Shear Delight?

Well, when you own sheep, you eventually have to get to this part... (unless of course, you eat them!)

Bill Ottoway and his family came out last Saturday and I got a 1:1 walk through on shearing, and actually got to take care of half of my little flock. Like the title says, "It's harder than it looks".

Of course it was compounded by my affection for the sheep, and my intense fear of cutting them (I was the only bleeder of the day - duct tape band-aid on the saluting finger). Madison documented the occasion, and my friend and business partner, Allison, casually looked on.

Bill's son, Thomas, made it look ridiculously easy, but that happens alot when you're 6...

I keep running over the steps and stages in my head, trying to drill it into memory for the Spring. I'm going to shear them again, even though the staple might not be long enough, it will put us back on the right shearing schedule, and it will give me another chance to polish up my skills...

I'm sure the sheep are thrilled...

Rude Interruption

Have you ever been having a conversation, when someone jumps in and rudely takes over, changing the conversation to themselves? Well, please excuse the commenter on our farm blog, who has decided it makes a nice place to advertise....someone at PaidSurveysOnline. It has forced me to change the settings to be able to Moderate Comments, when really I wanted anyone to be able to talk with us about what we're doing....but such is the world today. Folks can be so obsessed with themselves, self-promotion, consumer goods, and being pushy that they just can't stop themselves I guess...it makes me sick. And angry. I like the idea of searching for a company or service that I want, not being bombarded with junk mail, telemarketers, spam, and now this....Sorry, I'm ranting, huh? OK, back to the farm...

Morning Graze

I had the luxury of a few hours this morning, so I let everyone out for a morning graze on the lower lot. The sheep scurried for the lushest grass and fallen apples, and the goats stayed with me (on leashes - of course!) and happily muched scrub rose bushes and weeds...
















What a peaceful way to start my day...I wish every one could be like this. But it was also obvious how quickly winter is approaching, and even the sheep are eager to grab the last green bites to be had before a heavy frost.

Alexander busied himself around the pond, and almost got an unplanned bath in his haste to chomp the weeds...


It was Hattie who brought me out of my reverie...with a nose-butting right into the camera as if to say, "Aren't you supposed to be somewhere?" (sigh)

Chicken Show, Show Chickens

Well, we've added two more to Madison's flock, but these two are "birds of a different feather" - they're show birds.

Stenson and Buff are Buff Brahma Bantams. These two are what is considered "show quality", and should give her plenty of show quality chicks for competition and sale. I know, I said no more bantams on the farm, since they aren't pulling their weight with eggs, but she's been wanting to get into competitive poultry, and they were beautiful and sooooo gentle...

We got them at the Eastern New York State Poulty show at the Cobleskill Fairgrounds today. What an interesting experience! It was our first "real" poultry show, and we went as spectators, not competitors (next year!) This was a very strange mix of chic and shabby. The sport definitely seems to be dominated by older men, but there's a little bit of everyone...and the ones in the beat up old Ford held together with baling twine spared nothing for their birds who were pristine and pampered, and the guy with the fancy cowboy hat and boots had ratty birds shoved into cages that hadn't been cleaned in weeks - so there was the whole spectrum.

Inside in the judging area, it was dominated (80%) by bantams. A disappointment for me, since I favor the standards, but interesting none the less. Not as wide a variety of breeds as I might have expected. If Blueberry is still around next Fall, he will definitely be an entry - there was only one other Splash Cochin, and he could have beaten him hands down. Now to see if we can find him a girlfriend....there's a tailgate sale next weekend....so we'll see!

Fair Frenzy

Schaghticoke Fair!

Well, you could never tell Madison had been waiting all summer for the Fair from this picture...but I think this was more of a reaction to Dad popping pictures - what a scowl!

Anyway, the 4-H theme was Colonial Times, so we dressed up...

There, that's much better! Here she is posing with her bantam cockerel she raised from an egg - Speedy. She got 6 blue ribbons in all for the chickens, and one red. The green ribbon is for Shooting Sports Laser Shoot (who knew she'd be a natural with the .22? Scary...)

She had lots of veggies in the projects display...and won lots of blue ribbons there, too! The best part was the feedback and tips from the Master Gardeners to help her plan for next year.

