Author Archives: WoolyMama

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Sheep Week!

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This week is very exciting for us around here for two reasons: the return of the LambCam, and Modern Farmer Magazine.

LambCam has been a crazy popular JMF institution since Susan came up with the whole idea waaay back when she was still up in New York.  It’s called “LambCam” for obvious reasons: it was a way for shareholders of her newly minted fiber-based CSA (also her invention – she was the first one in the US to do it) to see the lambs being born and finding their legs.  LambCam followed her down here to Virginia where it continued to have heavy traffic.

This past spring it was with heavy hearts that she dismantled the LambCam as we moved her out of her farm and installed her – and the animals – here with us temporarily.  Susan never stopped talking about getting it back online, though.  For my part, I thought she was crazy.  Who would want to watch the animals at my little farm?  Wouldn’t they rather wait for Susan to move them to greener, lusher, better pastures?  Wouldn’t they rather see Susan herself out there instead of me?

Susan didn’t think any of that mattered.  And you know what?  She was right!  People want sheep, sheep, and more sheep! And goats!  And a llama!  And even though currently her flock is here, it’s still her farm, her vision.  It’s as though we’ve blended to become one happy farm for now, and I am thrilled because I get to care for my best friend’s animals and have my best friend living with us whenever she’s not traveling.

This week Paul finished up the camera placement and we went live.  That’s where things got super exciting, because the JMF LambCam is now the official Modern Farmer Magazine LambCam!

It’s a bit shocking to see how many people are watching at any given time but it’s also been pretty fun.  We are expecting a new microphone to come any day and we can get the sound working so you can hear just how ornery and prehistoric Cosmo’s baa sounds.

Edited to add:  WE’RE ON BUZZFEED NOW!!!!!!

Until then, keep an eye on that cam, and here are some flock pics!

12.09.13a

Cosmo

12.09.13b

Martin calls shenanigans on this weather.

12.09.13c

Peregrine

12.09.13d

Adelaide

12.09.13e

Caramel

12.09.13f

Piper

12.09.13g

Yummy hay!!!!

12.09.13h

Jerry

12.09.13i

12.09.13j

Fairfax

12.09.13k

Lucy, trying to eat through the fence.  I love how Orzo is in the back all, “Mom?  I really don’t think we’re supposed to do that.”

12.09.13l

Hannah

12.09.13m

Samantha

12.09.13n

Cassie

12.09.13o

Alabama

12.09.13p

Cosmo and Darby, snorgling a bit.

Feeding times are roughly 9:30 am and 5:00 pm, so stay tuned to that LambCam!

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Iced In

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Right now I should be drinking wine, eating delicious homemade pumpkin ravioli, and enjoying a lot of warmth and laughter with some of my best friends.

Instead, I am sitting in my pajamas drinking coffee and looking forward to next week, when our annual holiday book club meeting will take place due to today’s ice storm.

We are well and truly iced in here.  And by “here” I mean our property, not necessarily the house, because we have to go outside and care for the flock, ice or no.

12.08.13b

It’s miserable out there.  The gates were iced over and stuck shut.  The slope down to the pasture was all iced over.  The outer pen where Lucy and Orzo currently live is all slushed mud and poo. The pig pen is nearly solid ice.  So is the back deck, though Cini has been hanging out there anyway.

So yeah, feeding was tons of fun, with all that cold, wet wool pressed up against my legs, and jerk-face Jerry trying to knock the bucket out of my hands.

The good news is that the tank de-icer is working beautifully! The water tanks are nice and full and liquid.

In between feedings we all huddled around the fireplace for a bit and I got some actual sewing done.

12.08.13c

New pajama pants for me in a lovely flannel I bought last year. I also reconfigured the serger so I could put a rolled edge on some holiday fabric squares to make napkins.

There’s a zillion other things I’d really like to get done.  Like my Shepherd sweater, or some new Christmas pillows for the couch.

I also wouldn’t mind getting started on some cookie baking.  Or knitting some socks with some of the yarn I’ve been dyeing.

12.08.13a

These are the holiday colorways I came up with. It’s been fun messing around with color and learning how the chemicals work, but alas, the whole caboodle of supplies has been boxed up and is on its way to Lauria so she can finish up the JMF Sock Club yarn.  However, I’ll be playing with it some more in the near future and helping Susan and Lauria with it next year once I’m a little more confident.

BUT rather than all of those super fun and creative things, I am going to make dinner for everyone.

No rest for the weary, as they say.

 

 

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Today in Chickenland

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If you’ll recall, way back in 2012 we were losing chickens at a maddening rate to foxes, and we had a particular group of free – rangers who would NOT stay in their pens, despite our many efforts.  We built them a Fort Knox-style enclosure and dubbed it “the chicken prison”.

We still call it that.  The residents are still “the prisoners”.

