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Green Grass and a Shepherds’ Market

Sunday, May 16th, 2010

Yesterday the old bearded shepherd guy said to me, “Nanoo Nanoo, what do you and the rest of the girls think about getting out onto pasture today?” Needless to say, I hardly had to take any poll; it was a unanimous and resounding “YES“. As a result, the old guy and the nice lady arranged for us to take all the lambs with us and head out to pasture for the first time this year. Were we ever glad about that, although, I must admit that many of us were not too lady-like in our rush to get out the door. It was also the first time that all of us girls were together this year, as the old guy kindly let last year’s ewe lambs join us for the festivities. The only ones who could not join us were the rams, but that was just as well, knowing how rams are!

pasture-day-2

Today is now our second day on pasture. I am proud to say that nearly all of this year’s lambs were pretty quick to figure out that going outside was not as spooky as they sometimes think it is. Maybe in a day or so the old grump will not even have to chase after the stragglers to make sure they stay up with us. It is quite a sight all of us together. There are 207 of us adults and lambs all in the group. Fresh grass, clover and trefoil never tastes better than it does on these first few days outside. We are in the first pasture, working our way south. Tomorrow we will be under most of the apple trees. Everything is so early this year, even the apples are starting to bloom. Today were were happy to greet the first Bobolinks back to the farm. Three males serenaded us all morning, either flying high above us or perched at the very top of the couple of ash trees that border the western edge of the first pasture. It is always nice to have music while we graze. We look forward to the days we graze in the pasture next to the big hay field when the Bobolinks can sit on the fence posts next to us and regale us with tales of their winter in South American.

Zuzanna

Besides getting us out onto pasture the shepherds have been busy the last few days. The Bed and Breakfast has been open for the season since the beginning of May. This morning was the first day that we had visitors from the B&B on pasture. It is always fun seeing old and new faces (and getting a few extra chin rubs to boot!).

The big push this week is getting the farm ready for the annual Shepherds’ Market. It is taking place next Saturday and Sunday. It is an excellent chance to see what can be done with our wool and the fibers from our cousins the angora goats, llamas and alpacas. In addition you can purchase lots of fiber, yarn and finish items; the proceeds from which goes to support all of us. I would be remiss if I did not also remind you that the old shepherd guy’s book, Ruminations a Grumpy Shepherd, will be for sale at the Market. (I need to talk to the old guy, he forgets to plug our work and instead just writes about morels and asparagus!)

Yo Yo Baa and friends waiting for the Shepherds' Market

Queso and I, along with all the girls and their lambs will probably be in the forth pasture those days. It is just down the hill from the gallery building, so we should be able to send you a greeting across the pasture if you happen to stop by the Market this weekend. I hope we see lots of you!

Posted in Bed & Breakfast, Farm, Fleeces & Wool, Sheep, What's New | No Comments »

Announcing a Literary Event

Wednesday, April 21st, 2010

I suspect that many of you have been wondering what I have been up to for the last few weeks. After all, for quite a while the old bearded shepherd guy has been hogging most of Ewe Turn space. I figured I would let him get away with that, since most of what he has written was directly related to the flock. At least, for once he has gotten his priorities straight.

You may well then ask what I, Nanoo Nanoo, have been occupied with for the last few weeks. As you probably remember, this is my first spring in which I did not have a lamb. I kind of missed it, but then again it has been pretty nice just taking it easy with the rest of my retired buddies. We at least have gotten to witness and, in some cases, help with all of the births. Best of all, with the new scheme, after the lambs are born I don’t have to do all the rest of the work. I know, that really takes a lot out of you as a mom! But, I digress….

Few of you are aware that the flock at Whitefish Bay Farm is actually a multifaceted enterprise. One of our branches is Baa Baa Doo Press, of which I am editor-in-chief. Over the last few months, while many of the ewes were occupied with the gestation of their lambs, I have been helping the grumpy old shepherd guy with a “gestation” of his own.

As editor-in-chief of Baa Baa Doo Press, I am please to announce our first publication, The Ruminations of a Grumpy Shepherd. As you probably guessed, the author is the old shepherd guy. He has collected together essays about life on this farm since he came here 27 years ago. He has written those pieces over the last 14 years. Now he has combined them into a book. He will never admit it, but I actually did a lot of ghost writing for him on the project. (We all know that he needs lots of help!) But I will give him credit since a lot of it was written prior to my birth. I was at least able to get a few of my own literary gems incorporated into the book.