Her sunflower seed head was huge - biggest of those submitted!

Much of her produce was some of what she markets to Price Chopper. Our little entrepeneur has surpassed the $50 mark...

Connie, from our club, and Madison are here being judged on poultry showmanship. Madison is working with Speedy, and Connie is working with Summer. Both of them did very well.

Finally, after Set up Day, and almost a week straight of going to the Fair everyday for something or other, we come to the final evening...time to break everything down...

But it wouldn't be the Fair if we didn't come home with baby chicks...so here are this year's crop: two Easter Eggers, and a Rhode Island Red. That's (l to r) Zippee, Spring, and Design.

Lambs meet Rooster

Angel says, "What's this? Secret, you have something on your butt..."

"What?! Is it a spider? Eeek! Get it off!"

"No, it's not a spider...kind of tiny for a chicken, though..."

"Let me just look under here...I'm sure I can figure this thing out...Yep, it's a rooster..."

"DO YOU MIND??? Honestly...where were you raised? In a barn??!? (sheeesh)"

"What does a rooster have to do for a little green time?" Secret says, "Stay out of our pasture, that's what..."

Pheasants Goodbye...

Well, today was the day to say "goodbye" to the pheasants...we had raised them since chicks as part of a 4-H program. Funny, as ready as they seemed, when it came right down to it, Bill had to literally "shoo" them out of the enclosure.

They finally got the idea, and scattered to the surrounding field, taking off in flight in such a fashion that it seemed they were as amazed with their first attempt at flight, as we were watching them...

Not everyone got it figured out immediately, a few "hangers on" wandered about on goat barn and fence, even strolling across the yard, and hanging out amongst the blueberry bushes.

Pheasant Update...

At 9 weeks, the pheasants are starting to get their adult feathers, so we can begin to guess who's who. It looks like we have 4 males, and 9 females. (For anyone who has been keeping track, that's 2 less than what we started with) There's been a few "escapes"...keeping these guys penned in a large enough are for them is harder than it looks. Once, we didn't replace the flap where we feed and water them. Four got out, and we caught three. The last one flew (yes, flew) away over our heads and was never seen again. Then they found a way to bounce themselves up and through a gap in the chicken wire roof. Four escaped, three were re-captured. The fourth escapee still hangs around though, and can usually be found every morning running up and down just outside the fence with its herd-mates. Catching it is another issue. It usually manages to squeeze into the goats pen and run away to the higher brush before anyone can get their hands on her. The goats, of course, are no help; they just watch with a droll smirk on their faces as the hen runs through their pen to safety. Not a thought about walking over and checking out the situation which might frighten the hen into staying put or squeezing back through the hole so we can catch her...I'm sure the goats have already figured out there's nothing in it for them...so why bother? All that's left is the entertainment of watching the humans chase the little hen around in frustration...(sigh)

CSA

CSA-Community Supported Agriculture is a growing trend in small farming in America. It's an idea that started several decades ago in Japan, and the idea is to bring the consumer closer to the source of their food and connect them with the farm and farmer that produce it. We operate a very small CSA here at Petersburgh Manor and this is one of our baskets being put together for delivery tomorrow...

It is the goal of our garden to keep our family and our customers (obviously) in supply with what the garden offers in its own seasonal order. And the learning curve is around not only how to grow this stuff organically with the most pleasing result, but also to learn what amount of each herb and vegetable is right for what we need...

Each Monday we harvest the week's order and put it together for delivery on Tuesday morning. Here we're picking green beans from the first of the plants to fruit. We've got successive plantings of beans (hopefully!) to keep us going for a few weeks. And what we can't eat, we freeze for the winter. Seeing just how much we can produce, what lasts, and what can be preserved is all a part of figuring out just what would it take to support oneself by your own labor. Could it be done for a year? What would that look like? (And taste like?)

Madison is also about to get ready for her vegetable enterprise - delivery to the local produce market (her tomatoes are turning, and the pickling cukes are ready)

Here she is amongst her cherry tomato plants, searching for the first red ones of the season...

And who's that weeding? Seems he's confused...he seems to be weeding OUTSIDE the vegetable garden! Hmmm.....

