Archives for sheep farm

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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Wintering Rams

January 5, 2012 | 15 Comments

Following a snowless December, 2012 is off to a cold start. I don't mind the cold, nor do the sheep. Our rams and wethers are still in the paddock behind our house at the top of the hill (except for Chai and Cinder, who are down at the farm for breeding season). In most years, we've moved everyone down to the big barns by this time. This season, we're waiting for weather to force the issue. As soon as we hear snow in the forecast, it will be time to bring all sheep back to the farm for winter. In
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Snow Pups

October 28, 2011 | 25 Comments

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.
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Shetlands Meet the Flock

August 7, 2011 | 11 Comments

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
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Summer Scenes

August 3, 2011 | 13 Comments

Fall Yarn Shares – Cormo Silk Alpaca yarn, Foxfire Fiber & Designs The photos tell the story of what's happening at the farm. Summer has hit its stride. The garden's growing full tilt, hay's happening . . . During the July heat wave the sheep grazed early morning and evening, returning to the barn to sit out the mid-day sun. The fans are running in the barn 24/7 to keep everyone comfortable.The lambs form a wooly puddle at my feet when I come to the barn in the morning. Our new Shetlands are loving life on the farm.
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New Little Sheep at the Big Farm

July 21, 2011 | 12 Comments

Today I'd like to introduce Ginger and Sassafras, our new Shetland lambs! We first met them three weeks ago at the National Sheep Show at the Eastern States Expo in West Springfield, MA. They were raised by the Ludlam family at Windswept Farms in Michigan who were showing sheep that weekend. We did not go to the show with a sheep shopping list. We went with a very specific mission: to pick up new sheep handling equipment (super light-weight aluminum panels for pens and a sorting gate). There was no plan to pick up more sheep. So why did we buy
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The Strolling of the Lambs part two

June 5, 2011 | 13 Comments

On Saturday we took a moment to honor Holly's commitment to the farm. This month she is leaving the farm to work on an exciting new endeavor in the restaurant business with her partner Chris. We love her and will miss her terribly! Kathryn's craft table was a hit! We made nests and hand felted eggs for a flock of hand-sewn chickens. Mistral loved every minute of being in the center of attention. Mike gave the farm tour. I forgot to tell him about it, so he was confused when people kept asking him when the tour began. Thanks to
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The Strolling of the Lambs

June 5, 2011 | 5 Comments

Thanks to our Sheep Shares members and your guests (more than 50 of you!) who traveled from far and wide to share a super-fun day with sheep. For those of you who could not be with us, I'm posting many images of the day (divided into two posts to make loading easier). Enjoy!
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MA Sheep & Wool Festival – No Kidding!!

May 28, 2011 | 11 Comments

It's stopped raining for two days which means we are crazy behind on outdoor tasks. We are scrambling to play catch-up with the grass – it's thigh high in most places which makes it impossible to set up temporary fence for grazing without mowing down a swath of grass to set the fence. The sheep have their work cut out for them. In the midst of it all, I took a little 2-day field trip to visit the critters shown in this post. It was a fascinating excursion – more on that later. Can anyone guess what they are? Add
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Lambs – See How they Grow

May 10, 2011 | 11 Comments

Spring is gaining slowly here. The trees are finally leafing out on the upper Patten. At the center of the farm (a drop in elevation of about 600') things are perceptibly further along. Warmer temperatures are elusive. Plenty of wind. The pastures are greening up nevertheless. I have strong feeling that cooler spring is healthy for the lambs. We put them out in pasture every morning. Although they can return to the barn at any time, they mostly stay out all day. I know because I spy on them. The moms graze lustily. The lambs nap in the warm pockets
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