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As part of my duties as editor, I have the task of shamelessly promoting the publication. The book is printed both as a paperback and a hardcover. The old shepherd guy and the nice lady will have some of the paperbacks to sell at the farm. If you wish to order a copy it is better to go directly to our printer. They do a better job of packaging than the old guy will ever manage and the cost will be the same.

If you wish to purchase the paperback click on this link. The cost is $19.95 plus shipping.

If you wish to purchase the hardcover (my personal favorite) go to this link. The cost is $27.50 plus shipping.

So do the old guy a favor and buy his book. It will make him feel good. It is his first and, probably, only opus. He is too shy to do his own publicity so I will continue to handle it. Oh, and did I mention there are photos of us sheep and even one with the old guy and me together? What more can you ask?

Thanks, Nanoo Nanoo

Posted in Bed & Breakfast, Farm, Fleeces & Wool, Sheep, What's New | 5 Comments »

Preparing to Sell Fleeces

Thursday, April 1st, 2010

An event that is always intertwined with the birth of lambs at Whitefish Bay Farm is our annual fleece sale. We shear the sheep just prior to the beginning of lambing. We then spend the time in between shearing and lambing preparing the fleeces for sale. By the time that lambing is nearly completed, we are ready to sell our fleeces on-line. The sale usually lasts, at best, a day and a half. Its intensity is even greater than the busiest single day of lambing.

The information that follows is intended primarily for our fleece customers (past, present and future). For those of you following the Ewe Turn for other reasons, we hope that you will also find some of this to be interesting.

We have nearly finished with the final skirting, sorting and evaluation of all the fleeces. When that task will actually be finished depends upon the cooperation of the few ewes who are still pregnant. If all goes smoothly, we hope to have fleeces ready for sale by early to mid April. Before the sale day, a number of things will happen for all of our fleece customers.

Previous and Current Customers - For all of you who have purchased fleeces from us within the last two years, we have just sent you an email to alert you to the information that you are currently reading on our blog. That email is also intended to verify that you are still using the email address we had for you a year ago. In the near future, we will re-contact you regarding the fleeces that you purchased last year. If you purchased one or more fleeces from us last year, you will get the opportunity to reserve the fleece(s) from the same sheep again this year. This assumes that the sheep is still with us, and that the fleece does not have an imperfection that makes it unsuitable for sale (e.g. a wool break). We will ask you to reply with your decision if you wish to again purchase this fleece(s). We cannot and will not reserve any other fleeces ahead of time. We will also alert you to the exact date of the upcoming sale.

Potential New Customers - If you have contacted us since last year’s fleece sale and given us your email address, we will send you an email prior to the sale date so that you will know exactly when it will occur.

Buying Fleeces - If you are new to the sale, be aware that the fleeces tend to sell very quickly! Pay attention to the date and time of the sale and do not procrastinate! On the day of the sale, we attempt to answer your emails and phone calls as quickly as possible. As previous customers know, things get very hectic that day, but we will work things out. There are just the two of us and the technology we are using is slow and relatively primitive. (We have no pool of “operators standing by waiting for your call”!) This procedure is imperfect. We will do our best to get you the fleeces that you want. We will also be happy to discuss any of the fleeces with you once they are ready for sale. We have left all of our listings of fleeces from 2009 up on our web site to help you as a memory jogger. The fleece listings start at our Fleece Page.

Address changes - It is important for us to know ahead of time if you have changed addresses (postal and/or e-mail) since last April. If you have a new address and have not already notified us of it, please let us know now, so that we do not miss contacting you and so that your fleece order does not get shipped to an old address (that has happened!).

If you do not want to purchase fleeces from us in 2010, or you wish to be removed from our mailing, list please let us know right away. The correct e-mail address to use is: fleeces@whitefishbayfarm.com.

Shipping– We will make every effort to ship the fleeces in the least expensive fashion without jeopardizing the welfare of the wool. Please recognize that the cost of any form of shipping continues to rise dramatically. If you have a method of shipping that you prefer, even if it is more expensive, we will honor your wishes.

