ironiclly, I am planning to retire "Blossom" my older BFL ewe. And having these new ewes will insure that I can prolong the use of BFL lines in my fleece flock.

The decision to sell at least two of my ewes will be easier now. I have potential fleece flock buyers inquiring now and it’s good timing for planning of Spring sales. I do appreciate the turn of events. Crossing the BFL ewes with my English Leicester Longwool ram, Charles, will be something to look forward to.

I also sold two of the white Angora bunnies. Now I’m just down to the primary breeding pair and I do plan to try breeding them for having bunnies for sale at the Cummington Sheep Fair in May. I really adore them and their wool, but sheep are my main interest and farming focus.

12/19/2008

December Solstice \’08

Blessings for the Solstice!

The winter season is off to a roaring start, indeed. We had a power outage for eight days here in Cummington, Mass. We got by with good old fashion yankee ingenuity, by keeping the woodstove going, cooking on the wood cookstove, and using kerosene lamps. The water source was close by, a running stream named the Whitmarsh Brook. We used water from the brook to flush the toilet and boiled the water for drinking and cooking.

Alot of time was spent simply maintaining the household and keeping the animals well fed and watered. The sheep are fully equipped to deal with winter’s domination. They lived quite comfortably in the paddock and barn as they would have in any season.

It’s just about time to remove Charles, the breeding ram, from the ewe flock. He’ll return to the ram lamb group and he’ll be just fine in his supreme statis among the younger rams. There are four ram lambs staying over winter, either waiting for their new owners to pick them up, or for whatever my use will be for them in the Spring.

The wool business is still running, regardless of the economic down turn. Spinning wool into yarn is still a valued effort by warm-hearted folks, like myself. It’s always such a blessing to get an order and I respond with a quick turn around. We can’t be too long without our wool stash, can we?

I hope you all have a content and warm holiday season. I look forward to the depth of winter’s grip to focus on weaving projects.

11/6/2008

Cool Down November

‘Tis the season to be jolly, right? OH yeah, that’s a late December song. Even though it’s not really all that cold yet, I’m feeling the hibernation instinct kick in. CHARLES the ram is in with the 10 ewes getting bred and the ram lambs are together comizzerating(sp?) and just hanging out, eating good, trading tales. Charles seems to be breeding a ewe almost every day, if not every other day. I like the notion of staggering the lambing by a couple days, thanks Charles!

Did I tell you I got these really cute French Satin Angora white bunnies? Wow, they are so sweet. They don’t say a word and exude PEACE. That’s so good for me to be around. The stress and hurry all falls away when I go into feed them or just watch they eat their apples or what ever I come up with for a rabbit treat. Really nice wool. I’ve groomed them all twice since I got them, and harvested one’s wool. It turns out I have two bucks and two does. So I really would like to find a home for the younger buck, pass the word.

I’m off the the Island on Monday morning. It’ll be a good visit with family, long over due, it’s been over 8 years. Lots to catch up on. I’ll try to respond to emails as best I can and will fill orders when I return in early December.

Be well, and have a nice Thanksgiving everyone!

Yours in Shepherding, Lisa

10/22/2008

October Surprise

    Phew, what a weekend in New York at Rhinebeck! Our booth in Barn 26 ended up being a "Horse Stall", much to my surprise. Thank goodness Ernie was there helping set up the display. I think it turned out to be very nice, but it was touch and go at first. At least now I know what to expect for next year and can plan the display accordingly.

We had a flood of visitors and buyers all day Saturday, making our first solo booth experience incredibly welcoming and worth all the effort. Sunday’s attendance was calmer, at least in numbers. All in all, we had a good experience. Thankfully, my parents were at the farm taking care of the animals and doing a fabulous job! Thanks MOM and DAD!

So, onto planning for next year’s wool endeavors. Our breed of sheep will be the Featured breed at Rhinebeck next year, Leicester Longwool (English Leicester). In addition to a very special Card Grade show with the sheep, there will be a beautiful and educational display in the Wool Nook. My focus for my booth will also feature my sheep’s wool, handwoven pieces, handspun yarns and spinning fiber made by me grown on my sheep. I’ll be very busy with all that this winter.

I will be selling Leicester Longwool products at the Massachusetts Sheep and Wool Fair, in Cummington, MA, in May 2009, if you want to get a jump on experiencing the unique fiber from the Leicester Longwool sheep. Until then, visit my website and LocalHarvest store to buy online.

I am going away to visit my west coast family for the month of November, when I get back in December I’ll start in on the wool washing, et al.

Be Well, Lisa

9/8/2008

Hay & Straw Stash

A sigh of Relief…………. Got most of the hay in the barn and all the straw we’ll need for the winter. It’s been a very challenging year up here for making hay and straw with all the wet weather. It’s lovely hay though. I had to take more first cutting than I usually do on the advise of the farmer that makes it, just to be sure I got enough in the barn and in case the second cut wasn’t successful. I’d say the second cut was successful, in that the quality is nice, but the amount is not to the same count as last season. It’s tough on the farmers this year. If I hadn’t sold half the flock earlier this summer, I’d be more concerned about the number of bales of hay I need. But I’m thinking the smaller flock is going to do well enough over winter here with what I have stashed. My days are totally FULL with wool related activities. I’m sorting and skirting and weighting wool for Rhinebeck. I’m planning to sell raw wool, both Romney and English Leicester Longwool and a few miscellaneous fleeces. I’m also washing mohair at the moment. Some great fleeces came in from Oregon and I’m trying to clean them up for my blending needs. I also am going to move the ewe flock once again to a neigboring field, but have to get the temporary fencing in place first. That’s a two person job, really, so my doing it by myself takes twice as long. So I continue to "Stay Focused". This is my latest moto, not totally of my choosing, but it a useful mantra and I’m sure getting a bunch of things accomplished. Oh yeah, a couple more things of interest……. I was featured in an article in Berkshire Living magazine, with other Berkshire Hills and Dales Spinners. It was a well written article and the photos of me and the sheep are well done too. The other news is one of my photographs will be printed in the Massachusetts Agriculture Calendar for 2009. I will be honored with the other winners at the Big E on September 18th, Massachusetts Day, by the Agriculture Commissioner and possibly the Governor. So that’s exciting for me and nice to be recognized for the sheep related things I’m involved with.