Yarn to Dye For...

Or at least that's what we're shooting for...it's dyeing day again on the farm. We've got an order to fill, and a website to prepare (Allison is discovering the meaning of the mantra: It's harder than it looks...)

Hand-dyeing/painting custom sock yarns was an idea born in a hurry one winter weekend afternoon, and we're trying to make a go of it. I have found another kindred spirit who does not want to spend the rest of her life working in an office for someone else...

Dye-namics Yarn features individually dyed 100% merino washable sock yarn in two weights. So far the feedback has been very positive, so we're dyeing as fast as we can find the time, and coming up with new colorways all the time.

Northeast Shetland Sheepbreeders Get Together

Shetland Sheep breeders of the Northeastern United States got together on Saturday for an annual meeting/pot luck/sheep day in Vermont at Maple Ridge Farm. We met under the trees (no, that's not us in the picture...) for the meeting and sharing, then retired to a great pot luck.

Here was the roundup of ewes and lambs we managed from the back pasture in our afternoon lesson/session for markings and colors. We also looking at horn growth, tails, and fleece. Linda's flock has an amazing array of colors and markings.

Everyone helped get the ewes out, so we could examine the lambs and start the weaning process...

Here are the ewes, half-heartedly trudging back to the pasture without their little ones...

Alas, no parting gifts for the "participants"; we all had favorite lambs we could have hidden in our vehicles!

Lawn mowing on the hoof...

With the arrival of the electronet, we've been able to pasture the sheep on sections of the lower lot, and they've been taking care of the quickly growing grass. Each day, usually twice a day, we move a section of the amoeba-shaped paddock, and the sheep do their thing.







The lambs have learned that when I am moving the fence, the electricity is off, and any low/weak spot in the fence is a good chance to jump over... Secret says, "Who, me?"

Garden Update

Boy, it's time I updated everyone...but where does the time go? We've been deluged with company from all corners of the country, and that leaves very little time for the farming thing...

Here are the onions, lettuce, arugula and cilantro. All of these have already found their way into our CSA baskets. Hey- What's this? A gardener? What is he doing on the outside? Weeding the flowers, don't you know?

Pheasant Herd

Say Hello! to our little "herd" - if that's what you call a bunch of ring-necked pheasants. These are the current farm "babies"; part of a "raise & release" program of 4-H. We have 15, and they're about 5 weeks old. Just about ready to go outdoors into the range pen we must yet build. For now, we have to start sprinkling them with water occasionally, (not to make them grow), but to get them used to rain and the process of grooming their feathers. We don't yet know who's a male or female, that comes with their adult feathers. We'll keep you posted...

Aqua Farming?

No, it's the first half of the annual "Clean the pond" project. If we have any hopes of keeping a farm pond, (and not a farm marshland) we have to try and keep the cattail reeds in check. So I don the sexy hip high boots and off I go.

And this is only about half of what I pulled out today. Seems there's always something to do...

Garden beginnings...

This is one view of the vegetable garden, looking out onto the lower lot. It seems so meager, compared to the expanse of vegetation on the other side of the fence, but it has been a hard month for starting a garden. I never thought there could be too much rain, but it has been so cold and wet, seeds have literally rotted in the ground. It really brings into focus how much of a struggle it must have been in the days before Wal-mart and McDonalds to actually feed oneself on the fruits of your labor. It is my hope one day to experiment with living off only what I can grow or raise for myself for the period of one year. That would really force me to understand what eating with the seasons would mean, give new intensity to planning the garden with year-round production and storage in mind, not to mention one hell of a diet - what with no cookies...

May Company

April is supposed to be the month of showers, but nobody told May. It seems like it's been non-stop rain for weeks now...we even had to endure company in the rain. The Camachos were visiting from California and we got only enough break in the rain to show them the farm, and then we were back to soggy. Here, the girls, Josefina and Madison, make their way from the car museum in Bennington. It is Carlos' beautiful photography that makes it anything but dismal...

Madison, how does your garden grow?

This is one of Madison's vegetable gardens. She is growing tomatoes and pickling cukes here to sell to Price Chopper. It will be fun to see just how well she does...kind of like dueling gardens. She gets to use plant food and fertilizer vs. our efforts at organic vegetables. What I like most about her plot is the marigold border she planted.