We are also quite happy to ship fleeces directly to a processor if you wish to have it washed and carded by them. We have had experience using a number of processors; we are happy to discuss our opinions of each as it relates to Corriedale fleeces. We also have some very strong feelings regarding certain of our fleeces that should not be sent to a commercial carder, if you are to maximize the fleece’s beauty. If you prefer direct shipment to a processor, you will need to have processing instructions ready for us when it is time to ship the fleece.

Feedback- As always, we welcome feedback from you regarding our fleeces. If there is a way in which we can improve our product, we would like to know about it. If you have questions or problems that we may be able to help with, please let us know. We look forward to hearing from each of you and we hope that we will provide you with some wonderful fleeces in 2010. Take good care….

Posted in Bed & Breakfast, Fleeces & Wool, Gallery | No Comments »

Nanoo Nanoo is Back!

Sunday, March 7th, 2010

Hej ovine fans!

It has been a while, but finally I have returned. It took me a lot less time to get over my ear infection than it took the old bearded guy to fix his foot. But I have not been idle. Rather, I have been busy with a very big literary project. I am not quite ready to spill the beans in that regard but there will be some big news in the near future.

Right now I figured that I had better get everyone caught up on the current state of the flock, because lots has been going on and there is more to come. First off, we all got sheared just a while ago. This is a picture of me, taken by Queso, the flock photographer. This is what I looked like just before I was sheared. nanoo-preshear I must admit that I was looking pretty good there, but am I ever glad to get rid of all this wool. The weather is already starting to get warmer and it will be nice to be comfortable! It took just under two days for the shearer and the crew to get all of us clipped up nicely. I waited until close to the end for my turn. This is just the beginning of “good bye fleece”.

nanoo-shear-3 Once I graciously parted with my wool, the nicely lady and her friend, MJ, did a good job of skirting it so that only the best parts remained. The nice lady has been spending a lot of time ever since shearing doing further skirtings on all of our fleeces. She tells me that she hopes to have them all ready to sell in about a month. I hope she can keep up with that pace because she is going to be busy with other things very soon!

The old shepherd guy’s brother was here to help with shearing. He is the one who set Queso up with her camera. He took this picture of Queso for her , before she was sheared. Obviously she was in no position to take any pictures at that moment. He even managed to get a picture of her with the old grumpy shepherd guy (he was starting to look pretty tired by then!) queso-shear-1 That is him, with the dirty red hat; Queso is the one who could hardly see at that point (a bit of a problem for a photographer!). She is now looking quite chic.

Life is about to get even busier in the barn. The pregnant girls are nearing the end of their five months. There are quite a few of them who are due in just a couple of days. This is my first year for being on holiday. It is kind of nice just standing back and watching all the action without being a major part of the craziness. Today the shepherds re-installed the baby monitor so that they can listen in on us. (We have to be a bit more circumspect with what we say as we never know who may be listening in on us. For all I know the neighbors may be picking us up on their TV or radio.) The shepherd also set up the first couple of pens for the new moms (they call them “jugs”).

I really doubt that the old shepherd guy will get the job done spreading the news. In case he does not, Queso and I will make sure that the world gets regular updates as the lambs arrive. That’s it for now!

Posted in Fleeces & Wool, Sheep | 1 Comment »

Back on the Saddle

Thursday, February 25th, 2010

For those who may be wondering, Whitefish Bay Farm and its occupants have not fallen off the edge of the earth. My apologies for being rather quiet during the last few weeks. For those who may not remember, in mid-November I managed to sustain a rather severe high right ankle sprain, complements of Ulmer, the ram. Until early January my movements were significantly limited by a large boot which encased my foot and lower leg 24 hours a day.

In January the boot was replaced by a much smaller brace and I was given the go-ahead to proceed with physical therapy. I have been at it ever since, under the watchful eye and tutelage of Ann, my physical therapist. It is truly humbling to find out just how much muscle atrophy can occur when you do not use your lower leg for that length of time. Nonetheless, the tendons and ligaments are healing and the muscles starting to strengthen. Thank you Ann! Without your help I would not be nearly as far along as I am. And thank you Gretchen, my co-worker and spouse, who picked up so much slack for me during this excruciating winter.