8/19/2008

Full Moon in August

BIG FULL BLOSSOMING MOON, rising up over the fields in Worthington. The cresting of the full moon kisses the tips of the corn tassels and filters in through the sunflowers, just beginning to open their tight yellow heads. I’ve been trying to capture this phenomenon with my camera, unsuccessfully. But my eyes and memories tell the story just fine.

The ewe flock came back home on Saturday last, on that full moon morning. The move went well enough even with the majority of the flock being yearlings and less experienced in the trailer appropriate behavior. Their fleeces are glistening white and clean from the weeks of daily rains washing the dirt off. There’s very little lanolin left on them as well.

Now back in our lovely paddock. Well, it’s not quite so dirt free. But they are up eating grass and are staying clean for now. I have another month or so before shearing so I’d like the wool to stay as clean as possible. I have the rams and the ewes in separate paddocks and during the day the mature rams go out to the front yard to eat down grass. Great lawn mowers!

7/24/2008

RAIN RAIN RAIN

Rain rain go away, come back another day……………. Will the wool on our sheep ever dry out? I miss my ewes! I can only visit them once a week and it’s a challenge to stay away. They are being looked after by the landowner, and yet, I do worry at times. Especially during the severe thunderstorms and lightening. So far so good though. I have some great news! I have been offered a three acre pasture only 3/4 miles from my home! This in Thanks to God, I’m quite sure. I’ve been praying and believing it this for some time. There is plenty of fence work to do and mowing. There are predators, bears and coyotes, that pass through the land, so a guard animal is required. This fact is obvious and EZ has agreed that we need a guard llama. I have him picked out already, he’s a young gelding "Mario". I am hoping to get him soon so I can learn how to handle him properly. This is a good time of year to get a llama and he’ll be able to be with the rams for the summer to get acquainted with sheep. He’s bred by my friend and has incredible suri wool.

Be Well, talk to you later.

7/1/2008

Summer Unravels

Between the rain storms and floral abundance the summer season has truely exploded with a brillant palette of color. The roses are in bloom now in my gardens. Many colors and many sizes, all alluring and captivating, as they tell their tales of really how hard the winter was. Surely they know more deeply than we mere humans. Yet, in the sun or in the middle of a down pour, the roses are just fantastic!

As for the sheep, well I don’t think they can get enough of the green stuff. At least not here. So in honor of my (blank) birthday, I’m moving the brood ewes over to their favorite pasture inWorthington. How is it that they get a present on my birthday? Hum. It will put a smile on my face, once the move is complete and give me some relief to know they are in good hands for a couple months. I’ll then have the ram stock here and there will be plenty of pasture for them.

It’s been a good sales season. I’ve managed to sell the stock I needed to in order to keep my flock at a reasonable size. I feel great about the buyers and know the sheep are in good hands. Thanks to all of you for helping make both my life and their lives improved.

5/13/2008

SPRING HAS SPRUNG, and lambs are jumping!

Wow, it’s been almost two months since I wrote in this journal. Sorry. I’ve been busy with lambing and mucking and general maintainence of the flock. In all, we had 10 lambs born this season. 6 rams, 5 of which are purebred English Leicester Longwools, and 1 black NCWGA… and 4 ewes, 1 fantastic black ewe "Assumpta", who is 3/4 LL, and 3 white fleeces (black factored) ewe lambs, very sweet. No major issues with lambing, but I have had some concerns with the older ewes. But everyone delivered fine and recoverd fine as well. So the number of sheep in the flock, at the moment, is 28.

I’m preparing for the Massachusetts Sheep Fair over the next couple of weeks. Loading the trailer alittle at a time and finishing up a few things. I hope some of you reading this will be able to come by my booth and say hello.

If you happen to be looking for purebred English Leicester Longwool sheep or lambs, please make some contact with me and I’ll try to help you. I am reminded about how long I waited for my first starter flock, 5 years. It may be that you’ll have to build your flock as I have, a little at a time. No harm in that.

3/24/2008

SHEARING DAY - MARCH 25, 2008

Shearing the whole flock earlier than usual this year. I am planning to have both a Spring and Fall clip this year. The Fall shearing date will be late September or early October. The Spring shearing will include 18 sheep in all. Seven yearling ewes, two rams, and 9 ewes. Two of the ewes have lambs already, but the rest of them are still pregnant. I have coats for most everyone in case I need to cover them. The weather predictions are not so good for the week coming, calling for cold rain, maybe snow and below freezing overnight temperatures. The sheep will be closed up in the barns overnight so they can stay warm enough.

Anyone interested in raw fleeces feel free to email me with your inquiry; lisa@goodwool.com

All for now, Lisa

3/20/2008

VERNAL EQUINOX REVISITED !

Oh Happy Spring, praise God!  Our first lambs arrived last Thursday morning. Absolutely beautiful set of ram lambs. This was ‘Abigail’s’ first delivery and she did an excellent job all on her own. She was a lamb on one of the ewes that was Blue Carded at our Leicester Longwool 15th Anniversary event at the Maryland Sheep Festival back in 2005. I’m very pleased with both ram lambs and named them ‘Grover’ and ‘Harrison’. I will entertain an offer to buy them as well I’ll entertain keeping one for a breeding ram in 2009. These lambs are ‘Dicken’s’ first as well. So now ‘Dicken’ is a proven ram, and he is for sale. I have hopes to sell him and two ewes this year as a starter flock. I used three different rams this breeding and should have a nice selection of unrelated sheep for sale.  Check out my SHEEP page to see the picture of Abigail and her boys.

The weather up here is that of Antarctica! It’s very snowy and there’s no sign of Spring up here, anywhere! I’ve been told there are crocuses and daffodils abloom in the Happy Valley (Hadley and Northampton) as well in Alabama and Washington State, but no such luck here. If the ground ever reveals herself I have a big bed of parsnips to dig and harvest. We’ve started our onions and leeks by seed already and will start the tomatoes and peppers in April. Really looking forward to the greening of Cummington. Winter has just successfully brainwashed me to forget what green grass and green leaves and fresh veges smell like. This is a very difficult time of year for us in the Hilltowns. Hang in there everyone!

