Friday, October 9, 2009

I can not believe that I have not written on this blog since April! Where has the time gone?
Lets see.. our lambs have grown up! Though you would not actually know that, because some of them are still nursing. We found wonderful homes for the "extra" sheep that we incurred from the surprise lambing.... Of course we picked and chose among these animals for the ones with the nicest fleeces. This was very difficult because they all had really gorgeous fleece. Of course, we would have kept them all, but, at the price of hay and the hectiness of our schedules, we really could not have done justice to that many animals. We are at a comfortable number, for us, at this point. We have 17 sheep, and 7 Angora goats. Just enough to produce a wonderful product and keep us on our toes and entertained.
With fewer mouths to feed, and a lot of rain, our pasture lasted longer than it has in other years. It has sustained the flock right up until now. Only now are we having to increase the amount of hay that we feed. We want to keep them on pasture as long as possible, because their fleeces stay cleaner than they do in the barnyard. For them to get to pasture they have to traipse across a bridge and up a low lying path... so if it rains a lot, or snows a lot, they are stuck on the barnyard side of the bridge. So, we are hoping for a long fall..... keep your fingers crossed.
There is definatley a nip in the air in upstate NY. Time for knitting! Somehow over the summer I got into a knitting slump somehow. But, after we participated in the first Southern Adirondack Fiber Festival in September, I became very inspired again. So, my needles are clicking away with a variety of projects started. If you did not attend the Fiber Festival, you should really mark your calendar for next year..
Well, I guess I had better get back to the farming...... stop by and visit us on the weekends...
Back to work...... toodles...