Once into the recovery mode, my goal was to be able to handle all my normal duties before we reached the date when the sheep were to be sheared. The secondary goal was to shed all the excess weight that was gained while I sat around and did lots of reading. I made it to shearing; the weight loss is still a work in progress. In that regard, we purchased a stationary stand for my old Gitane bicycle, so that I can ride indoors during the winter. I am now riding from Faaborg to Korinth and back (in Denmark) every day (or at least trying to visualize the trip). Cycle shops, however, are dangerous places for me to visit. Needing a trip odometer for the Gitane, I also ended up purchasing a new Trek cycle: further incentive to finish recovery and get on with spring! Perhaps by summer’s end I will get into a century ride.

Opal and some of her pals waiting to be sheared

Of course, shearing takes precedent over just about everything else in late February. Once again we assembled a topnotch crew (some veterans and some new members) to assist our shearer, Dave. For once, the weather has co-operated. It has been unseasonably warm for February and as a result the sheep have managed to stay comfortable without their full fleeces. We sheared all 129 sheep in less than two days.

The next step is to prepare each fleece for sale. We can work on a maximum of seven fleeces a day in the warmth of our basement. Each fleece needs to be spread out on a rack to air. Under good light Gretchen then skirts the poorer quality wool (generally the wool not covered by the sheep coats). When all the fleeces are processed, we will weigh each one, group them by shades and color patterns and then price them for sale. With any luck they will be ready for sale in mid April. (Anyone who is not already on our list and who would like an opportunity to purchase one or more of our fleeces, should check out the Fleece Page on our web site for instructions on how to get your name on the notification list.

Lunch is well deserved and relished, once shearing is done

We would have the fleeces ready much sooner, save for one “minor” interruption. On about March 8th, our ewes will begin presenting their new lambs. From that point and for the next four weeks our schedule is not our own. Fleeces get processed only when the ewes are not in labor and the lambs not in need of attention. Shearing is exciting, both in terms of seeing the beauty of the fleeces as they come off the sheep and also in terms of being able to see just how far along are the ewes’ pregnancies.

Of course, life goes on for the rest of the farm as well. The wild Turkeys make periodic raids on the areas under the bird feeders. The White-tailed Deer seem to be herding up. Recently we counted 13 in the back yard. Once lambing begins we will be stumbling upon both groups of animals as we work our way to and from the barn.

Adding new meaning to "bird feeder"

So stay tuned, we should be able to share news and “baby” pictures soon!

Posted in Farm, Fleeces & Wool, Sheep, What's New | 2 Comments »

It’s May! The race is on

Saturday, May 9th, 2009

It is difficult to believe that it is already the second week of May. So much seems to be happening, yet so much does not seem to be getting finished. Spring is still dragging its heels. It is cooler than normal (a frost warning for this weekend!) but at least we are starting to get some much needed rain. The pastures are slow to grow, perhaps at least the ewes with lambs may get to start grazing this week. There still is not enough forage to let the remaining dry ewes join the main flock.

Getting the pastures ready for grazing has been a major task this year. The winter has been tough on the fences and water lines. The snow load was heavy enough on the fences that a couple of posts were broken. The wires and their tensioners were ripped lose or broken. Strangely the snow and strong winds did not bring down any large trees along the fence lines, but did deposit a couple into the edges of the hay fields. The sub-freezing weather arrived so quickly that much of the waterlines to the pastures froze before we could drain them. Nearly half of the connectors which allow us to plug in the water buckets were blown out of the pipes. Luckily the majority of that ice damage involved re-connecting the segments, a tedious job, but not unpleasant on a warmer sunny day.

The Bed & Breakfast is open. For this the sheep are glad. At least they are getting to visit with someone else besides the two of us. They can suck up to all sorts of folks who let them get away with it and who enjoy it almost as much as we do. This is the time when the friendly lambs really shine and some of the shier lambs surprise us by suddenly learning that getting a scratch under the chin can be a good thing.

Next on the schedule horizon is the 15th annual Shepherds’ Market, which takes place this next weekend (May 16th and 17th). The web site covers the event in general. Right now let’s look at some of what Whitefish Bay Farm will be offering for sale. Since most of our raw fleeces have already been sold, our offerings at the Market will be concentrated on yarns and roving.

