Sheep, Sleep, Beans, Sleep, Sheep, Sleep, Beans ...

It all caught up with me today and I actually took a nap ... I might do that twice a year. It has been an intense week. The days blurred together but one day this week, I picked 16 pounds of beans from the "big garden" out back and canned 14 quarts. Colton helped me with the snapping while I managed the other logistics of washing jars and beans. Colton filled the jars and into the canner they went. It took about 6 hours from the plant to the last popping lid. We are up to 33 quarts of beans.

Then yesterday, both boys helped me pick beans from the garden near the house. We picked about 30 pounds of beans! I just couldn't imagine canning all of them, so we did a quick rinse in the deep sink and put them in a large cooler for Preston to take to work and offer to everyone there. I haven't seen him yet this evening, so I don't know yet how many he is bringing home. I wonder if sheep like beans?

I made two sheep deliveries this week. Dudley, an adult wether, and Hannah's little black wethered ram lamb were loaded up Wednesday morning in the rain with the help of Ben. We were able to get the lamb in a large dog crate, but Dudley got to run "free range" in the bed of the truck.

I drove by myself to Beaver, OH ... about 80 miles southeast of here into the beautiful mountains of Ohio. The last 45 minutes was a continuous series of 30 mph S-curves. Even I was car sick when I got there and wondered if sheep got motion sickness. I arrived at Lynn's driveway and panicked when I saw that their dirt driveway with a 45 degree incline was completely washed out by the rain. I quickly called and told her I wasn't going to be able to get up the driveway in the truck. So she drove down in her car that has a hatchback. I will use Lynn's description of the trip as her husband gunned the car up the driveway:

Dudley "who is now sitting in my lap pooping away as I hang onto his horns for dear life as we bumpity bump and get air hauling ass up the grand canyon that is my driveway."

Now I was really car sick! We then had to walk (read drag) 175 pound-built-like-a-brick-house Dudley about 150 feet to the entrance of their fence down a rain-slicked hill and he wanted nothing to do with wherever it was we were taking him. Finally, success. We catch out breath and back down the "grand canyon" we go.

We slide the dog crate (good decision) into the car and Lynn sits back there to keep the crate from going airborn. Ditto on the trip back up. I decided to take the lamb out of the crate and walk him down the hill ... probably not the best choice in hind sight. The smaller the sheep, the more they can swing their body in violent opposition to what you are trying to accomplish. It had to be funny to watch, I'm sure. But I bet that crate would have just slid nicely down the hill.

Well at the sight of lush greenery, both sheep walked into their new home like it was nothing to get them there. They have a beautiful shaded hillside they now call home. One more bumpity bump down the hill, catch my breath, and wind my way out of the mountains in the pouring rain.

Well, that was so much fun, I decide to email Halle to see if she's ready for her sheep on short notice ... I figure since the truck is a mess, why not get it all done at once. Halle lives near Cleveland and bought several sheep from me last year. She arrived in a UHaul utility van that couldn't have had more than 10,000 miles on it. We loaded the sheep in the van and she headed home. I can only imagine what the next renters of the van thought!!

This time, she asked if I could meet her half way. So Ben helped me load up two of the ewe lambs, one of Delia's twins and Bianca's ewe. They had the run of the truck bed. We met at the McDonald's off I-71 at exit 151. When I read the comments: This Mc Donald's is in the middle of a corn field! I thought this would be perfect if they get loose! Fortunately, everything went smoothly, but I had to wonder what people were thinking as they went through the drive-thru! "Yikes, is that what's in my burger?!?" You could be so lucky!

Back home, after picking the 30 pounds of beans, I cleaned out the bed of the truck ... always fun! Ben and I dug a post hole with the auger on the tractor and assembled an H-brace for one of the final runs of fence out back. When Preston came home, we also put in another H-brace along the property line so we could create an opening for a small gate between us and our neighbors. We've had to either jump over barbed wire or drive nearly a mile! from their house to ours. Now it will be just a quick jaunt across the pasture.

Today everything hurts ... my wrist from one of Dudley's quick moves, my head from the 2x4 framed lid to the hay feeder that fell on my head, my knee from wrestling sheep I can only imagine, the poison ivy all over my arm, neck and sides, even my ears from a build up of fluid according to the doctor. Therefore you can appreciate my need for a nap today. I washed a fleece and fell asleep reading a book.

