Sheep Gal

Wintering Rams

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 the meantime, we're enjoying not shoveling and plowing snow. And the boys have enjoyed getting to know our new puppies. Farley and Zoe help Mike with sheep chores.

And the puppies are now uber-brave about approaching the scary sheep at the fence line. Sometimes they have stare downs. Mostly the sheep win, and then they butt the fence. The pupsters skedaddle. 

 

Sorry for the long blogless lapse. Raising two pups is a huge energy/time vacuum. Add to that running a sheep farm and a fiber business. Then throw in the wedding of my son(!) and the holidays. It's been a hectic few months.

I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday season. Wishing you a bright start to this new year!

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 about the wrap-up of our fall KAL, and about pupsters, and about Sheep Shares 2012 in another post.

Soon.

NOT READY FOR RHINEBECK

Yep, you heard me right. This is bad.

Due to a major technical/bureaucratic glitch, I did not receive my NYS Sale Tax Certificate of Authority in time to participate in this year’s festival (despite being told on 10/3 that I would have it in time). Since everything I sell in Duchess County NY is subject to NY sales tax, I am sorry to report that I am unable to participate in this year’s festival as a vendor.

I learned this yesterday morning. You should have seen the smoke coming out of my ears.

So I have a hotel room, a rental van, a booth space - but nothing to sell this weekend.

Mike and I have decided to make the best of a crummy situation. We will be at our "non-booth" space in building A, space 29-30 from 11 - 1 tomorrow (Saturday, October 15) to say hello and to celebrate the end of our Fall Smash Your Stash Knit Along, which ends tomorrow at the stroke of midnight EST.

Please stop by for goodies and do bring your finished projects. We'd love to take photos.

I am truly looking forward to seeing you and your lovely Foxfire Fiber yarn projects - whether in person or on Ravelry.

Autumn Knit Along - Cast On!

Today is the official Cast-On day for Foxfire Fiber's "Crash Your Stash" Autumn KAL. The rules are easy, and the prizes are great! There's still time to join us.

"What will you create from our wool?"

 Up for grabs are NINE prizes - comprised of both brand new Foxfire yarns (& spinning fiber) and vintage Foxfire Fiber & Designs skeins no longer available to the public.

The best part of this KAL is you get to do whatever project you want. We're calling this a KAL but projects may be knit, crotchet, handspun, woven or felted. The only requirement is you use Foxfire Fiber & Designs yarn or fiber.  Use your stash (or more recent FFF acquisitions) and your imagination.

Here are the guidelines: 

  - Forward this post to anyone you think needs a little encouragement to crash their stash (you may forward this to yourself if you have to).

- Join our Ravelry group: Foxfire Fiber Friends.

- Post your intent to join the KAL in the thread, "KAL Joining Thread Foxfire Fiber Autumn 2011". 

  - Cast on no earlier than 9.4.11. You can cast on after today, just be sure to finish on time!!

  -  Have fun crashing your stash!  Look to the group for ideas and support.


-  Finish & Post your finished project on Ravelry by midnight EST on 10.15.11. Be sure to use in the "Finished Projects KAL Autumn 2011." We will draw nine lucky winners from the projects posted there. Winners will be announced both here and in the Foxfire Fiber Friends Ravelry group forum.

  - Bask in your sense of accomplishment.

NOTE: You may enter as many projects as you make during the KAL timeframe for more chances to win, but we'll give only one prize per winner.


  Nine - that's right, nine - lucky winners will be drawn at random to win one of these beautiful Foxfire Fiber & Designs prizes:

1. Two vintage Skeins of Hand Paint Border Leicester Mohair yarn
2. Two vintage Skeins Border Leicester yarn in color "Marcasite"
3. Two vintage Skeins of Rambouillet cross hand painted yarn
4. Two vintage Skeins of Rambouillet cross hand painted yarn
5. An assortment of hand-spinning fiber (Cormo, Border Leicester, Fine Wool Cormo Cross, Some Mohair blends)
6. Two skeins of our brand new Cormo Camel Silk
7. Four Skeins brand new Cormo Silk Alpaca Slub Yarn
8. Two vintage Skeins heavy worsted Border Leicester & Fine Wool in color "Black Currant"
9. Two vintage Skeins heavy worsted Border Leicester & Fine Wool in color "Hurricane"

I can't wait to see what everyone creates from their Foxfire stashes.  I feel so grateful to have such a dedicated group of inspired and inspiring people in Friends of Foxfire Fiber.  

