Archives for sheep

The Barn After Dark

The Barn After Dark

December 14, 2012 | 3 Comments

We've reached the time of year when there just aren't enough daylight minutes at day's end. I had a meeting in Greenfield this afternoon and got back to the farm just after dark. Here's a look at the night barn with sheep and donkeys. The farrier came to the farm this morning. Donkeys don't wear shoes but their hooves need maintenance on a regular basis. Cupcake and Prissy get gold stars for standing perfectly still while Randy, the farrier, pared their little hooves and cleaned out all the ick from the frog of the hoof (the frog is the soft
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Sunny Sunday Sheep & Donkeys

Sunny Sunday Sheep & Donkeys

December 9, 2012 | 3 Comments

After two days of raw, dreary drizzle and fog, the sheep and donkeys were elated when I turned them out into the pasture this morning. The donkeys frolicked, bucked, tossed their heads and kicked up their heels in delight. I don't think they're use to having quite so much space for frisking and cavorting. The sixteen ewes who are their barn mates at the moment, were equally enthusiastic to have free run of the pasture. From the fence line they intently watched the donkey antics in the adjacent field. We are making strides with the  donkey-sheep dynamic. Since the two
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Donkey Day One

Donkey Day One

December 6, 2012 | 6 Comments

Anytime we have new arrivals at the farm, it's hard for us to resist shining the spotlight on them. I've been spreading the word and sharing pics of our new "donks" (or "donkles" as we've been calling them) to whomever I speak to, wherever I go. At the feed store. At the coffee shop. At the salon. At the restaurant where we had dinner last night.  Here are some notes and observations from the mini donkey's first full day at Springdelle Farm: Donkey Day One: 1. Donkeys greet face first. 2. Donkeys don't miss a trick. 3. Donkeys like Mike.
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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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