2/23/2008

Lunar Eclipse, Cranberry Moon

This past week we had a lunar eclipse. At 11pm, I was awakened by the sheep monitor and a huge light pouring into my bedroom window. Little ice crystals creeping up the inside of the storm window glistening and shaking with the light of the moon. It was a sign, I thought and jumped out of bed. Layering on the longjohns and jeans, the sweater and down coat, off I went to the barn. Alas, no lambs had arrived, but the ewes were quiet restless. I guess its hard to sleep through such a terrestrial event, for any one. I stayed awhile, picking at the hay and straw bits on the long mane of the ram, "Dicken". He is enjoying this time alone with his harim. These are his first lambs too. I thought it only kind and appropriate that he sees his prodogy arrive.

We are still in the midst of Winter’s rein. The snow storms continue to accumulate feet of snow. Pretty, yes. My efforts to shovel after each storm is waning and I’ve helped the clearing efforts by strategically placing hay here and there out in the paddock so the sheep will venture out to claim it. It’s working!

I’m picking up two black Romney ewes tomorrow. They are yearlings, as of April. This is my effort to boost my natural color lines. They are going to be a great addition to the flock.

12/21/2007

Winter Solstice

Winter Solstice Blessings to all !

The four-legged creatures and two alike. Tonight we shall enjoy the longest, brightest night of the year. The full moon is as close to the earth as it gets and the night is as long as it gets. Enjoy the subtle crisp night air and take a walk down an old country road. There, just at the end of the road, just before the bend in the road, just past the horseshoe corner and just a smidge past the neighbor’s porch light…. there you will find the secret of the night. The long Winter is about to rule and we must obey. Gather your wools, gather your wheels, spin all day, spin all night, a tale that only us spinners and weavers can tell. By day and night, by shuttle, by bobbin, we fill and refill the hope and prayers for the blessings of the coming year. We are thankful and quiet in memory for those we have lost this year. We will never forget you. You are in our cloth, you are in our yarns. Thank you for blessing our lives. We honor your life and story.

God Speed

Sheep Rule

Follow the hooven path……………………..

12/5/2007

Snowy Days

It’s been snowing on and off up in the Hilltowns for almost a week. The ground is frozen and the few flower heads with seeds have given up their wholesome nuritiousment to the little chickadees and finches. Now we are feeding out some black oil sunseeds and suet for the wild birds that stick around for the winter. We are on the count down for harvest of the lambs. This weekend is the planned harvest and we are blessed with four healthy lambs and two rams this year. This will be the first time we harvest a mature sheep for mutton and sausage. All the lamb is destined to be in the freezer at friends and family’s homes for Christmas. The traditional Christmas lamb will bless our table as well. Last week we delivered three ewes to their new homes. It wasn’t difficult because they were going to very good homes. Not only will their wool be used but they will be enjoyed by humane loving shepherds. It’s the best I could hope for them. As I move into more purebred breeding, I have to reduce the size of the crossbred ewe flock. That was the main focus of down sizing the ewe flock this year. All for now, Lisa

11/20/2007

HAPPY THANKSGIVING 2008 !

Greetings from Snowy Cummington. It’s snowing this morning and making the paddocks look pristine and clean, with sheep laying down collecting a white covering on their fine fleeces. Perhaps abit romantic, but the snow is a welcome quiet to our, oft times, hectic lives. Even in the middle of breeding season, there seems to be alot of chores pressing at us… cordwood stacked closer by the house and barn, clearing of manure from the paddock, trimming trees, cutting trees, milling trees, putting the garden to bed with the final planting of the garlic and shallots…. And so the wool washing begins. There was a repreive for a couple months but now that the woodstove is burning there’s a lovely passive drying system in place for the wool to dry in a days time or so. I’ll start dying wool now too. I have 12 new colors to experiment with and look forward in blending and spinning some one of a kind yarns. I’ve been spinning for weaving over the whole summer. I’ll be setting up the looms now planning projects like shawls, throws and scarves.

The really great news I want to share as well, is that I was able to purchase five new Leicester Longwool ewes! There are three new ram lines within the new group and two of the five are proven ewes that are in with "Charles" now getting bred. The three ewe lambs are in full fleece and are in good condition. This occurance was a blessing and a huge boost for my breeding program. I am indebted to the seller and will be focused on keeping them in good steed.

Due to the increase in ewe stock I will be able to sell all the ewe lambs next season. I plan to sell all the lamb stock next year and hope that the list of interested buyers will be active and useful. I am also holding one open ram lamb, registered natural colored "Leavon" over for the winter. He has great potential for crossbreeding. Dicken was not sold this year so he’ll also be available for sale, he’s a purebred Leicester Longwool ram. I’ve planned to harvest Paragon this year. He’s been a good ram for crossing onto my other longwool ewes, producing healthy and fast growing lambs with great wool and carcass quality.

The wool business is doing well and between doing NY Sheep Fair at Rhinebeck and the website, things are going forward. I will only be doing two shows next year and hope to develop the website business and focus on weaving.

10/28/2007

Hunter Full Moon

It’s the end of October, full moon this month is called the Hunter Moon. Deer hunting season has begun, though I don’t really concern myself with that. We raise our own meat on the land here and enjoy the meat throughout the year. The breeding season is in full swing with now three breeding groups engaged. I am planning for five Leicester Longwool ewes to be bred and have yet to fully determine if all the other longwool ewes will be bred or not. I am breeding Luna, my colored LL cross and Georgia another LL cross. Georgia will be bred and delivered to a new owner in December. With Luna my efforts are focused on breeding for more colored stock. I have some new lines arriving in the near future and am looking forward to having them up here from Pennsylvania. These are proven ewes and ewe lambs.

We spent most of today moving all the Worthington girls back home and getting everyone settled. The ram lambs are now up at Cranberry Cove with the all mighty Paragon as their overseer. So I still have five groups to watch over, but at least they are all on our land.

