Our puppies reveled in their first snowfall. A dusting of 4 inches stuck to the ground here in the highlands. OMG what a surprise for two rambunctious pupsters at first light! Hard to get a picture of them standing still, but I thought you'd enjoy watching their morning play in their transformed back yard. Now I'm off to visit the sheep. Happy Friday.
Read More
Today's post is in celebration of the simple joy of moving sheep on a sunny afternoon. I can't remember the last time I rotated pastures with the sun shining. The only good thing about wet weather is the grass is still growing like mad. Fingers crossed for a solid week of dry so we can make hay. Check out the mid-afternoon long shadows, a true sign of the season. In the meantime, sheepies love tall grass. Nom, nom nom . . . . . Thanks to everyone for sharing my frustration over my Rhinebeck fiasco. More about that and
Read More
Yep, you heard me right. This is bad. Due to a major technical/bureaucratic glitch, I did not receive my NYS Sale Tax Certificate of Authority in time to participate in this year’s festival (despite being told on 10/3 that I would have it in time). Since everything I sell in Duchess County NY is subject to NY sales tax, I am sorry to report that I am unable to participate in this year’s festival as a vendor. I learned this yesterday morning. You should have seen the smoke coming out of my ears. So I have a hotel room, a rental
Read More
Meet Farley and Zoe, our golden pups who arrived at the tail end of September. Life has been non-stop puppy mayhem for three weeks, but we are completely in love with the new members of our family. Farley and Zoe are half siblings (same father) but since they came from the same breeder and were raised together (only a week apart in age) they think and act like siblings. Farley is a beluga-sized, low-key male. He loves sleeping on his back, tummy rubs and sitting on the couch watching t.v. Zoe is a high-energy, peanut-sized female. She loves ripping
Read More
Today is the official Cast-On day for Foxfire Fiber's "Crash Your Stash" Autumn KAL. The rules are easy, and the prizes are great! There's still time to join us. "What will you create from our wool?" Up for grabs are NINE prizes – comprised of both brand new Foxfire yarns (& spinning fiber) and vintage Foxfire Fiber & Designs skeins no longer available to the public. The best part of this KAL is you get to do whatever project you want. We're calling this a KAL but projects may be knit, crotchet, handspun, woven or felted. The only requirement is you use Foxfire Fiber &
Read More
Stillwater at the Bridge of Flowers & Iron Bridge, Shelburne Falls, MA (photo by Ben Barnhart, 2009) I'm posting for the second time today in response to a reader comment on my earlier post (thank you Marcy for your thoughtful question). I learned that a fund has been established locally to provide relief to those in Franklin county whose homes and businesses were severely damaged by the storm (please read to the end of this post if you would like to contribute). I just returned from a trip to the village. After a stop at the P.O. and the bank, I took
Read More
We all survived Hurricane Irene. Sheep, llamas, goat, people – all fine here. There are even pears left on the tree. We were very lucky. Here are a few shots of the farm yesterday afternoon: Before the storm we had taken measures to keep the sheep well away from risky, flood-prone closest to the brook. They weathered the storm just fine. Oddly enough, they preferred standing outside in the rain, heads pointed into the wind making me really wonder what goes on inside their wooly hears. I supposefFor them last Sunday was just another very windy, rainy day. That was
Read More
What will Hurricane Irene mean for our farm? Like everyone along the eastern seaboard, we're being told to brace ourselves and be ready for the worst. High winds, torrential rain and extended power outage. Yesterday I rounded up the flock in the high pasture and brought everyone down to the barn to ride out the storm. Without power, electric fences are useless; I don't want to chasing sheep all over Patten Hill in a hurricane. I picked as many pears as I could from the tree beside the sheep pasture. Our pears are lumpy and imperfect to the eye, but
Read More
I have some exciting non-sheep related news. We are getting puppies in September! A pair of Golden Retrievers (male and female) will soon call our farm home. I have been in contact with breeder Louise Guy (of Stoneledge Golden Retrievers) since June after losing our dear Daphne. At the time I wasn't sure we wanted another dog so soon but was intrigued to learn that Louise's dogs share common U.K. bloodlines with all three of our girls who passed away over the last year. After meeting Louise and falling in love with her dogs Holly, Crystal (the moms) and Gucci
Read More
At last, our new Shetland lambs can play with the rest of the flock. After passing muster with our vet, they spent a day sharing adjacent pens in the barn with our Cormo ewe lambs (and Mistral, Georgia, Arial and Crackerjack). Everyone got to sniff each other. Then we opened up the gates and let them mingle. It felt a little like sending children out into the school yard on the first day of school. Sassy and Ginger were eager to mix it up with the big sheep. The Cormo ewe lambs seem to think, "Cool, more lambie friends! Check
Read More
