New Lambs Are Due Any Day and Spring Planting

The second ewe to lamb will likely drop before Monday, March 30th.  Well, that’s my best guess since I didn’t mark the ram’s brisket in the fall so I’d know when he mounted the ewe.  Her udders have gotten huge in the past two weeks and her back end is looking ready.  I don’t know if it’s twins in there or more (or just one).  Time will tell.  If it is a multiple birth, I just hope that this ewe accepts all the lambs.  I really don’t feel like bottle feeding another lamb.  In the meantime, the orphan ewe lamb is doing very well, will be a month old tomorrow, and will be out in the upper paddock in a fenced in enclosure with a shelter made of pallets this weekend.  I will close up the enclosure at night so the coyotes won’t make a meal out of her.  I’m feeding her 3x/day about a cup and a half of milk replacer each feeding.  She’s beginning to nibble on hay/grass/feed.  I put her out with her father yesterday…just him, not her recalcitrant mother, all the while, I was supervising.  The ram was good as gold with the baby.  The little one watched her father as he munched on hay and she emulated him.  Also, we made the decision to keep the little ewe lamb, but in order to do so, we have to get new bloodlines so a new ram has to be purchased and have to get rid of the old one.  I’m on the lookout now for a suitable ram lamb that will be sexually mature by the time the ewes come into estrus again, October/November.  I’m looking for a katahdin/dorper cross but will consider another cross as long as there is Katahdin in the mix.  I want to maintain the hybrid vigor and worm resistance in the offspring.

On another note, I’ve started spring planting in earnest this past weekend and planted out one tunnel:  several hundred feet of spinach, over a thousand onions (so far), some arugula, and the first sowing of snow peas.  Other items to plant very soon include:  Kale, Romaine lettuce, beets, shallots, leeks, parsnips, and more snow peas.  As you can tell, I have my hands full right now.

Onion Planting Time!

After a long, exhausting winter, the snow and cold finally let up enough for me to start planting the onions.  Four varieties:  white, red, Stuttgarter (yellow keepers), and Walla Walla.  I started the first of the sets on Sunday March 16th in time for my St. Patrick’s Day start date.  Only have 600 in so far.  You know, one thing leads to another and you get sidetracked.  I hope to plant the remaining sets and plants by this weekend, bringing the total to around 1,100.  I have two low tunnels set up and almost ready to plant….way behind my Feb 14th start date.  Dang ice and snow!  The first market day will be May 17th so the clock is ticking.  The little orphan lamb is doing very, very well and is almost ready to go out to a separate pen with the other sheep.

A friend gave me a rooster on St. Patrick’s Day to replace the one the coyotes got.  He’s a beaut!  Now, let’s hope at least one of the hens goes broody and hatches a clutch so we’ll have some chicken for the freezer this summer.

Cold weather makes a return

The temperature this morning was a whopping 5 degrees. Fed and watered the critters rather quickly. It’s almost time to start planting onion sets. I’m planning on starting this Saturday the 15th. I’m also going to start getting the tunnels into shape and start planting spinach. The first market day will be May 17th. Two months will go quickly! The little orphan ewe is doing very well and follows me when I go out to do the morning and evening chores. Here’s a recent photo of the lamb. The next round of lambs will probably arrive between March 15th and April 1st. At least, that’s my best guess.

Ram lamb doing well

The little ram lamb, freckles’ brother, is doing very well out there with his mama.  Check out his short video here:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Idpa7lgV64Y

Little Orphan Ewe Lamb

After being rejected by her mama, I became a foster “dad”.  Had to begin bottle feeding the little ewe lamb re-named, “freckles”.  Two days after she was born, she improved dramatically.  Here’s a link to a short video clip of me taking her out for a walk in the upper paddock yesterday evening. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=14gEHxwNy9M

Anxiously awaiting a new arrival

It’s been some time since I posted.  Since then, at least one of the ewes had shown that she was pregnant.  After several months, she’s just about ready to lamb.  Here’s a shot of her (on the right).  As you can see, she’s “bagging up” and the genitourinary area is quite enlarged.  At this point, I’m thinking less than 10 days.  My original calculations said she’d have her lamb(s) around March 15th.  Looks like she’ll drop sooner.  My nerves are shot.

Getting Ready For Winter

Along with all of the traditional activities of fall: getting firewood split and stacked, laying in some hay for the winter, etc, I’ve been harvesting and drying herbs for the past several weeks, to be used as medicine. Some of my more favorite plants to harvest and dry are: Burdock, Sheep Sorrel, Blackberry, Peppermint, Echinacea, Lavender, Dandelion, Mullein, and Bergamot. Some are more difficult to find and/or are protected by law so, I purchase them (eg. Goldenseal root).
Of course, there’s a whole host of other herbs that can be utilized to keep one healthy, not to mention commonly used “kitchen spices” such as ginger root and caraway seed. If you’re interested in learning more about natural medicines, check out a local Naturopath by the name of Granny Earth. Go to: http://www.grannyearth.com

Cooking…share the love

Life here on the farm isn’t all about work.  One of my greatest joys in life is to cook for myself or for others.  It’s that time of year, when I begin to think of wonderful things to create in the kitchen.  Amidst the fermenting of the sauerkraut and the  bubbling of the sourdough culture and batches of home made wine, during autumn,  I began to feel the need to concoct culinary masterpieces. This feeling usually lasts until late May, when it starts to get too warm out to cook inside.

I was on a bit of a vegetarian kick the other weekend and whipped up a real fine feast.  Lentil soup, spinach pie, multi-grain rolls, and winter squash pie.  I have to say, the home made pie crusts turned out wonderful.

Just this past weekend, I made my “bread of the week”. sourdough bagels with flax, wheat germ, oat bran, and rolled oats.   Looking in the freezer for more inspiration, I found a rabbit from last year.  I roasted that rabbit up with red wine, vermouth, onions, carrots, garlic, and juniper berries.  It was a meal fit for a king.

Are we hungry yet?!  Enjoy your day.

 

More babies

As of yesterday, I’m a daddy….again. Lord give me strength.  New ducklings in the house!  And, for only being 24 hrs old, they’re pretty smart too…they like to keep up with current events.  Notice the photo in the newspaper article the one duckling is reading.  Something about a big rubber duck invading Pittsburgh.  How appropriate. LOL.

New addition to the family

Well, I should think it’s about time I post a picture of the new ram lamb.  He’s a Katahdin/Dorper cross and hails from Donegal, PA.  He was born May 15, 2013 and hopefully, will be ready to breed very soon.  He’s small compared to the ewes but he’s been growing well.