And So I Decided to Ted the Hay

About 2pm on Friday, I decided to go ahead and ted the hay. After a couple hours I checked what I had done and some places seemed to have dried enough to bale. So I called Preston and Ben and told them my plan and spent a couple more hours tedding until they came home. Ben's friend usually helps us, but was out of town for the weekend. Preston went out and raked it into rows and I drove the tractor with the baler and wagon in tow and Ben at the receiving end of the baler. We did about 100 bales in 2 hours, put the wagons under cover and hoped that Saturday would bring enough morning sun to dry the rest of the hay and allow us to finish.

Saturday, 6:30am: I'm stirring awake and I hear the sound of thunder. "NO!!! The earliest guy said 8am and then actually changed his forecast to later!! They really have no clue." Then the wind immediately picks up and it starts pouring. I jump out of bed, throw on my bathrobe, run to close all the windows and then run outside to the porch to move the two fleeces that were essentially dry when I went to bed, but figured I'd get them in the morning. Well, the rain had already gotten them wet even on the covered porch. The wind had blown a bunch out on the grass, so there I am in my bathrobe and bare feet running around in the rain gathering up my wool. This is all within 5 minutes of waking up!!!! I collapse on the couch to catch my breath, say goodbye to the remaining hay and wait for the coffee to finish.

So Plan B was to work with the lambs. Several needed their second dose of vaccine, all needs their hooves trimmed. A couple who are leaving the farm this week needed to be tagged (an earring in their ear). And I dewormed them all for good measure since several more will be leaving the farm in the next couple weeks. After wrestling with some more than others, I decided who my favorites were. One little gal had more spunk that some twice her size. She flopped and fought me with every ounce of her being. But we got the job done.

This is the time of year when I am really battling parasites. I've lost several lambs to them in past years and I am so determined not to lose anyone this year. So I'm trying some new things. Aside from the internal chemical dewormers and natural dewormers, I decided I would try taking them off pasture (which is where the parasites are) and put them on "dry lot" for a week and see if they improve.

So Ben helped me fence in a little area adjacent to pastures 1 & 2 and the old barn. It's all concrete there with a door into an enclosed area in the barn for shelter. I put all 13 of the lambs in there along with Dudley, an adult wether who is leaving the farm this week. I wanted him to be with the lamb he is going with so they could do a little bonding. Dudley isn't really too keen on having to hang out with a bunch of whiny munchins, but he'll live.

So we go in for dinner and afterwards I ponder some relaxing things to do on my way to check on the lambs. The remaining 4 lambs were weaned today as well, so they were at the fence crying. I walk closer and don't see anybody else. I go inside the barn ... no sheep. Dudley had obviously led the charge and walked over the fence ... that obviously wasn't too enforced. There they all were out grazing in a bit of hay field that hadn't been mowed. Clover heaven!!

So I go get Preston, we decide there are a couple places where there are cracks in the concrete we can put in posts. We get that handled. We roll back the fence and psyched up to go herd the sheep back and here comes Dudley and all the lambs following him back to the barn! There is a God!! He's trying to make it up to me for all the rain. We close the fence, tie it to the posts. They are in there now.

I walk back around to pick up some of the tools and a I think I see something ... I back up ... a lamb is still out there! Two lambs!! I thought I counted right, but apparently not. So I get Preston again and we herd them back. They really want to be with everyone else, so we roll the fence back a little and they walk right in. Everyone is where they are supposed to be. So much for relaxing ... it's time for bed. Maybe tomorrow.

The Weather Man

The last week has been heart-wrenching to say the least. And I'm taking it out on the weather man. Every day we all start our day with a weather report. We plan our activities, our vacations, our ballgames, our picnics all around the weather. And the weather men know this. But do they really know how much the farmer depends on the accuracy of his report? I don't think so. In fact, being a weather forecaster is the one job where you can be wrong 75% of the time and not get fired!

We hope to bale hay three times per season... roughly Memorial Day, 4th of July, and Labor Day ... give or take a week or two. We decided to sell all of our first cutting because it is very "stemmy" and my sheep always pick around for the soft stuff, leaving the stems for me to haul away. The second cutting would be much softer and more ideally suited for the sheep.