A rainbow of hand-carded wool batts

Gretchen has spent her “free time” this winter and spring huddled up with her drum carder creating all sorts of colorful blends of fiber. The bulk of each roving batt that she has prepared is based upon wool from our flock of Corriedale sheep. Some of that wool is in its natural shade (white, grays, black or brown). Other batts have a Corriedale base which has been dyed in a rainbow of colors. In addition most of the batts have other fibers (natural colored and/or dyed) blended into them. In the mix is mohair (from angora goats), angora (from angora rabbits) or wool from a number of different breeds of sheep. It is always a treat to open the trunk in which most of the batts have been stored. The sensation has been that of releasing a rainbow. Most of the batts weigh around three ounces, enough to permit a generous amount of spinning, depending upon ones style and preference.

White Corriedale blended with hand-dyed Merino

There will be lots to see and to buy at the Shepherds’ Market. Hopefully you can stop by and enjoy the festivities.

Posted in Bed & Breakfast, Fiber Projects, Fleeces & Wool, Sheep | No Comments »

The 4th and Last week of Lambing (and then some)

Wednesday, April 29th, 2009

The thermometer certainly does not want to convince us that it is spring yet. Nonetheless, the pace has quickened like it always seems to when we hit spring. Lambing was finished a month and a day after it began. On the 10^th of April Ursa Bear delivered a single ewe lamb, Winnie the Pooh Bear. She was followed by Pookie who gave birth to twins, Wascal and Wabbit . Since then the ewes and their lambs have been doing well. In total we had 112 lambs born this year. As always some of the lambs are growing faster than others. A few lambs have had minor health problems and a couple of ewes have had to deal with mastitis. In the later situations it looks as though we have it under control. It should not result in any devastating losses as it sometimes can.

Enjoying the sun on a cool morning

As we worked through the final week of lambing we also had enough time to prepare for the annual posting of our fleeces to our web site. The 127 fleeces went up for sale on April 15^th. The vast majority were sold within the first 24 hours. (A couple of our long term customers refer to the first day as a fleece “feeding frenzy”. At the time it often seems to be an apt description.)

Ulrika's fleece

Since that time sales have continued on at a more dignified pace. As I write, we are down to two remaining fleeces, both colored. Ulrika and Roxie both need their fleeces to find a loving home. They urge any and all spinners to visit our colored wool page.

Roxie's fleece

Despite the cool temperatures we are still experiencing, we are creeping onward into spring. The last few evenings as I have done my evening “bed check” in the barn, the sounds of peepers and tree frogs could be heard in the pond to the north of us. “Our” barn swallows returned during the last week of lambing. The barn is now a happier, noisier place with them swooping in and out. The first few pairs that arrived are already rebuilding nests. With any luck we hope to have at least 30 nesting pairs by early summer, the majority of whom will bring off at least two broods of chicks before summer’s end.

It is time to get the pastures ready for grazing. Once the grass is high enough the fences must already be repaired from the damages of winter and the pasture watering lines pressurized and checked for leaks. The first day that the flock gets out on pasture cannot come too soon for both the sheep and us.

One of Q.T.'s boys, Wazir...14 days old and serious about it!

On other fronts, the two of us are starting to gear up our other operations. The Bed and Breakfast will once again open for guests on the 1^st of May. The Art Gallery follows with its opening just a little over 4 weeks later. Sandwiched in between is the 15^th annual Shepherds’ Market which is put on by the Door County Sheep and Goat Raisers and hosted by us in and around our gallery space on May 16^th and 17^th. There is always a diverse collection of fiber related products for sale. The two of us will be selling any of our fleeces that otherwise have not yet sold. In addition we will have a selection of handspun and mill spun yarn, some finished products made with wool from our flock, plus a beautiful selection of rovings that Gretchen has been working on over the winter. (More about the roving next time!)

So far the Hepatica are blooming along the edges of the woods. Soon their blooms will appear throughout the hardwoods to be accompanied by Blood Root, Trillium and Trout Lilies. It is a good time to be where we are and to be able to be out to enjoy the show!

Posted in Bed & Breakfast, Fleeces & Wool, Gallery, Sheep | 3 Comments »

An interview with the nice lady

Sunday, April 12th, 2009

Nanoo Nanoo is not here at present. She is off somewhere in the barn looking after her new born daughter, Wambam. Instead it is me, Queso, the flock photojournalist and, for the moment, special correspondent. Nanoo Nanoo asked me to look after things and to make sure that the sheep perspective is not given a short shift while she is on maternity leave.

