Archives for fiber farm

Mini Donkeys are Here!

Mini Donkeys are Here!

December 4, 2012 | 8 Comments

Made it back to the farm just before dark with our three little jennets: Cupcake, Dulce and Prissy. Here they are scoping out their new barn. It was a long day for them. First visitors at their home at Save Your Ass Long Ear Rescue in New Hampshire. Then walking into a horse trailer with strangers. Then a long, bumpy ride (although we were very slow on the back roads, there were lots of back roads on this trip. We were extra careful on corners). Then off loading – down the ramp of the trailer – in a new place.
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Coming to the Farm!

Coming to the Farm!

December 3, 2012 | 10 Comments

Meet Cupcake, Dulce and Prissy – three miniature donkeys who will soon be calling Springdelle Farm their home. Mike and I are adopting these adorable long ears tomorrow from Save Your Ass Long Ear Rescue in New Hampshire. The rescue is dedicated to the rescue, rehabilitation and re-homing of donkeys and mules. I discovered their website last year when I first started thinking about adding donkeys to our woolly menagerie. Impressed by their track record, I bookmarked the website and have checked back from time to time. I was smitten with the pics and the decription of these three jennys
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Flock Talk – Shetlands and a Goat and losing daylight

Flock Talk – Shetlands and a Goat and losing daylight

November 26, 2012 | 3 Comments

Gypsy and Sassafras posed nicely for me in the midst of flock maintenance tasks. I don't know about you but I still haven't recalibrated my daily routine to daylight saving time and I really hate doing evening chores as darkens settles on the farm. Since the flock still has plenty to graze, they're not particularly fussy about what time we show up. But watch, that will soon change, once we get some snow cover – and that could be later this week. There are fluffy flakes swirling outside my window right now as I type. Mike has set up the
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Flock Talk – Rams on Frosted Pasture

Flock Talk – Rams on Frosted Pasture

November 19, 2012 | 1 Comment

Frost carpeted the pasture this morning, the heaviest of the season so far. This was the view from the kitchen window. We should get above freezing within an hour. If it stays sunny,well then it's a good day for taking down electronet fence. Tomorrow Andy's coming to trim the rams' toenails. Now that we've had severall hard frosts, it's also time for a final de-worming of the flock, to clean out any intestinal cooties. Although there's still plenty of grass up here by the house at the top of Patten, it might be prudent to move the rams back down
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Martha’s Vineyard is new home for these sheep . . . .

Martha’s Vineyard is new home for these sheep . . . .

November 12, 2012 | 7 Comments

Last week a small flock of ewes departed from the farm. Cormo ewes Chanel, Dolce, Sienna, Nimbus, Lucida and Helvetica hopped into the back of Andy's truck for a journey to their new home – on Martha's Vineyard. About eight weeks ago I was approached by a sweet couple who have some improved acreage on the island. They visited Springdelle, to meet us and my flock. Mike and I spent several hours talking sheep with them, showing them our ewes and answering their questions about keeping fine wool sheep in New England. I had assembled a small group of ewes
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Sheep Stuck in a Bucket

Sheep Stuck in a Bucket

November 7, 2012 | 14 Comments

This may be an odd way to start up again after a rather long blog hiatus, but I thought you would like seeing what greeted me yesterday morning when I stepped into the barn. I had left a grain bucket  in the barn. Java stuck her big poufy head in the bucket.The bucket stuck on her head. They were all very relieved once I extracted Java from the bucket. Aside from occasional sheep nonsense, the flock is doing well. We've had a busy summer (as summer tends to be on a farm) and  a fall full of the unexpected. I'll
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A Daisy, a Dandelion, a Bluebell and a Buttercup

A Daisy, a Dandelion, a Bluebell and a Buttercup

May 6, 2012 | 4 Comments

More wild flowers have arrived. On Thursday Crimson birthed adorable twins. We've named the ram lamb Bluebell (Blue for short) and the ewe-ling Buttercup, after her grandmother, Buttercup, one of our very first Cormos from Alice Field's flock at Foxhill Farm. As you may remember, Buttercup passed away last year. Crimson is a good mother, but her milk is slow to come in. It's weird because her udder is as big as a bowling ball, but there's very little coming out of the spigots. The lambs really have to work at it and then seem to give up. I've tried hot
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First Lambs Arrive!

First Lambs Arrive!

April 28, 2012 | 35 Comments

Big day – our first lambs are on the ground! Java delivered a pretty pair of ewe lambs late this afternoon. Thanks, everyone for voting on a theme for naming this year's lambs. Since Wild Flowers received the most votes in our poll for naming the lambs, all lambs will be named for wild flowers this year. Aren't we lucky, we get to start with girls? Would you like to suggest names for our first lambs? Leave a comment here. And check back here to stay posted on our new arrivals..  
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