My Girl (s)

An attempt to photograph all the ewe lambs before turning them in with the ewes proved to be an exercise in futility…or character building. Since there are only five, this should have been a breeze. I know could learn some patience…but, really!


There were many more attempts, but I think you get the picture.

However, here are some shots of “my girls”. These ewe lambs were all born this year (2011) and will be bred in 2012 to lamb sometime in early 2013.

There’s Ginny.
Girlfriend.

Jessie.

Pauline.


Jolene.


They are all pretty consistent in size and weight. They seem to have grown out quite nicely. Although they have never been able to learn table manners.

Now, to introduce them to the ewe flock!

Notice I had a little help from our “sheep CAT”. Yes, that IS Boooyyyy that I am carrying. He’s such a great asset here on the hill.

The Making of SUPER Mulch

Ruminants need grass and/or hay in their diets to provide fiber and roughage. In the summer they forage for their own out in the pastures. During the winter, they are housed in the barn and their hay is delivered to them. While they still go outside, there is not much grass for them to eat, and we restrict their grazing to certain areas in order to enable the summer paddocks a rest during the winter that will promote quick rejuvenation come spring.

When the sheep eat hay, they waste a lot. Occasionally, it would appear that it was not the taste or “mouth feel” that they were looking for and they drop it on the ground. Other times, the lambs use the hayfeeders as playpens and cribs, causing their mothers to look for food elsewhere. There is always at least one ewe that will help herself to the stored hay, pulling tasty tidbits from the hay bales that we thought were out of reach.

By the end of the winter, the waste hay and bedding has reached new heights in the barn.
The Boss refers to the waste hay and bedding as SUPER MULCH as it has little bits of “fertilizer” in it.

Every year, we use lots of the SUPER MULCH in the garden. Not only does it keep down the weeds, it provides some much needed organic matter and fertilizer to the soil. It really doesn’t seem to matter how much we use…the supply seems endless.

That might explain why, in some circles, it is said that barn cleaning “week” runs from January 1 to December 31…

Waylon's Really Bad Day

It started off like any typical Wednesday.


Surrounded by his harem, Waylon headed out back for what he thought was just a paddock change. Before he knew what hit him, the Boss had him in a man-hug, hauled him up the hill, and then shut the gate on him.

When he looked again, the ewes were gone….just GONE!

He looked toward M’brook. No ewes.

He looked toward the mountains. No ewes.
.
He paced, he cried, he called them again.
They were just gone. There was some real nice grass out here. Food seemed to ease his mind.


Wait a minute….GIRLS? Where’d ya go?

Lest you think we’re just out to make Waylon’s life miserable, let me explain this logistical change.

Waylon is done with his one and only job here on the farm. As a matter of fact, he’s been done for some time. If my observations and calculations are right, the entire lambchop crop of 2012 should arrive sometime between January 15 and February 5, 2012 (give or take a few days). The barn will be a one busy place. I can’t wait!

There’s a LOT of grass down front requiring a lot of hungry animals. The ewe lambs were ready to go in with the ewes, but since we didn’t want to breed them, Waylon needed to go elsewhere.

Once the ram is done with his “job”, he begins to get a little testy, a little ornery, and downright mean to some of the ewes. He will butt them, slamming them into fences, trees and other things. This can’t be good for them. The closer they get to their due date, the more damage he could do, both to them and any unborn offspring.

So, like it or not, sometime in November, the ram (in this case Waylon) heads off to his “bachelor pad-dock”. He’ll stay out there, grazing and growing, until next breeding season. At which time he should be a magnificent example of true “ram-liness”!

Cheer up, Waylon, it’s only another 279 days until next breeding season!

...and So It Goes...

The freak snow on October 29, 2011 served as a wake-up call that winter is indeed on the way. Preparations must be made and routines changed…’cause cold weather is coming, whether we like it or not. The heavy frost that has become a nightly occurrence only serves to reinforce this notion.

The issues of heat and water are always factors here on the hill. In summertime we have to protect FROM the heat, and wintertime we have to try to retain as much of it as possible. Water must be supplied at all times. A new choreography is imperative during the colder months.

This time of year, the COLD nights (which only get colder as the season progresses toward winter) require that we prepare accordingly. The hoophouses and greenhouses must be closed to conserve what little heat we can for the sometimes frigid overnights. Occasionally, we add a layer of row cover to the plants, as well. Any irrigation used in the daylight hours must be dis-connected and drained. The door to the brooder for the chicks must be closed so they don’t get chilled. This requires at least one walk-about in the late afternoon/early evening. The hens must also be “tucked in” for the night, but they don’t like to squander daylight, so we must wait until dark to close their door.
Then (completely unrelated to the weather) we must close the gate on the sheep. We spend a LOT of time walking!

Despite the cold and dark, I like the “evening close-down”. The sunset is generally beautiful this time of year.
The silhouettes of the bare trees stand in stark relief against the vivid sky. The stars have often begun to show themselves before I get back to the house. I am always in awe at what a beautiful place this is.

Mornings have us contending with frost and ice…and cold fingers. The layers of coats, coveralls, gloves and hats that we so willingly left behind in the spring have all made their way back to their hooks in the laundry room. Many days it is much too cold in the early hours to work outside for long, so we do inside chores before making the morning run to open everything that was closed up the night before. Since it’s not quite cold enough for the stocktank heaters, we find ourselves hauling water in buckets. In some ways, the “opening act” is even more critical than the evening shut-down process.