Queso - special correspondent

The barn is finally settling down, as all of my pregnant buddies have delivered their lambs. As I mentioned Nanoo Nanoo had a girl. The shepherds claim she is “cute as a button”. (Whatever that means, we have no use for buttons.) The girl is growing well at more than ½ pound per day. Nanoo Nanoo is a very good, attentive mother.

Over the last few days I have spent a lot of time with the shepherds, making sure that they do their jobs properly while the ewes are in labor. While we killed time waiting on births, I had a chance to talk with the nice lady about our fleeces. Here is what I managed to get recorded.

Queso(Q): So, nice lady, what can you tell me about our fleeces this year?

Nice Lady (NL): The fleeces this year are really quite beautiful. As you know, I look carefully at each fleece during the days and weeks after shearing. Then I write down all my observations.

Q: What are you looking for?

NL: I look for any vegetative matter and try to pick that out of the wool along with any short little bits of fiber. I test each fleece for soundness, that is, I look for any tender spots in the fiber length that would break as it is being spun. This year we had no fleeces with tender spots.

Q: How long does it take you to look at each fleece?

Queso interviews nice lady

NL: It depends. The least amount of time is probably about 15 minutes. Some fleeces take up to 45 minutes. Some of your friends here in the barn tend to be hay magnets. Even though you all wear jackets, some of you like to collect vegetative matter along the edges of your jackets. Some of it even works its way underneath the jacket. After I have the fleece examined, I measure the staple length, I try to describe the color and characteristics of the wool, and then I place the fleece in a clear plastic bag with the name of the sheep clearly visible. Finally, I weigh the fleece and record all this information on a chart so that we can put that information on the website in preparation for the annual fleece sale.

Q: Which fleeces have you spun from our flock?

NL: I have spun or am spinning fleeces from current flock members including Justine, Kassia, Luscious, Mindy, Nutbread, Octavia, Prunella, Ruby, Stud Muffin, Tabitha, Trudi and, of course Nanoo Nanoo’s and yours. When we first started with the flock back in 1990, I spun a small amount of every fleece from the original 20 flock members. And, I have spun fleeces from flock members that are no longer here.

Q: I have heard that sometimes you add color to our wool. Is that true?

NL: Yes, sometimes I dye the wool. I especially enjoy adding color to the pale gray and vanilla gray fleeces. Those light grays add a nice undertone to the color. I am starting to use more and more natural dye materials. I especially enjoy trying out new plants as possible dye sources. Some experiments work, others are not so good.

Q: Am I ever glad you do not try to dye our wool before they shear it from us! What happens to the yarn you spin from our wool?

NL: Some of the yarn is used by that grumpy old guy when he weaves blankets, scarves, and other items. I use some of the yarn in knitting things like hats, mittens and socks. I also use some of the yarn as embellishments in felting projects or in dressing the teddy bears I make. Occasionally, I will sell some of my handspun at the Door County Shepherds’ Market or through our Art Gallery.

Q: I heard a rumor that each year you make a list of your favorite fleeces for that year. Is it true? And, why do you do it?

NL: Yes, it is true. Each year I pick 5 or 6 of the best (in my opinion) white fleeces and 10 to 12 of the best naturally colored fleeces. I keep my list from year to year to see how my opinion changes and to see which members of the flock are producing consistently good fleeces. Fleeces on this list may end up being priced differently than other fleeces in the flock. For example, this year one of the top fleeces is going to be Violette (a lovely lilac gray lamb fleece) which is going for $15.00 a pound.

Q: Am I on the list?

NL: Oh yes, you are on the list. This year my favorite naturally colored fleeces are from: Limburger, Naomi, Nutbread, Nanoo Nanoo, Queso, Sunflower, Toodles, Tessa, Tallulah, Upsadaisy, Ulayla, and Violette. My favorite white fleeces are: Cynthie, Quiche, Portia, Quazar, Ukiah, and Vanilla. All of these fleeces have lovely color or whiteness, are consistent from front to back, and all have a lovely crimp. It is unusual for two lamb fleeces to be on the list but both are very special this year.

Q: I have heard that each year you usually keep at least a couple of our fleeces for your spinning projects. I cannot imagine what you do with all the rest of our fleeces. After all, there are over 120 of them this year.

NL: Every year we put most of your fleeces up for sale on our web site. People from all over the U.S. and Europe then buy them. In fact we will be having our next fleece sale this week. People who are interested can have a look at the Fleece pages on the web site. You are even welcome to look.