Well, this also seemed to be the year for clover! It has taken over all of the pastures, the hay field, my gardens. The sheep love it, but it can be too rich, so a nice balance of clover and grass is best. Anyway, we began a couple weeks ago looking at the forecast for about 4 days of no forecasted rain. We wanted to cut a week ago Thurs, then bale on the weekend. But they were certain it was going to rain on Thursday. So we didn't cut... and it didn't rain a drop. The weekend was exceptionally cool ... a record low high temperature ... would have been wonderful to bale in, but no. We relied on the weather man and he was wrong.

As an aside, I am using the term "weather man" generically to cover all forecasters. I look at about 4 websites and it's no surprise that they are drastically different.
www.weather.com
www.wunderground.com
www.accuweather.com/
www.whiotv.com/weather/index.html (our local TV station's website)

So the week went on and it looked like we could cut Saturday & Sunday (18/19th). It was supposed to be sunny with either 20% or 30% chance of rain forecasted by everyone through Wednesday, with the next big chance of rain on Thursday. Sunday, Monday and Tuesday were not sunny or even partly sunny (which is important to dry hay), nor was there any breeze (there is always a breeze in Ohio!) So the hay didn't dry very fast. And by Monday, the weather man decided there was now a 70% chance of rain on Wednesday!!

Tuesday night we baled 25 bales to see how they would be and they were way too wet. You can tell when the bale weighs 75-100 pounds instead of 50 pounds. And just a couple days later, it's now soggy instead of crisp and dry. When you break it open, it's warm to the touch and it smells of fermentation. In another 5-7 days, it will be moldy inside and it will be junk.

So Wednesday came and we received 1.4" of rain. It rained all day. I was happy for the garden. I was happy for the pastures. I was devastated for the hay field. Yesterday (Thursday), the sun never came out, so it just sat there remaining soggy. I went out this morning and it is still very wet and I'm wondering if I should ted it or not (fluff it up with a circular rake-type thing). Checking all of the weather sites, there is supposed to be rain tomorrow. The big disagreement is when. One says 8am, one says 11am, one says late afternoon. The hay may not be worth keeping in the end, but it has to come off the field to make way for the 3rd cutting. Otherwise we'll get all that dead chaff in the next bales.

So what to do with the weather man? They should provide a rating on their website with the percentage accuracy of their forecast. That would give you an idea of who to believe. I could send them a bill for the $1000 in hay I will have to buy to replace what I lost. Maybe the government would include me in their "bale" out plan. If anyone has a reliable weather site, please let me know!

Well, gotta close here ... need to go find a weekend with no rain so we can go camping :)

Summer Harvest

My absolute favorite part of summer is growing and eating our own food. Over the weekend, Preston and I canned 10 quarts of beans... the first batch of many to come. It was the first time we had used our new (used) pressure canner. In the past, we just canned tomatoes which you can do in a hot water bath.

I purchased my 3rd dozen ears of sweet corn this morning. I can eat sweet corn every day of the summer and not get tired of it. We tried freezing it last summer and it had a funny taste. The farm where I bought it from made a few suggestions, so I'm going to do a small batch and try it out of the freezer before I do a bunch.

I planted one single solitary cucumber plant in my garden that claimed to be a "bush plant." I took that to mean it would be very compact and fit along nicely with the other vegetables that are in rows. HA!! It has spread across and thru it's two adjacent rows and has produced at least 20 cucumbers so far. I'm not a huge pickle fan, so I had to send Preston to work with a bunch the other day. I'm eating a lot of cucumber sandwiches for lunch!

We did try a refrigerator pickle though that came out pretty good. We are growing banana peppers and I cut up two of them with a cucumber and an onion and put it in a quart jar with vinegar, pickling salt and some pickling spice. I refrigerated it over night and the peppers warmed the mixture up quickly! Preston and Ben really liked it, so I'm treating it like a "friendship bread" recipe and just adding more cucumbers to keep it going.

Yesterday, I picked a variety of things from the garden... beets, cucumber, onion, beans and potatoes. I made 3 different summer salads and we took them down to a place on our property we call "The Park" for dinner.

The Park is a wooded area along the creek that we keep mowed down. It has a fire ring and a place to hang hammocks. Annie, our Sheltie, and I do our best to smell yummy enough to attract all the bugs away from everyone else.

Colton had the area freshly mowed and Ben weed-wacked so we could find the fire ring. They had a fire burning by the time I arrived with salads and hot dogs. Later we had s'mores for dessert ...yummy!

