Monthly Archives June 2010

Sheep Shares Lamb Visit

June 30, 2010 | 7 Comments

The lambs had company on Sunday. We got lucky with a picture-perfect day for our Sheep Shares Lamb Visit. The flock was on their best behavior. Mostly. They lampeded for guests before fanning out to graze in the field. Holly and Mike gave a farm tour. The bottle lambs scampered right over and hung out with us for the afternoon. Helena stole someone's plate of grapes and carrots. Crackerjack eyed the refreshment table but minded his manners. Mistral peed on the picnic blanket . . . yet still managed to win everyone's heart . . . while amusing us with
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Sheep Shares Lamb Visit part two

June 29, 2010 | 4 Comments

More scenes from the day: Georgia and Mistral remained center stage throughout the afternoon. Even when the rest of the flock drifted back toward the barn and we settled down to knitting in the shade, they wandered from guest to guest. Mistral inspected the contents of every knitter's bag (for contraband bottles?), - and almost frogged someone's w.i.p.! Georgia just wanted to be spoiled. She was not disappointed. Like a pair of toddlers, into everything!!! When it was time for a group shot Georgia took her second nap of the day in the arms of her new best
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Wake Up Call

June 24, 2010 | 71 Comments

Let me explain the pause in blogging – and please read this post carefully because it contains an important message for all my female readers. My agenda last week included prepping to teach handspinning at WEBS, dyeing summer yarn share samples, helping Holly give lambs their CDT boosters, getting ready for the Open Farm on the 27th, collecting sheep and goat fecal samples for inspection, sowing another round of salad greens and staking the tomatoes, attending my nephew's high school graduation in New Hampshire, working on my book . . . My "to do" list didn't include having a heart attack.
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Bottle Lamb Nostalgia

June 14, 2010 | 14 Comments

Georgia & Mistral Garamond My three little friends are now bottle lambs in name only – since we're entering week two of the weaning phase. That doesn't stop them from mobbing me the moment I set foot in the barn, nudging and nosing around my legs, insistently bah-ing, pleading eyes, jumping up in protest when all I have to offer is a handful of hay. Garamond is taking it very well. He's caught on to the "no more milk" thing, and after quickly checking just to be sure there are no bottles up my sleeve, he ducks outside. Georgia is
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Foggy Farm part two

June 12, 2010 | 5 Comments

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Foggy Farm

June 12, 2010 | 2 Comments

Nothing yanks me out of bed as fast as the sound of lamb in distress. That's what I thought I heard at 5:30 a.m. today. Patten Hill is socked in by mist this morning, making it hard to do a head count. But when I arrived in the pasture (above) all was well. But the farm looks like a different place in the fog. Late yesterday afternoon Holly and I had moved the entire lamb flock with mothers and Crackerjack to the open barn pasture on the west side of the road – the lambs' first experience crossing the street.
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Sheep Afield

June 8, 2010 | 6 Comments

After a stormy weekend, it's always good to get back to our usually scheduled program. As I mentioned last week, we're already well into our rounds of grazing rotation. The flock is divided into several groups based on age and gender. Caitlyn's charges (top photo), a mixed group of Cormo yearlings and adults are bivouacked in the upper pasture for the moment. The mothers and lambs are centered at the "home farm" pastures – safest and closest to the barns – under Crackerjack's watchful eye. The rams hold the high ground up by the house, their usual summer digs
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Sheep Shares Members Lamb Visit Open House – Rain Date

June 5, 2010 | 2 Comments

What a tough call. I waited right up until 9 this morning to decide to postpone our Sheep Shares Members Lamb Visit Open House, although the outlook was bleak from the start. After waking at 6 a.m., sipping coffee to the sound of a torrential downpour and comparing the local news to the weather channel, I gathered we were in for a rocky day, weather-wise. By 8 there were rumbles of thunder. The hour by hour forecast on the Weather Channel showed scattered storms throughout the day. After the severity of the storm just over a week ago, I
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Lovely Llama

June 4, 2010 | 10 Comments

Just remembered – you haven't seen Caitlyn's new haircut! I found her in a quiet, meditative moment in the upper pasture the other morning, enjoying the warmth of the sun. I love her regal posture, like a monarch surveying her domain. Did you know she was a show llama before she came to us? She came from Heritage Llama Farm in East Longmeadow, MA. Her former owner, Jan, gave me a photo of her sporting a blue ribbon at a show many years ago. Caitlyn's glory days. If you compare her midriff to her brisket, neck and hind quarters,
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Back Online

June 1, 2010 | 21 Comments

It's been a challenging two weeks at the end of one of the most hectic of springs here. After a short hiatus from the farm to help with a family situation. I arrived home to nearly four days without power after last week's severe electrical storm. It's a great excuse for not doing the laundry, but it certainly creates an email back log. It also wreaks havoc on show preparation. I've never missed a Mass. Sheep & Wool Festival and was especially sad to miss this year. Thanks everyone for your concern and for checking in. We're fine – and the
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