Enjoy the colder temperatures, as we all are here.

10/2/2007

HARVEST MOON BREEDING

Starting breeding two Leicester Longwool groups on the Harvest Moon, September 26th. The Autumnal equinox and her transitional spirit is leading the way into the breeding season with clarity and hope. I am following some ancient breeding instincts and the animals are in contented agreement. It’s time. So with some freshing cut grass hay and dug root vegetables for fodder, we are awakening the fertility and nurturing.

The pastures are still viable but definetly are waning in good nutrition. Supplementing with whole natural grains and vegetables from the garden. Carrot and Parsnip green tops seem to be the most popular treats. The colors of the changing leaves is developing and is very beautiful. The wool on the sheep is filling in and by the very cold temperatures arrival, their wool coats will be protective.

8/15/2007

August new moon

In the new moon stage of August. Only contentment and peaceful days. On the full moon, August 28th, we’ll be shearing the ewes and lambs, 21 in all. This is another 8 month clip for the ewes, the lambs are 5 months old. I’ve found that the wool is growing well enough and yet the lambs overall growth is slow. The shearing will help in the bodies to grow alittle faster and stronger, so that upon winter’s approach the lambs will be large enough for harvest or to get through the winter easily.

Sage and her two ewe lambs will be going to another farm in a nearby country town. I’m sad to see them leave, but also very pleased I’ve been able to keep the threesome together. They really are a handsome flock. Maybe they will be bred one day by one of my rams?

The breeding plan is beginning to take shape. I’ll be using three LL rams, unless some of them sell. I have enough ewe stock to give them each at least 3 ewes to partner up with. I’ll use Charles as the clean up ram again this year. I’m always hopeful for more color in the flock.

I’m nursing a ram lamb right now. He’s gotten weak from worm load and he’s in quarentine being nursed back to good health. The rain got the best of the pasture and the lambs on pasture can be difficult on them. I haven’t had too many problems this season.

Thanks for stopping by.

7/1/2007

Full Moon June\’s End

Incredible weather comes on the heals of this long month of June. The full moon is a sheep’s evening luminary, luring them to fine dining on the grasses in full bloom. The larger flock in Worthington is in a pasture with an abundance of mature grasses, downward slope offering a constant cool low to the ground breeze, and always the intriquing menagire of horses, a pony, chickens and some fine looking gentleman wether rams that also share the land nearby. So, no worries on that front.

Here we have two groups of sheep. The breeding rams, now three mature purebred Leicester Longwool rams, live up in "Cranberry Cove". They have about an acre of fenced in pasture and a shelter. I supplement them daily with second cut hay, alittle grain and fresh water. Even when I offer them to go to the larger pasture, they choose to stay in their little hamlet. So I’ve given up on offering it to them as the ewe flock is larger and love the grasses and the lambs take their afternoon naps up in the daylilly patch. Once while taking a head count I was missing the little ewe lamb "Franconia". Finally I discovered she was nestled in the daylilly patch keeping cool and sleeping. You’d think her mother would have mention this to me since I was all in a tizzy calling and calling for Franconia, Franconia….

Onto the beautiful month of July ! My favorite time of year. It really feels more like a "stay at home" vacation with all the sheep so content and healthy. I should like to take advantage of this time and work on digging and moving some perennials and planning for next year’s garden designs. Maybe a trip to the river for a dip, a picnic or two and of course, nice rides on the motorcycle. See you down the road.

5/31/2007

BLUE MOON in MAY

That’s right, it’s a Blue Moon tonight. That means two full moons in one month. Last night was a beautiful illuminated night and I was acutely aware of a lurking presence when I got home in the evening. My flashlight caught the eyes of some kind of creature, hidden in the bushes near the rams area at Cranberry Cove. In my concern, I decided to close up the flock in the paddock with some limited exposure to the fence line. Of course, nothing happened.

Yesterday I brought home a pair of cats for the job of mouse patrol. It’s about time to get serious about the mouse situation. Now that the hay is dwindling, they can get up into the hayloft and take care of them. Plus, in my wool room I welcome their efforts. Hope they work out and stick around.

So the sheep sales list in pretty much set. Only three mature ewes for breed stock, and three rams, two of which are lambs. There will likely be a few extra freezer lambs this winter as well.

This weekend we are bringing about 2/3 of the flock to a pasture in Worthington. So, it’ll be much quieter around the place and everyone will have a good summer.

The Massachusetts Sheep & Woolcraft Fair was last weekend. I had a booth and did very well. I was in the Craft barn and that was so nice. Now I’m just working on a few projects over the summer on the loom and still washing wool.

All for now,

Lisa

4/30/2007

FIRST EVER !

Lambing has concluded with a grand finale only made with great imagination of the Good Lord ! Announcing the very first purebred Leicester Longwool ewe lamb born on a farmstead in the state of Massachusetts, since, who knows when. A delicate yet healthy ewe lamb was born without incident at 6:00 pm Sunday night, 4/29/07, to our beloved "Minnie", #28 and her partner in all this "Charles". The ewe lamb has black factor and has two of her legs with colored markings, the majority of her fleece a sparkling white curly fleece.  Minnie’s udder is absolutely welling with rich milk, surely enough to feed triplets, but only the single lamb. She’ll grow very fast with such rich nutrition.

The sun is warming and comforting to the flock. It a beautiful day and there is cause for celebration indeed.

4/17/2007

Noreaster Storm

April 17th, three days of wet, cold weather and one ewe yet to lamb. The lambing barn flooded yesterday. Any more animals in our barn would be a disaster. The lambs are growing well and are on creep feed now. Playful and full of springy legs, hoping straight up off the ground, curious about their surroundings. One ewe dried up her udder, so I’m supplementing her lamb with milk replacer. All the lambs have had their tails docked and brass ear tags. Permanent ear tags when they grow abit more. I have a list started of who’s for sale already, it’s on the Sheep link of the website. Let’s hope for some drying weather, and soon.

4/3/2007

April Fools or Blessing?