We had one mishap there shortly after the prison was put to use: a fox had reached through the wire, dragged one chicken out and slashed another’s throat.  Her crop had been torn open and food was contaminating the entirety of her wounded breast.  But after many hours it became apparent she was not ready to die and I ended up getting my hands on some sutures and sewing her back up.

That chicken’s name is Fleur, and she is still with us.

Which brings us to last night.

Around one this morning, Emily heard a disturbance coming from the front coop (lots of squawking and thumping), so she ran out; but cautiously.  Two weeks ago the same thing had happened and she discovered a giant possum.  This time, something large was heard crashing away through the trees, dogs barking wildly after it.

No intruder was discovered inside the coop, and no one was missing; but Lenore was suffering a deep gash in her throat.

I was in no condition to perform hen surgery at one am.  And the wound looked significantly worse than Fleur’s had been.  I told Emily to put her back in the coop, close it up, and if she lived until morning we’d sew her back up.

Not only was she still alive, she was full of piss and vinegar.  She gave Emily a terrible time trying to catch her.  She was also still scratching and clucking around, nibbling on food and bugs.

It turned out that though the wound was much larger, it had missed the crop entirely and had only torn the skin open.  We thanked our (or Lenore’s) lucky stars and I cleaned out the area with saline, cut away some of the feathers, and sewed her up (I have a supply of sutures now, thank you very much).

It wasn’t the prettiest surgical job, nor even the most complete, but at least it will make healing more likely.  She got a nice spray down with Blue Kote to protect it from infection and flies, and a good shot of antibiotics for good measure.

12.03.13a

See what I did there?  I spared your sensibilities by not offering a “before” picture.

What happens from here is up to the great poultry gods.  I’ll keep her wound clean and give her meds to fight infection, but that’s about all I can do.

From now on, that front coop gets secured at night, guard dogs or no.

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Cozy Holiday At Home

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Despite all the cleaning, cooking, baking and prep-work involved with hosting a holiday, there’s nothing quite like having a cozy, quiet Thanksgiving at home.

11.30.13a

I finished up the napkins and moved on to a table runner from a canvas dropcloth I got at Lowe”s and some leaf stamps.

11.30.13b

11.30.13c

I was rather pleased with the result!

11.30.13d

Five pies were made in advance. Two pumpkin, one pumpkin cream, one vegan pumpkin (okay I cheated there and only had to heat that one up from frozen), and an apple pie.

11.30.13e

I made a GIANT batch of Susan’s stuffing – I hadn’t realized how large a regular batch was, so I doubled it.

We’ll be eating stuffing leftovers for the next three years.

11.30.13f

Oona showed off her reading skills to Paul’s mom.

11.30.13g

I spent most of the day on my feet in front of the stove – but it was totally worth it.

11.30.13h

11.30.13i

Obligatory meal photo – we had brined, roasted turkey (Trader Joe’s – easiest bird I have ever cooked!) with homemade gravy from pan drippings, roasted green beans with red onions, garlic and pancetta, sweet potato casserole with mini marshmallows on top (the kids demanded it), Susan’s stuffing, mashed potatoes (made in the crockpot!!!  BEST thing ever!), homemade rolls, and two kinds of cranberry sauce (bourbon-cranberry and cranberry chutney).

Goodness I think I need to go fix myself a plate of leftovers now.

11.30.13j

Pie, coffee and wine by candlelight.

Today we shall avoid the shopping crowds and enjoy some family time before getting our tree tomorrow and kicking off the Christmas season.

Hope your holiday was as warm and pleasant as ours!

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Putting Up The Hay

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We got a delivery of hay today from our lovely hay people, and as soon as I sat back down inside the house to warm up (it’s frigid out there!), I realized that tomorrow’s forecast calls for sleet and rain.  This means that all 14-odd 800 lb. bales of hay HAD to be moved down to the back field, lined up on cinder blocks and covered before dark.

This is normally a job that Paul does, but he doesn’t get home in the evenings until after dark.

So I bundled up and grumbled all the way out to the tractor and got busy.

It took ALL AFTERNOON.

11.26.13a

It’s not so much that it is difficult work, but that it is slow going.  You have to be very careful going down the hill with such a heavy load on the spear, and you have to line up cinder blocks for each and every bale.

11.26.13b

I also discovered that the insulated work gloves I got from Tractor Supply for farm work didn’t hold up to freezing temperatures at all.

Thankfully my hand-knit hat kept my head nice and toasty – let’s hear it for wool!

11.26.13c

I finished up just as it got dark, and I even dropped an extra bale in with the sheep.

11.26.13d

I’ve got a pretty big workload ahead of me for the next few days.  I painted Oona’s room but now I have to get it put back together properly.  I started painting our rockers for the front porch and need to finish those:

11.26.13e

Yes, I know it’s all over the grass.  You see, there’s a difference between how I do things and how Paul does things.  He prefers the “put it off until you have everything you need and can do it properly in one go”, whereas I hail from the school of thought of “why wait if I can half-ass it now?”