Now let's get crashing! Please spread the word.

 

My KAL project: Foxglove scarf in Foxfire Fiber Cormo Alpaca Lace.

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. We just received their final health clearances for OPP (Ovine Progressive Pneumonia). Tomorrow we'll introduce them to the 2011 ewe lambs and to Crackerjack, their new guardian. Fingers crossed that everyone plays nicely.

In the midst of it all, I'm working in the dye studio, plugging away on dyeing our fall yarn shares. Like the sheep, I'm at it early in the morning or after sun down. It's just too darn hot otherwise. I'm thrilled to say we started shipping our fall shares of Cormo Silk Alpaca yarn and roving today. Sheep Shares members, expect to see your fall shares sometime this month (August). We are doing our best to get them out the door as soon as they are ready.

 

 

New Little Sheep at the Big Farm

Today I'd like to introduce Ginger and Sassafras, our new Shetland lambs!

We first met them three weeks ago at the National Sheep Show at the Eastern States Expo in West Springfield, MA. They were raised by the Ludlam family at Windswept Farms in Michigan who were showing sheep that weekend. 

 We did not go to the show with a sheep shopping list. We went with a very specific mission: to pick up new sheep handling equipment (super light-weight aluminum panels for pens and a sorting gate). There was no plan to pick up more sheep.

So why did we buy two Shetland lambs? Honestly, I don't know.

While I was in the ladies room minding my own business, Mike wandered over to the sheep pens and became very good friends with the Ludlam's Shetlands. I don't think he had ever seen Shetlands before ("What are these guys? They're so tiny! They're so friendly!").

We hung out with the Shetlands, who wanted lots of pats and neck scratching, then we wandered around the rest of the show sheep pens and eventually came back to the cute little Shetlands. I tracked down the owner and, to make a long story short, we ended up with this pair of ewe lambs the next day.

They are inquisitive, friendly munchkins with gorgeous fleeces. At my local farm store I had trouble finding a sheep halter small enough to fit their pin sized heads. It turned out that the cat aisle offered the right solution. A 14" cat halter (with a few extra holes since it was still too big!) is the best answer for a Shetland lamb.

Ginger

Sassy

 

Mike and I love hanging out with the girls. They are in quarantine until we get health clearance from our vet (OPP testing and clean fecal samples). Then we'll put them in with our ewe lambs. Crackerjack has already noted the new arrivals.

I promise more pics soon, just wanted to share the news about their arrival.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Thank you to everyone for your kind words and condolences on our losses of Daphne and Butch. The cards, comments and emails mean a lot to us. Mike and I truly appreciate your understanding and support. 

Unfortunately we had another loss this past week: Buttercup, one of our original Cormo ewes. We had to have the vet come and put her down. She had been doing poorly for a while, losing weight, not eating well.

The vet determined that her molars were missing which explains why she was unable to properly chew grass or hay or pellets to a digestible size. Putting her down was the kindest thing to do. Poor old girl. She was a sweetie and has left us with many daughters and grand-daughters, all as gentle as she was. She was the nicest tempered and most maternal of our original Cormo sheep from Alice Field.

This summer has been a sobering reminder that our farm is home to a fair number of senior flock members. Right now everyone is down near the barns. Once this heat wave breaks, we will keep the "grannies" closer to the barn. The rest of the adults will migrate back to the uphill pastures.

 

The Strolling of the Lambs part two

On Saturday we took a moment to honor Holly's commitment to the farm. This month she is leaving the farm to work on an exciting new endeavor in the restaurant business with her partner Chris. We love her and will miss her terribly!

Kathryn's craft table was a hit! We made nests and hand felted eggs for a flock of hand-sewn chickens. 

 Mistral loved every minute of being in the center of attention. 

Mike gave the farm tour. I forgot to tell him about it, so he was confused when people kept asking him when the tour began.

Thanks to all who helped make this even a huge success, especially Mike, Daddy, Shirley, Holly, Kathryn, Fred.

Can't wait for our next Sheep Shares event on October 1, Fiber, Foliage and Friends.

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!

Knit-A-Long News on a rainy day!

Rainy day lambs

Rainy day rams

Rainy day retriever

I try not to whine about rain. Rain jump starts crops and makes the grass grow. It saves me time in watering new plantings and the new but yet unplanted red bud trees we acquired last week at the nursery.