Upon the evening of April 1st, our first lamb was born. A perfect purebred Leicester Longwool ram lamb out of Beatrice. This was her first lamb and she exhibited strong mothering and protective instincts. We have given him the name "Edward", in honor of a dear friend. He seems to sleep alot yet when awake is very active and alert. We will keep him open and he will remain in our flock until he is full grown and finds a "suitable" flock to sire.

Another delivery last night, 1 am, ram lamb out of Nuggett. Huge ram, alert, healthy and quickly bonding with his mother and her milk resivor. We’ve named this lad "Gypsum", after all the gypsum board Ernie is dismantling this week (work related, that’s OK isn’t it?)

So we are expecting 6 more ewes to deliver and chances of them arriving this week are likely. Stay tuned.   

3/26/2007

Sad News

We have some sad news to report. Our dear sweet Llama, Chenille, has passed away. She was not doing well for a couple weeks and I treated her as well as I could. Since she was our first llama here, there were many unknown issues. I was so happy with her guarding the flock and she seemed to be healthy and content with her new life with us. This turn of events has jarred my heart into a quiet sadness. There will be no replacement for her lovely grace.

3/5/2007

Total Eclipse of the MOON

On March 3rd, in the early evening, a full lunar eclipse occured. I happen to witness it at work, on a quick break for a breath of fresh air. It was quite beautiful. The day prior brought an icy wintery mix of nasty weather, but this night was unique, clear and calm. At least for a short while. Within a few moments of the lunar eclipse’s grand finale, snow squalls raced in to take it’s place. By the time I got home from work that night, another 6 inches of snow was on the ground. Covering all the slushy icy tormented ground.

Besides the weather living up to it’s tradition for March, in like a Lion, I do actually hope it leaves like a Lamb. Especially since I’m expecting some lovely lambs this year. I am preparing the lambing jugs for birthing and getting all the proper lambing supplies on hand. The ewes are swelling with lambs and it sure looks as if at least half of them are with twins. It’s going to be a fun April around here.

The Llama, Chenille, took ill last week. She was down on her feed and very low energy. After some efforts to adjust her intake and give her Probilos and wormer, I think she finally responded and got up to join the flock. After calling around for Vets, I realized anyhow I was in charge and couldn’t rely on any Vet to help her. There are so few large animal vets, and even fewer that will make farm calls or know about ruminants, especially camlids. I started growing wheat grass, mainly for an indoor green inspiration. I cut the grass a fed it to the llama and she is very pleased and responsive to that as well.

Enjoy the month of March. Expect a miracle. Live today.

Cheers!

2/8/2007

Chillin\’ in February

Yep, it’s official, Winter is here. Finally !

So even with the very cold windchills of below 0′, and the overnight temperatures hovering at 0′, the sheep are doing fine. Locked into the barn at night, they huddle in the corners to warm eachother in a cooperative effort. In the morning, opening up the doors I see their little whiskers finely laced with ice and a very docile slow moving group of awakening sweethearts. Sure, I can see the romance of it all, but I wonder if they can appreciate it.

We started late gestation rations this week. Feeding out more grain and splitting the feeding of hay between three sessions during the day. Some ewes are showing more than the others. I have to change coats of the larger ewes as their bellies are pressing the confines of the coats. The fleeces underneath are very white, clean and glistening. I’ll keep the coats on until they go out to pasture in May/June. Shearing is planned for late August, which will be an 8 month clip, same as this last one. The fiber length is 6 inches and very nice quality.

Thanks for reading, I’ll be back in March.

1/29/2007

JANUARY 2007

I have to at least write a little something about January 2007. It started out very mild and unlike any winter I’ve experienced to date. Ah, but now, there is reason to believe that Old Man Winter does still live here in the hills. He took a long time to awaken, but he’s actively blowing freezing winds and causing the little whiskers around the sheep’s mouths to catch mositure and freeze like little silver threads. I’ve shut the ewes in at night to help them stay closer and warmer. Having sheared them on Solstice, December 21st, they don’t have a lot of wool on. They have coats on, but they don’t warm them as much as you might think. The coats are good for keeping the fleece clean and free of VM.

I may be adopting an ornory doe goat to  be a companion to my ornory old ram Paragon. I will move the two up to Cranberry Cove for the rest of the winter to make more room for my ewes and later for the lambs too. I did have my first kick from Chenille the llama last week. I, by mistake and not thinking, put both my hands on her rump as I was just about to loose my balance. She did not appreciate such contact and swiftly kicked my left chin. Luckily my boot protected most of the blows impact. I wouldn’t want to be on the recieving end of a llama attack, that’s for sure. I reassured her it wasn’t her fault and we carried on.

I’m so glad I’m lambing in April again this year. With the cold temperatures now, I feel confident I made a good choice to put lambing into the warmer side of Spring.

12/26/2006

Winter Solstice

A blessing of freshly shorn fleeces on this winter solstice, blade-sheared by Kevin Ford, master sheep shearer, wool judge and kind hearted man. It’s been 8 months and the wool was an average of 6 inches in length. Many of the fleeces were in good condition and a couple in very good condition and I’ll likely hold on to them for next Spring’s contests. I have coated the ewes to make sure they aren’t getting a chill. The breeding is done, but in a week or so I’ll put Charles in with the ewes to "clean-up" in case some didn’t take. So we’re expecting April lambs this Spring out of 10 bred ewes.

11/22/2006

HAPPY THANKSGIVING

The blessings of another year are apparent with the harvest and bounty this year. Even in these challenging economic times, we have been abundantly rewarded with fine food, fine wool and a bucoli lifestyle. We’ll be sharing our bounty this year with our families and friends and wish all of you the same.

The colder temperatures are finally approaching and I couldn’t be happier. It’s much better on the sheep in full fleece and to hault the parasite loads and give everyone a chance to be bred comfortably. There’ll be another cycle for breeding and by Christmas everyone should be bred and the rams can be released of their duties.