Once the temperatures have risen above freezing, we can begin to irrigate in the hoophouses and greenhouses. This is a crucial task for the day. No water and warm….hot….temperatures can mean fried plants. Nothing bums me out more than fried seedlings. I hate that! It means we have to start the process all over again….all because I had a “senior moment”!

On a sunny day, even in February, it is possible for temperatures to exceed 100 degrees in the hoophouses. (yes, the UN-heated structures) This allows great growth, but requires a good amount of irrigation as well. So, after making sure all the connections in the irrigation system are not leaking, we can set the timer and go on to completing other tasks.

Before too long, it’s time to dis-connect,


drain and do the evening performance once more.

…and so it goes…

Even In My Dreams

I spend a lot of time thinking about the Farmers’ Market. I spend even more time getting ready for the Farmers’ Market. Then, we spend time actually doing the Farmers’ Market.

So, it was no real surprise when I started DREAMING about the Market as well. Usually dreams are odd little snippets of no great consequence.

However, not too long ago, I dreamed about something that has ended up changing a part of our marketing strategy. Cool!

Real estate is at a premium at the Market. The spots allocated are a specific size and vendors are supposed to stay within their borders. This means sometimes in order to display all our items, we must get a little creative.

The Boss built a stand that holds a number of baskets, we label the baskets and keep them filled from stock that we have in our Market trailer. Since the bags of lettuce tend to mat down in the bottom of the baskets, he made little false bottoms that make the bags sit up so the customers can see them. This system means that only a few bags make it to display at one time.

When the morning rush starts around nine o’clock, keeping the baskets stocked while waiting on customers gets a little distracting (to say the least). More than once, I have noticed someone look at the empty basket and comment, “oh, they don’t have any more…let’s go.” This was frustrating, as I knew there was more, but I was busy with a customer, and answering questions for another. I also thought it would be more than slightly rude to leave that customer, jump over the table, and re-stock the baskets, and jump back again. Although it would have made for a memorable shopping experience!

One night I had a dream where we had put messages on the bottom of the baskets. I do not remember any other details, but awoke with the intention of buying a Sharpie that day to mark all those baskets.

Right after I put the new bottoms in the baskets, we began to see results. Folks will ask us if they are looking for lettuce and the basket tells them we have more. I made a sign on the reverse that says when we are sold-out as well.



I hadn’t thought about my brilliant dream much lately; it’s been a while since we implemented the change. Last week, B came to visit the Market. As she was looking around, she came upon our little basket signs. “WOW! Why didn’t we think of this one before?” she exclaimed. All those years she worked the Market, and we never thought of that one. “COOL idea! I like it!” I do love it when the “kids” are impressed with the old folks!

Since my dream has proven to have a practical use, maybe I should schedule some naptime into my days around the farm work. You just never know what I’ll dream up next!

When Sheep Fly

If the expression, “when pigs fly” referred instead to sheep, I would be fully expecting all sorts of dire and unusual things to happen.

I have nothing to document the tale I’m about to tell…except a bit of belly wool stuck on the top of the fencepost.

But, I watched a sheep “fly” over that fencepost…I did...I honestly did!

After a week of rain, followed by two days of wind, all the creatures on the farm were feeling somewhat out of sorts. (Okay, I am speaking for myself and just assuming about everyone else) The changing of the seasons only seems to intensify the feelings.

The gate that divides the feeing area from the rest of the paddock looks innocuous enough. But, when the sheep come down for feeding, all sorts of jostling and fussing ensue. It is not at all unusual for me to find myself eye-to-eye with a sheep as they try to peer over the fence to make sure that the feed is really going in the feeders. I usually just smack the offender in the nose, he/she jumps down and everyone goes on their way.


The other afternoon, I found myself looking a ewe straight in the eye. As I reached out to smack her down, another sheep shoved her from behind… The next thing I knew, she was sailing past my head (grazing my ear in the process). For just a split second, she teetered on the top of the fence. Before I could decide what to do if she was stuck, she hit the ground and ran off to the feeder. She gulped down the food quickly before I let the others in. She acted as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened at all.

There is a definite reason I call this ewe “Freak”! She’s definitely in a class by herself.

"Flying" sheep...now, I think I can safely say I have seen everything!

HOT Stuff!

This year’s pepper crop was remarkable. The plants were beautiful and prolific. With all those peppers, we decided to make chipotles. We have done this in the past with limited success.

Chipotles are simply smoked jalapeño peppers. Apparently, any smoked hot pepper can be called a chipotle, but jalapeños are the most common.

Here’s a quick photo essay of the chipotle making process.

The peppers are picked and cleaned.

Then, we dried them slightly in the greenhouse. When we made these in the past, we didn’t do this, and it took what seemed like forever to get them smoked and dried. If they are not fully dried, they will not last.

Then they went in the smoker. This part smelled SO good!

Once they were completely dried and smoked,
we packaged them for sale. They look pretty in their little cellophane bags.

Now, you may ask, what do I do with them?

Once the peppers are ground to powder, they can be added to anything requiring a little smoky heat. Chili comes to mind. The Boss likes to sprinkle some in fried potatoes. The possibilities are nearly endless.

There you have it…..HOT stuff from the farm.
CHIPOTLES....that's what we mean when we declare....we're smokin'!