Archives for Hurricane Irene

Relief for West County

September 2, 2011 | 6 Comments

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
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After the Storm

September 2, 2011 | 8 Comments

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
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Hurricane Preparation

August 27, 2011 | 17 Comments

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
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