10/24/2006

Ready and Waiting

It’s almost time to turn the rams in with the ewes for breeding. Since most of the big changes around here happen on weekends, due to work schedules, it’ll be this weekend that the rams will come up to the barn for the winter, and earn their keep. In the plans, Paragon (white purebred Leicester Longwool) will have two purebred LL ewes and two Border Leicester/Cotswold cross ewes to breed this season. Charles (colored purebred LL) will have six ewes to his harem, 2 of which will be purebred LL ewes. In total, ten ewes are to be bred this season. It is the most we’ve bred to date. In a separate pen is the wether ram Aaron with the two retained lambs from this year, Luna and Dicken, both out of Charles. I have little concern that Dicken, open purebred LL ram lamb, will be able to breed Luna (colored LL/bluefaced leicester cross ewe lamb). He has absolutely no clue at the moment. If he does show interest they’ll have to be separated until the ewes are done with the rams.

I am doing my last fiber show this coming weekend, the FiberTwist, in Greenfield, MA. I’m looking forward to it and then the nice long cold winter to focus on my weaving projects.

10/11/2006

Harvest Moon is Beautiful !

The 2006 Harvest Moon of October 7th was absolutely beautiful. The whole week leading up to the full moon and the waning week after the full moon has lite the night with a very peaceful glow. Our flock of ewes is back home after four months of "work". Eating down grassy pastures and wide open space. Now they are home, mingling with the trees and sloped landscape. The breeding shoud begin shortly. The ewes seem content and readied for breeding. I will accomodate them with using the two mature rams and preliminarily offering the ram lamb an opportunity to breed a couple ewes.

9/12/2006

Full Moon, Bright Stars

The end of summer and the harvesting of apples and squash and finally some tomatoes, bring the fall fiber events that we’ll be attending. The sugar maples are starting to change colors and the cool nights bring frosty kisses to the tender flowers. The sheep are doing great! Not to worry about them. I do miss them since the ewes are on another farm nearby, grazing some lovely grasses. I am still trying to decide whether or not to breed them for April and March lambs. Later is so much less work, much better temperatures for me to deal with lambing difficulties, but the down side is if they go onto pasture in early May, the lambs won’t have their lamb creep set up and will miss what the grain can offer for improved growth. On the other hand, less graining is less expense. And yet on the other hand  the local fresh lamb market appreciates grass fed. I’ll keep you posted on that decision.

Flock size is 15 at the moment. 4 rams, 11 ewes.

8/3/2006

August Arrives in a HEAT WAVE !

It’s been in the high eighties, nineties, and some say up to 100 degrees. But up here in the Hilltowns I don’t think it’s gotten quite that high. The temperatures are nonetheless very hard on the sheep. I’ve got the majority of the flock in a lovely pasture in Worthington. It’s on a sloped landscape and there seems to be a constant flow of air and breeze thankfully. We recently were able to acquire a llama and she is guarding the sheep and adjusting to her flock duties.

We will be shearing the lambs this month. Alittle early since our shearer is having to leave for college early. The wool is incredibly clean and I can’t wait to get my hands on it to work with. I have one other flock to shear in August, it’s a Romney flock. The wool should be good and I will be selling it at the two fairs I have coming up this Fall.

Enjoy the rest of the Summer !

7/12/2006

JULY IS GOOD !

July has brought many blessing to the flock so far. After a very tense time of limited hay to feed out, we now have some lovely first cut to supplement the feeding. I was only allowing the sheep to graze a few hours a day on our pastures to help preserve the limited grazing. We were able to move half the flock over to a nearby pasture with an abundance of grass. The sheep agreeably and earnestly started in on their project and will be there for as long as possible, perhaps through October.

In the meantime, we were blessed with a beautiful llama. "Chennille" is a 9 year old female and is here at our farm bonding with the purebred Leicester Longwool flock. She is tolerating me handling her and is building her confidence to cross the stream to go out to the pasture with the flock. I believe she will be able to overcome her fears and join the flock soon.

I’m also taking an online Sheep Management course designed by the Pipestone Vets in Minnesota. I plan to continue with the course work and also attend lambing in the winter as well as a summer management intensive next year.

I’m weaving and washing wool and preparing for two more fiber shows this year.

6/25/2006

Summer Solstice Blessings

Sliding into Summer’s hot and hazy days and loving it! I can’t think of a better time to explore new ideas. You know, those ideas and questions that arise in the deep of winter with loads of the simple statement, "I’ll do that this summer". Well, it’s here! OK, at least try to do one of those new ideas. For me, now that the sheep are pretty much at a basic level of mantainence, and the wool room is full of fresh wool, it’s gotta be working up some Spin-Me Batts off my new Duncan Carder. So far I’ve made 100% Leicester Longwool Batts. They are spinning up with ease and the yarns are fabulous! The other big discipline I’ve got to focus on is my weaving. I’ve got wool blankets on one loom now and a sampler of Overshot on another. Seems like I’m beating a dead horse and I really want to make this rug with LL locks woven in. Probably use the white ram’s fleece for that. I’m pecking away at preparing for the next few shows too. So, if you don’t hear from me in a while, you’ll know I’m trying to work on these things. Not to mention all the gardens that need some HELP!

Have a great hot summer!

5/25/2006

Memorial Day Weekend

Hi All,

This is a big weekend for us. The 32nd Annual Massachusetts Sheep and Woolcraft Fair is this Saturday and Sunday. We have our farm booth and sell our woolwares there. It’s usually a great weekend of smiling fiber friendly folks running around trying to find that perfect fleece or fiber to spin or yarn to knit with. Well, I have some great stuff to offer this year and I’m really looking forward to the show. No sheep shows for me, but the wool classes are minimal and the main interest, so it would seem, is meat breeds. The 4-H contingent is very well organized and there will be plenty of them showing their sheep. The adult classes are on the minimal side. I hope to show my sheep in the future, but likely not at Cummington.

Hope some of you can make the show and stop by to visit.

