Archives for winter

Taking Care of Old Sheep in Winter

March 18, 2013 | 6 Comments

This is Cocoa. She turns 16 this month which is ancient in sheep years. Cocoa has a special place in our hearts as she happens to be one of our first-ever sheep which makes her our flock matriarch. After a decade of lambing (including sets of triplets and quadruplets) she is still going strong, except for her teeth. Years of grass-grazing and ha -munching have worn her incisors (the front teeth) crookedlly, some of them right down to the nub givng her the gap-toothed smile of a jack-o-lantern.Last fall Andy performed some dentistry on her, to even out her bite.
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Snowed In

February 27, 2013 | 17 Comments

Snow's so deep, the sheep won't leave the barn unless we make them. We break paths for them and lure them outdoors with hay on fair days. Today is not one of those days. It's been snowing sideways since I opened my eyes at 6 a.m. Fat, wet snow that shovels like concrete. Mike is scrambling to clear the driveway before this switches over to rain later – then we'll have a hot mess on our hands. A cold mess, I should say. It's been a wind-roaring, snow falling, frost heaving, ice damming, nose freezing winter – wearing us down
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Top of the Hay Stack

January 26, 2013 | 6 Comments

When it comes to barn chores on winter mornings, Mike is a trooper. Since the start of the new year, I've been under the weather off and on. He's been a super good sport about tackling morning barn chores solo for the better part of last four weeks. In mid winter, morning chores on a New England sheep farm are like an endurance test. You work quickly and efficiently. Inside the carriage barn where the rams spend the winter, square bales of hay are neatly stacked from the floor to the rafters. The stack is beside the row of feeders
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Solstice Sheep & Donkeys

December 21, 2012 | 1 Comment

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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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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Sunning

March 4, 2011 | 8 Comments

The mothers-to-be, soaking up the morning sun (they need shades!) Wishing everyone a happy Friday.
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Winter’s Waning GiveAway Winner

February 18, 2011 | 5 Comments

Thank you for your comments on last Friday's post. New England is feeling less winter-bound the past few days. It will be weeks before we can see the grass or buds on the trees here, but reading about the signs of spring in other parts is a good balm for the winter soul. Thanks for sharing your thoughts (and for so generously spreading the word, you guys are great). Congrats to Ellen who commented on 2/14/11 at 9:57 am. Ellen, please contact me through my website with your address so I can mail your prize: 4 skeins Foxfire Fiber's Wool
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Winter’s Waning GiveAway

February 11, 2011 | 170 Comments

We've hit the winter doldrums. Freeze, snow, thaw, freeze, snow, thaw, repeat. Ice dams on the barn roof, glacial ice sheets in the barn yard, ginormous mountains of grimy slush everywhere. Winter has worn out its welcome but it's too early to start hunting for signs of spring. Instead I'm looking for signs of winter easing up: the angle of the sun in the sky – a little higher than it was just a week ago; a few extra minutes of daylight for evening chores. Aside from the drama of our weekly storms, there's a sameness to winter farm routine.
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Whoa, Snow!

February 4, 2011 | 9 Comments

Winter is causing an UNREAL amount of trouble. I know we're not alone in this, as this week's back-to-back storms have affected so many. We are simply running out of places to put snow. The sheep are faring well, but they are yarded up and not venturing out into the paddocks. We were in the single frigits this morning, but temperatures here are expected to reach the low 30's today, hopefully enough to break up the crusty snow and give the flock more room to stretch their legs. I'm ordinarily a winter fan, but this year is trying our
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More Winter Fun!

January 28, 2011 | 5 Comments

We're having a Winter Tag Sale on select farm yarns! Today we're featuring bargains on Upland Wool & Alpaca Yarn, a melange of fine wool and border leicester from our flock blended with alpaca fiber sourced locally. Visit our new sale shop here to scoop up good deals for winter knitting. Bookmark our sale shop and check back through the month of February for more yarn specials.
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