For me, the only thing more exciting than waiting for lambs to arrive is waiting for the arrival of freshly spun skeins and carded roving from the fiber mill. I picked up the first of my spring yarns at the spinnery this week. This yarn run has been in the queue at Green Mountain Spinnery since the end of last year. In February the newly shorn fleeces from my Cormo-cross yearlings joined my late autumn wool clip at the mill to produce boxes of glowing skeins (now stacked floor to ceiling in the studio). For me, the timing is a
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As promised, here are some better shots of last Monday's cormo shearing day, courtesy of Adrian B. (thank you, Adrian!). Kodiak waits her turn in the holding pen: Andy Rice at work: Crackerjack, a concerned guardian, supervises: "Hey, careful with my sheep!" Peeling off the fleece. It's a beauty. Buttercup, post-shearing. We don't bother shaving noses which is why she still looks a little grungy (but sweet). The lanolin in the wool really attracts and holds dirt, another reason why those coats are so important. Buster was bored. It was a very long day.  Click here to see more of
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Thanks to everyone who suggested names for this little guy, CVM ram lamb #1. So many cute names – and you were all thinking creatively about colors.  When choosing a name I imagine myself calling the lamb from out in the field. Will a sheep respond to this name? Will I feel silly shouting it at the top of my lungs in the pasture? Sometimes a name comes along that is just a perfect match. Which is what we thought of "Tumbleweed", suggested last week by Lori. Of all the great ideas, this one best fits this little ram. When
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Monday was the big push to shear all adult cormos, including the bred ewes – and also the day of what I hope will be the last winter storm. A ripping nor'easter rolled in early Monday and pretty much socked it to us all day, dumping a good 8" of powder here in western Mass. Although we worked indoors and the sheep were all inside, it was not the ideal conditions for shearing day. The good thing about Monday was the help. Since the storm forced school cancellation, we got lucky and scored a couple of high school students for
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Choosing this year's theme for naming the lambs was a lot fun but not so easy. Thank you everyone for adding to the pool of imaginative  and clever suggestions for names. With soooo many great ideas, choosing the right one was difficult, but we've chosen a naming theme that feels just right for this year, for several reasons (as you'll soon see!). Without further ado, this year's theme,  suggested by Lisa of New Hampshire,  is COLORS, which, as Lisa pointed out, feels especially appropriate with the release of my hand-dyeing book (Teach Yourself Visually Hand-dyeing, Wiley Publishing) later this spring. 
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Yet  again!  It seems last week's milder temperatures were just a tease. And we now return to our regularly scheduled winter. I kept an eye on the sky this morning as I made my rounds, hoping to make it to the village for a latte and Sunday papers before the pending storm.  First stop, the big barn. The bred ewes (above) are becoming absolutely rotund. They are due for shearing next week, and I'll be anxious to see if they are  heavy in fleece or heavy with lambs – or just plain heavy. It's so hard to tell under all
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Winter flexed its muscle last night but today held early signs that winter is losing its grip. After a fast-moving overnight storm and a snowy start, by 9:30 it was low 40's. By noon the sun's warmth had melted the snow from the barn roof  and the traces of last night's storm from memory.  Any seasonal shift infuses the barn with restless anticipation. Lots of jumping, jostling sheep as I doled our this morning's hay. Amy appreciated a quiet moment and a private helping of hay away from the frenetic energy in the barn. The newly shorn yearlings, who look
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It feels really good to have shearing round one behind us. Thursday was long day, but the yearlings were surprisingly mellow and the day was mild.  Here are a couple of cameo "before" shots: Issey, looking rather sober,  was first up. His fleece was a snowy white, soft, billowy cloud. You can see the line  at the neck where the jacket protected the wool and also how the coat slightly compressed the fleece. The wool expands like a marshmallow when released. And here's Pucci, looking more ready for a nap than his first hair cut. The "after" shot: a group
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Preparing for our first round of shearing involved a goat transfer. Holly escorted Butch and Gypsy to the Commons on the west side of Reynolds Road, which was looking pretty empty without the yearlings. There's nothing like a pair of goats to liven up a party. After weeks of segregation, Butch and Gypsy  are just plain thrilled to have some sheep to push around. With a glint in their eyes, they were quick to show the Border Leicesters who's in charge. I'm beginning to wonder if tomorrow's shearing day will be an endurance test of sorts. Mike's got two cracked
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First of all, I am overwhelmed by the number of fantastic suggestions for naming this year's soon-to-be-here lambs. Thank you to everyone who has written a blog comment or sent an idea via email. Some of you are thinking way outside the box. There are serious themes, cute themes, arty themes, nature themes, geographical themes, political themes, religious themes and literary themes. Clearly, we're going to have some fun with names this spring. I'm holding off on deciding for a few more weeks. Stay tuned here to discover this year's name theme – and the lucky winner of our contest.
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