4/18/2006

Lambing for 2006

Lambing is a success! We got 7 beautiful lambs this year, 2 ewe lambs and 5 ram lambs. We got one black ewe lamb, she is the first black lamb born on our farm! The rest are white fleeced and very healthy large lambs. The lambing started on March 31st and ended on a full moon evening on April 13th, with the grand finali of a black ewe lamb, which we named Luna de Sombra (moonshadow). We got one purebred Leicester Longwool ram lamb as well. This has been the most amazing and blessed lambing season and we are very thankful everything has worked out so well. If you’re interested in what we’ve choosen for stock for sale, visit the SHEEP link on the website and click the Stock Available Today link.

4/8/2006

Lambs Start to Arrive!

On March 31,2006 the first lamb was born. A very strong silent type ram lamb (named Augusto) born to Sage, a first time mother. She did a great job and delivered him herself, no complications. The second delivery was on Tuesday, April 4, 2006, a sweet dispositioned ewe lamb (Ruby Tuesday), born to Nuggett. Both of these mothers are crossbred Cotswold/Border Leicester out of Goldie our gorgous Cotswold ewe.

Now we are waiting for four more ewes to deliver. I’ll keep you posted.

2/28/2006

Cold Snap

A cold snap has arrived, finally. The ground is truely frozen now. Ernie has been able to log and cut more trees out of the new pasture area, up by Cranberry Cove. He’s gotten maple, spruce and pine out, cut into 12-16 foot lengths and dragged them up to his saw mill. The milling will take place when the weather is at least tolerable in the 30’s. While this weather is helpful for logging it’s also good for the sheep. They all have at least 4 months of wool on them and some are into 10 months of wool. So I’m not worried about them at all, even when the temps get below 0!

Last weekend we crutch all the ewes behinds, gave CDT shots, trimmed hooves and gave a good look over the bred ewes to see how far along they appear to be. It’s looking like there are some ready in the next few weeks, while a couple will be longer. Time will tell. We’ll try to be prepared for whatever comes our way.

Thanks for catching up with us. I’m sure to write when the lambs start to arrive. Oh, we’ve looked at some guard llamas and have been reading alot of them. It’s looking like we’ll be holding off however. The border collies here,there are 3, are way to important to us to risk their being displaced by the llama. They do a good job of perimeter patrol throughout the day and at night sleep in the adjacent leanto of the sheep paddock, which helps with nighttime threats. I’d like to get a llama someday though.

2/14/2006

Happy Valentine\’s Day

A lovely February morning, bright skies, snow coverd ground and relatively calm flock today. The pregnant ewes are about six weeks from lambing, their bellies deepening and bulging with their precious cargo on board. The ewe lambs are doing quite well, growing both in wool and size. I can’t wait to shear their lovely coats! Gotta wait until June. Until then, I have a few more raw fleeces to work with. I’ve been busy washing and dyeing wool, carding and spinning wool, and buying wool. I have had some very interesting wool customers of late. The uses of wool are unlimited. I have been getting requests for my freezer lamb already, for this coming December. Only time will reveal what I’ll have available, but for the most part the ram lambs will be designated for that harvest. This is the quietest winter I’ve had in awhile, due to the lambing being put off until early April. It’s an unusal feeling of ease, but I can get used to this. All for now, Lisa

1/26/2006

LocalHarvest Gets it Right!

I’m pleased to alert you to a very well written article about our farm on LocalHarvest.org. The newsletter interviews myself and some other great farmers around the country. Take a look at it and tell me what you think.

http://www.localharvest.org/newsletter/20060125/

1/23/2006

Winter or Spring?

It’s been the craziest weather so far this month. We’ve had freezing and thawing at least twice. This has cause some terrible problems with drainage, ice daming, flooding and general confusion of what to do with all this water! We’ve never had to deal with a January thaw twice in one year. Today it’s snow, thank God. It sounds very strange from my lips to be thankful for snow and cold temperatures, but it is winter, and we do need the ground to stay frozen.

The most important reason to have the freezing temperatures is so we can get some logging done. The logs are for not only firewood, but actually mostly for milling projects for the sheep barn, new chicken coop and many wood related projects we have in mind around the farm. So, the soon we get back to real winter weather, the better. Once Spring and Summer come, Ernie is doing his masonry job full time and then some. We sure do need his help around here, couldn’t do it without him, that’s for sure! Thank you Ernie.

Becky asked about how you can tell if a ewe is pregnant. Well, there are scientific ways, one of which is ultrasound. This typically is performed on the ewes in the first two months. This technique explores whether or not there are fetus’ in the ewe’s womb. Myself, along with other eager shepherds, would like to have a urine test, but it’snot cheap enough for regular flockmasters, from what I understand. So, my way of detecting pregnancy is mainly observation of behavior and the physical signs of the ewe’s bellys growing larger. First they tend to get a deeper belly, then later on in the pregnancy the belly swells horizontally. There are also signs in the vagina/vulva area that clearly indicate pregnancy. And also there teats and udder develop the closer they come to lambing time.

If you’ve had the ewes in with the rams for at least two cycles, 34 days or so, it is most likely they have been bred. My sheep cycle between late September and December, so as long as the they are exposed to a ram during that time, I’m pretty sure they’ve been bred. Typically yearling ewes deliver single lambs, and older mature ewes deliver mulitiple lambs; twins or triplets. That’s been my experience.

Just a note, I’ve been very occupied with a new retail shop in Florence, MA. I joined Wool & Dye Works beginning of January and things are going well. I’m selling my woolwares there, roving, yarns, handwovens and Louet Spinning wheels. If anyone is in the area, I hope you can stop by for a visit. I’m usually in the shop on Saturdays and Mondays I have a Drop In Spin from noon to 2pm.

All for now, L

1/1/2006

Happy New Year!

The first day of the new year, 2006, brings in some hope and promise. The end of breeding for my ewes this season is marked by the strainuous effort to muck out all the pens. With clean paddocks they can be comfortable and free of the rams interest. But for one fresh ewe there should be no more ewes in heat until next September or so. I’m hopeful that all the ewes I had in with the rams are bred and we can expect lambing to begin March 25th and onward until May 25 or so.

I put the two open rams and one wether ram together. I used a head sheild over the dominate ram so he won’t damage the younger ram. It’s working so far. They make contact, but not near as dangerous if left without the sheild. So, time will help those lads out, work out the kinks, but don’t kill each other, Please!