Q: I really am not interested in buying back my fleece. What good would that do me? In any case, thank you for telling me about our fleeces and what you do with our wool. It was also very nice of you to spend so much time scratching me behind the ears. I think I’ll go over and see if the old bearded guy will give me a rub for a while….

Posted in Fiber Projects, Fleeces & Wool, Sheep | 2 Comments »

Big Barn Update

Friday, March 13th, 2009

I see that the folks up at the “house” are telling everyone that they have been ever so busy, what with dyeing, shearing and the like. I guess that it is time for me to set things straight again. I will admit that for a day or so those shepherd folk were scurrying around the barn a lot, making sure that we got properly sheared. You would think with all the help they had that they would not have gotten so tired. Speaking at least for myself, Nanoo Nanoo, it was high time that we got rid of all that wool. The real business is at hand. After all, I am pregnant, as are most of my buddies and those babies are on the way! Now we will really get to see that old bearded shepherd guy and the nice lady hustle their buns off!

Spring (she is one of us) at least got the shepherds attention Wednesday night. She decided that she was not waiting for her due date. After a hearty helping of grain as part of dinner she decided to deliver her lamb. Everything went well and we now have the first new member of our group for the year, a strapping little 11 pound guy they are calling “Winter”.

That reminds me that I should explain what those shepherds do to come up with names for us. (We have our own names but it is in an alphabet and language too complex and difficult for a shepherd to understand.) Each year they use a different letter of their alphabet for all the lamb names. This year they are using “W”. Last year was “V”. As might be suspected, I was born in the “N” year. I am told it helps the shepherds keep track of how old we are. As you can see, they need all the help they can get, especially the old breaded guy! Then they do something dumb. A couple of years ago they purchased some sheep from another flock and they keep using the names with which those gals came. Lady Harriet Vane was not born in the “L” year nor was her mother, Lucy. I think that you get the picture….

Portia and Wadsworth

Before I could even finish writing this entry a bunch of the girls got into the act. This morning (Friday) Opal, Portia, Tess and Rubina all delivered lambs. The photo is of Portia and her boy, Wadsworth, taken when he was just a couple hours old. The day is hardly half over and I am already behind. Somehow I have to figure out how to type faster. With just two toes to a foot typing is a challenge. I have the sinking feeling that I am not going to be able to keep up with all the labor and deliveries!

One thing was settled during shearing that is relevant to my literary efforts. We now have a reliable source for pictures of what we are doing. One of the people who came to help with shearing was the old shepherd guy’s brother. He is actually a nice chap with a nice laugh. Among other things he is taller than the old shepherd guy and he is a photographer. His wife also came to help. I remember her because she took really nice care of all of us a few years ago, when the shepherds took off to visit New Zealand and the ancestral homelands of all of our Corriedale tribe. One of our group, Queso, got to talking about cameras with this brother. She arranged with him to borrow a nice, ovine friendly digital camera.

Queso discussin digital photography with the old shepherd's brother

Queso discussing digital photography with the old shepherd's brother

Queso is known to many visitors to the Bed & Breakfast, as she is usually one of the official “greeters” when the shepherds bring the guests out to visit us. Since Queso has decided not to have lambs any longer she has volunteered to be our official photographer (appropriate for a sheep named “Cheese” in Spanish). Now I should have some good pictures to supplement my written efforts. The image of Portia is one of Queso’s first tries. Thanks Queso!

I must be off for the moment. Time to stock up on hay before everyone eats all of it. I am not due yet for a couple of weeks, so I will try to keep all of you up to date as the lambs begin to arrive.

Posted in Farm, Fleeces & Wool, Sheep, What's New | 3 Comments »

Shearing is over

Monday, March 9th, 2009

It is difficult to believe, yet it has been a week since we finished shearing the flock. So much happened in preparation for the two day event that it now seems a blur. In two days 126 sheep were shorn. Since then the pace has not slackened. Gretchen is busy with the final skirting of the fleeces. And of most importance…in a couple of days lambing begins.

