Archives for Sheep Shares

Solstice Sheep & Donkeys

It was a peacable pasture yesterday morning at breakfast. We turned out the sheep and donks together and fed them in the field. As you can see, the two groups kept some distance from each other at first. But by later in the day, they were comfortably ambling about with no worries. A lovely day in the field for all. It's a very good thing they are feeling more companionable toward each other. Wind, snow and rain rolled in last night. From the looks of things, the critters peacefully shared a cozy barn. Everyone was dry this morning and the
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Flock Talk – Rams on Frosted Pasture

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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Changing Pastures

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
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Summer Scenes

    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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The Strolling of the Lambs

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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Winner Lamb Count Give-Away & Sheep Shares

Thanks to everyone for sharing your thoughts about what makes this time of year special for you. Congrats go to RichelleCK who commented on 4/22. Richelle, you're the winner of our drawing for 4 skeins of Cormo Silk Alpaca yarn in the color "Bluebird" in celebration of our new lambs. Spring is now in full throttle here on Patten Hill. The trees are leafing at last and the pastures are greening. It's truly a welcome sight but it means we are extra busy setting up fences for grazing and hoses for watering sheep in the field. At the same time
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Sheep Shares Teaberry Yarn Give-Away Winner!

  Attention Sheep Shares CSA members. Susan F. is the lucky winner of our drawing for two skeins of Teaberry Yarn spun from our ram Teaberry's champion Cormo fleece! Congrats to Susan.   (If you reserved skeins of this yarn for purchase we are shipping this week upon receipt of payment – either by check or via PayPal. This was a limited edition yarn run and all skeins are spoken for.) If you would like to learn more about joining Sheep Shares, we are still accepting memberships for yarn shares. Click here to learn more.  
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2010 – A Year In Pictures

This morning I combed through my iphoto library while sipping coffee and watching daybreak. What struck me most is that in a year of challenges and some major crashing and burning, stuff got done. Sheep were fed, shorn, lambed. Yarn got dyed, shipped, shared.  Through Flock For Healthy Hearts we raised over $3500 for the American Heart Association's Go Red For Women, a campaign to promote awareness of the serious but often overlooked risks of heart disease in women. I can't thank you enough for your support. (If you would like to make a donation, please follow the link in
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Simple Gifts: Mellow Winter Morning

Mornings like today's are sublime. Sunshine, temps in mid 30's, yard full of sheep, no wind. Couldn't ask for a better way to start the day. Or to end the year. Come back tomorrow for a look back at 2010 in pictures.  Sheep Shares 2010 members, stay tuned. I've been busy in the dye studio and am excited to share color choices for the winter shares tomorrow!
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Sheep Shares Yarn CSA Winners

The two lucky winners of Sheep Shares 2011 Farm Yarn samplers are: Marie (comment posted 12/21 at 7:17 pm) and Kris (comment posted 12/17 at 10:44 pm) Welcome to the flock! Mistral's first morning, from April 2010 If you are interested in joining Sheep Shares CSA 2011, we still have yarn shares available. We now have a wait list for fiber shares. Thanks to everyone who helped spread the word!
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