I Want My Maaaammy

Today was working day with the sheep. Some of the lambs needed a vaccine and we dewormed all of the sheep. Most of the moms were overloaded with parasites. I can tell this by looking at the skin inside their eyes. A bright red is good ... pure white is very bad. It means the worms are depleting their iron. Lambing and lactating really takes a toll on the ewes. I have one ewe that can't lamb and she is always the picture of health. The rams also look great.

Half of the lambs were ready to be weaned. But I thought since the moms were struggling, I'd wean just about everyone. So into separate pastures they went. I don't know if I can even begin to put into words what it's like to have 11 crying lambs non-stop for 24 hours. My sheep say "maa" rather than "baa." When they are mad, they say "MAAAAAAAA!" When they are really mad, it becomes multi-syllable, "MAAAHHH-AAAHHH-AAAA" and their voice goes up and down in octaves. Some start to sound like they are losing their voice. Some sound like they are crying. Some sound really mad. "I want my mom and I want her NOW!!!" It's pathetic and funny all at the same time. I was able to capture a short video of one of the lambs last night. Take a look ...



Meanwhile over in the mom's pasture, not a sound. "Ahhh, freedom ... finally. I can eat in peace without two little creatures coming up and attacking my udder until my back feet leave the ground."

We had to sleep with the furnace fan on to drown out the noise. Thankfully, that worked. I'm quite sure no creature on 4 legs got any sleep last night.

This morning, I was concerned a bit for the moms. They were clearly very full of milk. So I let them back to their babies for breakfast and lunch. Then the boys helped me separate them again. And do you know ... shhh...listen ... silence!! They are quiet now. Yippee!

Washing Wool

We shear our Icelandic Sheep twice a year... once in the spring and again in the fall. The fall clip is the most valuable and desirable for hand-spinners. It is typically longer and cleaner. On shearing day, the fleece is put into a bag and labeled with the sheep's name and the date. The bags are weighed and loosely stored in the barn.

The next step is to skirt the fleece. This involves laying the fleece open on a screen and pulling out any vegetable matter, short fibers or anything else that is not fleece... ok manure :) Even within the fleece itself, I will sort the premium fiber from the less premium and have it processed for different purposes. Once this is complete, I will put it back in a bag and weigh it again.

The next step is to wash the fleece. This can either be done by me or by the wool processor. It doesn't cost much to have them do it. However, the turn-around time for processing a fleece that requires washing is about 4 months. I have a fiber festival in September, so I am washing my fall fleeces. I can then call the processor ahead of time and they will allow me to bring my fleeces and have them processed on the spot.

So today is about the washing. I bought an old ringer washer at an auction a while back. I have it on the back porch outside the laundry room. You must remove the agitator from the machine as you don't want to agitate the wool or else it will felt. I fill the washer with hot water from a hose hooked to the laundry sink. I add laundry detergent and then gently push the fleece into the water. The water immediately turns to mud the color of chocolate milk. I let the fleece soak for about 15 minutes. Then I drain the water and run the fleece thru the ringer.

And, surprise, surprise ... some wasps had started building a nest inside the roller cavity. I battled them thru the washing, but they were sprayed later that night.

I repeat the process again with detergent and a third time to rinse. Hopefully by now the water is clean. I then lay the fleece out on a wire frame to dry. Depending on the weather, it will take a day or so. I then weigh it again and compare it to the pre-washed weight. The fleece typically weighs 65-70% of the pre-washed wool. This weight loss is mostly lanolin. Icelandic sheep are relatively low in lanolin. Many other sheep will lose nearly half their weight in lanolin when washed.

Now the fleece is ready for the processor. I'll share that with you when I drive down their next month!

A Bird's Eye View

Preston fitted his model airplane with a camera yesterday and he and Colton flew it out over Quiet Thyme Farm. The camera took pictures every few seconds during it's flight.

I thought you'd like to see the actual view of the pastures and buildings as it compares to the drawing I showed in my first post.

You can see dots of sheep in pasture 3 now. The rams are in pasture D.

Preston just mowed pasture 2, that's why it doesn't look so inviting, but it will soon.

You can see more of Preston's aerial photos on our website in the Photo Gallery

Oh, and please note the tree where Frank's skin was found ... right outside the back door :)