Fencing as a Competitive Sport

No, I don't mean the kind with the pointy stick and the beekeepers hat. I mean the kind that farmers rely on to keep animals in (or out, depending on your perspective). Really, it should be another category in rodeo I think, because it is man (or woman)against beast - just like the guys who try to ride the bulls. Meet my opponent, Clio.

The challenging look in her eyes is her way of calling me out. 

The setting: the goat pen on the lower lot. It has been constructed with dedicated thought to goat containment and safety. (But didn't someone say the only fence that can hold a goat is one that can hold back water??) 

The time: Tuesday, 6:38 a.m. (Yes, in the morning. That's not a typo..) After I take them for a walk, and give them their grain, she gets "the look" in her eye, circles the pen, begins her take-off, and flies over the top fence rail on the side. Now, this is after a full hour session adding a fifth rail to the fence all along the front side just two days before. (See, part of the competitive nature of this sport, and advantage to the animal, is that they pick the time and place...) Mind you, I have to go to work in less than a half an hour - so let the games begin!

I coyly sidle up to her and grab her halter and quickly leash her to the post. Then I run across the lower lot, across the road, and up the hill to the house. Burst in the back door, pant out "Drill!" to my husband, and wait (sucking wind) while he retrieves the cordless drill from downstairs. The handoff is as seamless as Olympic relay racers, and off I run. Get back down there and discover there is no drill bit in the drill. Run across the lower lot, across the road and up the hill to the house. Discover husband has left the kitchen, so I bolt indoors and down cellar for the drill bit (didn't have enough wind to speak and ask for the bit anyway). Back upstairs and jogging down to the lower lot. Grab the piece of tape measure I have left down there and measure the distance on all the posts. Quickly manuever my way into the goat shed and grab 6 brackets. Throw those and a bunch of screws in my pocket, and back to the fence. Holding a mouthful of screws, I put the first bracket in place, and attempt to position the drill. Cicero, the other goat, (and teammate of the jumper) begins to chew on my coat. It's this year's coat, and too nice to have holes in it quite yet, so I have to swat him off while drilling. Drill, swat, drill, swat, drill, swat and I have two brackets up. Drill, swat, drill, swat, drill, swat, and I have two more. Now the last two are on a section that is bordered by thick wild rose bushes. I drive through the prickers and get in place. But Cicero is wily, and he decides to switch tactics. Now he cranes his neck over the existing fence and grabs a mouthful of roses and begins to munch. With each munch, he is pulling the branches of thorns to him and across the back of my neck. I have to pull out my last defense, a strong move, but necessary if I am to succeed, I swat him a stinging blow across the nose, and he retreats looking very put off. Now for the wood rails. 

Grab a 2x3 and measure the length by eye. Mark it, and grab the bow saw. Sawing like mad, I get the first rail done and in place. I am working on the second, when after consultation with Clio, Cicero comes back for his final maneuver. He pushes up from underneath on the new rail, and dislodges it. So I put rail#2 in place, secure this one with another screw, and return to #1. Jam that one in place, screw in two to hold it secure, and go for the third rail. Push past the thorns again, and measure the rail. Cicero looks like he is going to try the "eating the roses" move again, but I throw him a glare that gets him to retreat long enough to make the measurement. I cut the last rail (sweating profusely at this point, despite the 48 degree temperatures) and put it in place. Now I collect my tools, and race around to the place where I had Clio held. I yank the leash off her, and shove her back in the pen. 

Now the test: she scopes out my work, looking for flaws, decides to round the pen anyway, picking up speed, her lift-off is clean, she leaps - and Hah! she can't make it over! I have won this round! And in record speed! Only 18 minutes! There's roaring in my ears, (I'd like to imagine it is a cheering crowd, but in reality it is my blood pounding through my veins in a valiant attempt to get oxygen to my brain before I pass out) and a tingling in my legs (muscle fatigue, not excitement), and I wobble up the hill, and in the back door and my husband greets me, "Do you know you only have 5 minutes to get cleaned up? You don't have time to be playing with the goats..."

See...I told you it was a sport.