It’s snowing and a gentle wind in the trees loosens the fallen snow off the pine bows overhead. Seems like a good day to take a nap. Hope the cud chewing four-leggeds get the hint from nature. Sleep it off.

Cheers to you all, Happy New Year!

12/8/2005

Chilly Nights

Winter’s arrival has made for long chilly nights for the sheep. The new barn is partially closed in now. One last detail of installing the sliding door in Paragon’s area where he and four ewes call home right now. The bitter cold and wind howl all night and must be just brutal on the sheep. Yet first thing in the morning, they are out and about, hoofing through the dry snowy ground. Ernie spent yesterday making a wonderful wood dividing wall that serves a dual purpose of separation and feeding arrangement. I think this is going to be so helpful for feeding out and keeping “me” safe from the raging ram!

A couple of days ago we managed to take care of the one ram lamb that was designated for Christmas dinner. The process was relatively easy on all of us. The pelt is going to be very nice. It’s a difficult thing to do yourself when you raise up the animal, but it’s also an important part of farming.

Right now in the flock we have three groups; Group 1: five lambs, four ewe lambs and one wether ram lamb- Group 2: Breeding with Charles, black Leicester Longwool ram, 2 ewes- Group 3: Breeding with Paragon, white Leicester Longwool ram, 4 ewes.

I plan to leave these groups as they are through the New Year. I need to be sure the ewes are bred. They all seem to be in good condition and are getting along for the most part.

11/22/2005

Happy Thanksgiving

Greetings from the Berkshire Hills of Massachusetts. It’s a snowy day and the sheep are nestled in the fold. Bleating for the comfort of more Hay!!! I shall accomodate in due time. Somehow the feeding schedule seems unfair with it’s regular and diliberate rationing. But so it goes, my days need the rhythm of the chores, probably more than they do.

Our sheep barn is taking on more of it’s final form. The roof went on and the back wall is sheathed with pine boards and little windows placed symetrically along the plane at human eye level. Even with the snow blowing outside, Ernie and Germaine work on the details of the hay and grain feeder. It’s a great design, made with ease for the people to feed out without being stampeded, and to keep out hay from the fleece.  The rest of the barn sheathing will be milled up over the long winter months by Ernie on his bandsaw wood mill. He has a great plan in mind and I dare not interupt the creative process. Over the years I’ve come to trust his instincts and especially his craft of building. If it’s built by Ernie, it’s built right and true. It’s worth waiting for!

So I leave you for a few days, off to Vermont to see my brother and his family. Two stars, Bjorn and Annalise, born on the same day, two years apart. Can’t wait to see what’s up with them. Cheers. Lisa

11/10/2005

Sheep Barn progress

Today was supposed to be a “rain” day for Ernie, which means indoor plaster work on an old house nearby. But lo and behold, the sun is here, the winds are whipping and the temperature is 40, but he’s going to work on the sheep barn. Siding is going up along the back wall and if there’s time and more boards, along the front. Last night was a cold blowing rain all night. The sheep in the far pen made due with out a roof over their heads. God Bless them. The metal roofing is due to be delivered on Saturday morning, just in time for our planned roofing day. How convienent!

I’m washing lamb fleece for a customer that wants it spun up into yarn. It’s off the wether ram lamb “Aaron”, who was the cutest little lamb in the bucket which I had on the website front page all summer. His fleece is soft and lovely. He is half Leicester Longwool and half Bluefaced Leicester. What’s not to like? I planned on having him be the companion sheep for the ram of whomever needs a companion at any given time. Right now Aaron and Raz are together. Raz is the open ram lamb that will be harvested soon, he’s half LL and half Costwold. The lamb fleece shorn off of him is awesome too.

I’ll be working of dying alot of the lamb fleece to make into some lovely colored rovings. I probably have about 20 new colors to experiment with.

All for now, Lisa

11/9/2005

Coyote Watch

You know you’re living on a sheep farm when the threat of a coyote looms near. I can assure you, the threat is real. We have seem a lone large coyote, in very good condition on our land for the last three weeks now. First sighting up in Cranberry Cove where the rams are summered. That sighting prompted up to bring up the rams to the barn. The last two sightings were at the end of our driveway. Simply standing still and peering at us, he didn’t move or run away. Obviously scoping out the place. He must have gotten the cat afterall.

I spent some time running extra electric net fencing around the outside of our paddock fencing this morning. I hope the next howl I hear is his cry of pain from being zapped. I have seen scat on our perimeter walks in the woods, which reveal the remains of smaller hairy animals like squirrel or chipmunk. This canine is running in chahoots with a bostrus screach owl. Between the two of them with their erry noises during the night, it’s enough to curdle your blood.

Thank goodness the three Border Collies stand on alert, in their kennels, during the night. More later I’m sure…. Lisa

11/6/2005

Breeding Begins

Today the rams and ewes have been put together for their breeding season. Our older ram, "Paragon", a white Leicester Longwool, has four ewes to service, while our new Black Leicester Longwool ram "Charles" has two ewes. I plan to leave them in these groups for at least two heat cycles, about 34 days, so that brings us into late December. Since "Charles" isn’t proven yet, I’ll put his two ewes in with "Paragon" for a month afterward to "clean up". If all goes well, I’ll be expecting lambs on March 25 and on. Stay tuned….

Yours in Shepherding, Lisa

11/1/2005

Shearing Day at The Good Shepherd Farm

Greetings, 

Shearing Day at The Good Shepherd Farm in Savoy, MA yesterday. Lovely flock of Reg. Romneys in full fleece. I was able to skirt the fleeces as they came off from the shearers who were using the age old blade shearing technique. It was a very peaceful and quiet event. The sun was shining and as the ewes ran off into the pasture their newly shorn-selves glistened in the sunlight. The flock is just about half black and half white now. I thought, a game of checkers or chess, and a few cooperative sheep, and we’d have quite the game.

To all you handspinners that have been waiting patiently, your fleeces are on the way.

Cheers, Lisa

10/31/2005

Halloween 2005

Happy Halloween