Pre-shearing - In the week that preceded shearing we were faced with ominous weather. Snow storms followed snow storms and the temperatures were below normal. Consistent overnight lows were just above 0°F (-18°C); the highs struggled to reach another 10F°. It was not ideal weather for shearing. The prospects for warmer temperatures after shearing were also poor. At least our volunteer help managed to arrive between storms (Helen and Russ from Atlanta, GA and MJ from Madison, WI). Thursday afternoon Dave, our shearer, pulled in from east central Wisconsin with the next blow right on his tail. No sooner had he gotten his equipment unloaded and into the barn than it started to snow. By Friday morning we had 10″ of snow; it was cold; a bitter north wind was blowing. We managed to get the barn shut down as tightly as possible. The sheep, of course, were still quite comfortable with their full fleeces. Their warm bodies managed to keep the lower level of the barn in the mid 30°F range overnight. Those temperatures are still not ideal for shearing as the lanolin in the wool is not nearly as soft as the shearer would like. The wool is thus more difficult for the blades of the shears to cut, resulting in more work for the shearer.

Shearing - Friday and Saturday did not warm up, but we had no choice but to proceed as Dave had other jobs scheduled. We penned the flock tightly near the shearing area so that they were easier to catch. I caught the sheep; Russ and I moved each to the shearing area where we removed their coats. We would then turn them over to Dave who would proceed to shear each sheep in just a couple of minutes. shear1 The belly wool comes off first and is separated into a “belly” bag. Once the sheep was shorn she got to return to the main pen where a hearty breakfast awaited her. Gretchen and MJ scooped up the fleece and placed it on a skirting table where the dirty edges and contaminated wool around the head and butt were removed. When the fleece is finished it gets placed in a separate bag with a tag that identifies the “producer”. The nicer wool from around the neck area, which is not covered by the sheep’s coat and which is contaminated with some vegetative matter, gets placed in separate bags by shade. Eventually we will send it of to Blackberry Ridge Woolen Mill, where it will be washed, cleaned, carded and spun into yarn for us to use or sell. Simultaneous with the skirting, Helen was sweeping up the small cuts of wool left in the shearing area so that they do not contaminate the next fleece as it is sheared. She then also cleaned the area around the skirting table for the same reason. As soon as Dave’s shearing area was clean we would have another sheep ready for him to shear and the procedure would begin again.

On Friday we managed to get all of the presumably pregnant ewes sheared, plus a few of the “old ladies”. The shearing total was 80 for the day. On Saturday we began the routine a little later than the previous day. We had 46 sheep to shear that day: the rest of the older “open” ewes, last year’s lambs and finally, the 8 rams. Needless to say we all were tired after shearing was over. Gretchen had prepared a bounty of food for all of us. It was well consumed.

Post-shearing - Saturday afternoon I was able to clear a path through the snow for Dave’s van. On Sunday morning he was off to another job. The rest of us got the barn re-organized and as comfortable as possible for all of the naked sheep. They were all cold but not excessively so. Everyone of them continued to eat well. In fact their hay consumption is up, as expected: more fuel for 126 sheep furnaces. shear3 During the next couple of days the rest of our crew departed for their homes; again everyone managed to avoid any bad weather. Without their help we would have never survived!

Our next phase is just beginning. Each day we bring seven more fleeces into the heated basement, where they are spread out on skirting tables to air dry. Here, under good light, we can perform a final skirting of the fleece and prepare it for sale. Seven fleeces are the maximum for which we have space at one time. Simple mathematics will tell us that under the best of conditions we will have all the fleeces finished after 18 days. “Simple mathematics” does not consider that it is only 12 days between the last day of shearing and the first scheduled day of lambing. If life proceeds “normally” we will have a couple of lambs born a day or two early. In any case, the fleeces will not be ready for sale until lambing is over and we have had a moment to catch our breaths. Anyone interested in purchasing fleeces should look at our web sites Fleeces page for further instructions. For those already on the notification list we appreciate your patience. dsc_0031-2 We have also begun the lengthy task of washing all of the used sheep coats. The rams and all the ewe lambs have already been fitted into smaller (and clean) coats. Those two groups have now been moved back into the barn addition which will keep them out of the way and mischief during lambing. At chore time during the week we are also re-coating the open ewes. The pregnant ewes will not be coated again until they have delivered their lambs. At least by mid week after shearing the weather has moderated. It is warm enough to melt lots of snow and to open up the barn for better ventilation. Now if it would just stay that way throughout lambing….

Posted in Farm, Fleeces & Wool, Sheep | No Comments »

Ewe Turn