But it makes for soggy sheep and unpleasant sheep tending. Several slipped their coats yesterday; the fabric gets sopping wet and droopy and the whole coat slips to the side. When the leg strap dangles below the hock, a sheep steps out of that strap. Then they step out of the second leg strap. Unfortunately they cannot pull coats over their own heads. So I find them dragging their coats around the pasture (like gigantic bibs) and tripping themselves up. It's a problem.

Wrestling a wet sheep out of coat is no fun. Wet sheep smell is worse than wet dog smell. Since it looks like the rain is here to stay, today we brought everyone back to the barn to remove slippy coats.

On a brighter note, I have a fun announcement for a rainy day.

I am super excited to announce our very first ever Foxfire Fiber Knit-Along featuring our new sock yarn: Cormo Flock Sock. I'm grateful to Sheep Shares member Lisa McGuire for suggesting this excellent idea.

This is how it works:

1. Procure skein(s) of Foxfire Fiber's Cormo Flock Sock yarn in a quantity sufficient for the project of your choice. Sheep Shares members have just received their shipment.  I will bring whatever I have on hand to the Mass. Sheep and Wool Festival on May 28 & 29.

2. Choose your project! (We crafted this yarn with socks in mind but I am going to knit Anne Hanson's Budding Apple shawl featured in the Spring issue of Twist Collective magazine). Announce your project on the "Count me In!" thread on RAVELRY in our Foxfire Fiber Friends group. Let us know what you plan to knit.

3. Casting On - No sooner than Sunday, May 29th, the official Knit-Along Cast On date. Join us for the group cast on at 1 pm, Sunday May 29, at my booth at the Mass. Sheep & Wool Festival and we'll all cast on together! 4. Share your progress - keep us posted on your project on RAVELRY.

5. Deadline for finished projects - Sunday, July 10. (FO's should be completed, with photos and project posted on Ravelry by this date).

 

In order to be eligible for our 3 super-duper prizes you must have completed your project and posted it (along with photos) to our RAVELRY thread "Finished Projects" and also add to the finished projects for Cormo Flock Sock yarn.

6. PRIZES!!

We will draw three names of entrants who have met the above criteria.

Prize 1: A copy of Melissa Morgan Oakes' book: Toe Up Two at a Time Socks with two skeins of Cormo Flock Sock yarn.

Prize 2: A copy of my book: Teach Yourself Visually Handyeing and two skeins of Cormo Alpaca Lace in natural (so you can dye them a color of your own choosing).

Prize 3: A Fair Isle Surprise Bundle of Foxfire Fiber's Upland Wool & Mohair yarn.

Winners will be announced both here and in Foxfire Fiber Friends Ravelry group on Friday, July 15th. 

I hope you'll join the fun. It's the first time I've ever done anything like this, so if you're a KAL veteran and see that I've overlooked an important detail (or if you have any questions), please let me know.

 

Happy rainy Monday.

Lamb Count & Special Give-Away!

We are resting after a very busy weekend. The rest of our ewes have lambed out. I'm not completely surprised. The action was sporadic this year and I suspected that our last momma's would birth in sync with the full moon. The last lamb born, Crispin, is snuggling here with his mom, Java.

Our final tally this year is 13 lambs: 6 rams, 7 ewes. Part of what I love most about the end of birthing time is the sense of relief that all lambs have made it safely into the world. This year I'm blessed with ewes who are all excellent mothers, even the first-timers. Gorgeous full udders. No bottle lambs. And no more sleepless nights!

And now for the names, in order of birth: Pippin, MacIntosh, Duchess, Pink Lady, Jonathan, Gala, Paula Red, Braeburn, Baldwin, Keswick, Spy, Fuji, and Crispin. Not a bad apple in the bunch!

I'll post more pics and videos after I've rested a bit but I wanted to share our exciting news.

We're celebrating the end of a successful birthing season with a special give-way:

4 skeins of Cormo Silk Alpaca yarn in the colorway: BlueBird.

To enter our drawing, please share this post with a friend or two (or blog, Ravelry, FB, or Tweet it). And please leave a comment here about what you love most about this time of year. Be sure to leave your email address where it asks you for it so I can contact you if you win.

You have until April 30 to enter. I will announce our drawing winner here on May Day (5/1/11).

Thanks for sharing our good news!