Tonight I’ll be sewing up napkins for Thanksgiving out of this lovely fabric I found at fabric.com:

11.26.13f

Tomorrow begins the timeless tradition of baking and obsessive cleaning that will take us through to the holiday.

Let’s hope that sleet passes us by, shall we?

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November-ing

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As we careen toward Thanksgiving I’ve been trying with all my might to enjoy November and its relative calm.  After the Big Meal it will be all Christmas and crazy, but for now it’s still fall, everything pumpkin is still in vogue for the month.  There are still a few patches of color here and there where the rain and wind have not knocked them off the trees, and it’s still not bitter cold.

Although, truth be told, the weather here has been so bizarre I think I’d take the bitter cold just so I’d know how to cope.  Instead we’ve had a day where it flurried like mad for about an hour followed by temperatures in the 70’s a few days later.  You never know if you’ll need the A/C or the heat on.

It’s the ending of fall, and it’s bittersweet.

We will be having Thanksgiving at home this year with Paul’s family, and I am enjoying getting the house organized and cleaned in readiness for it (hey, cleaning is therapeutic for me!).  In the meantime it’s starting to get hard to concentrate on school when there’s so much to be done and to enjoy, but we’re at least not falling behind.

11.20.13a

Oona’s reading a lot of seasonally appropriate books about Thanksgiving (though the pickings are slim on these – as a historian I don’t like the ones that whitewash the history, even-or maybe especially- for little ones).

11.20.13b

Yesterday my November issue of British Country Living came, and I spent a glorious afternoon with a cup of coffee and some gingerbread cookies from Trader Joe’s, pouring over its pages.

That mug, by the way, is one of my absolute favorites.  It was made by my friend Anna Branner with Susan’s logo on it, and you can find more of Anna’s wonderful wares HERE.

To top off all things Novembery, we’ve been enjoying some homemade Pumpkin-Cinnamon Swirl bread.  It’s wonderful toasted with a bit of butter.  I used the recipe for the Cinnamon Swirl bread (made in the Pullman Loaf pan) from King Arthur Flour, but for the filling I added about a third cup of pumpkin puree and took out 1 egg and the water.  It’s got just a touch of pumpkin-y flavor when it’s done and it smells heavenly while it’s baking!

11.20.13c

 

 

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On Children and Fashion

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The other day after we finished school I decided to treat the kids to a trip to Trader Joes.  I had to make the trip anyway, and the kids seemed to be a bit stir crazy.  I also, apparently, wasn’t thinking too clearly about just how horrible it is to shop with my kids.

Either way, I told them all to get dressed appropriately for going out in the winter-like temperatures and off they scattered into their rooms.

Oona came back downstairs first, wearing a hodge-podge of colors and clothing: a maroon floral knit dress (short sleeved) over a pair of jeans, with 2 unmatched socks and a pink handknit sweater.  The crowning touch? Her bright turquoise glittered Toms shoes.

This outfit, coupled with her unwashed, pink hair was…..interesting.

Neve came down second in a white billowy sundress with spaghetti straps.

I sent her back to the drawing board, hearing her shout all the way that she has no sweaters (I assure you, as a mother, as a former upstate New Yorker, and as a knitter, that kid has all the warm clothes she could ever need).

Emily came down in black skinny jeans with one ripped knee, a button-down shirt, a way-too-big tan trench coat, high heel shoes and a green wig that covered her face.

I said no to the trench coat and the heels.  She swapped them for boots and a velvet coat and knit scarf.

Well……she tried, I guess.

Neve ended up with black leggings that she has worn every day for at least a month (I have to sneak them into the wash when she is asleep); I noted they were covered in lint and fur and probably sheep slobber.  On top she had a yellow tee shirt.  She managed to fins a pink sweater and threw on some black dress shoes.

Her hair was a tangled mess and it took my forever to brush it out.  Ten minutes later, it was snarled again.

This is what I took with me into public.

11.15.13aa

Sorry for the crappy picture – I took it with my phone.

The thing about it is this: as much as  I worry about the judgmental stares from people (and yes, I do get them, especially with a 6 year old with pink hair), it’s not a battle that’s really worth fighting.

They need to express themselves, and as long as it’s not inappropriate, they don’t need me freaking out about it.  This was another reason we chose homeschool; at these young ages they are trying to figure out who they are as people, and I want their focus to be on their minds and hearts, not their looks.  If they are worried about being judged for how they look they are focusing on their outward selves before they have even figured out who they are on the inside.  And if my kids are worried, they sure aren’t showing it.

I’d call it my parenting win for the week.

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Making Way For Winter

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We took advantage of the three day weekend to get some winterizing and cleaning done.

Paul worked on painting the deck while I got the pantry and kitchen cabinets cleaned out and organized.

The fence surrounding the small paddock got a coat of black paint, and I dug up all the sweet potatoes.

It was the worst, most pathetic harvest ever.

11.11.13a

I am a failure as a potato farmer.  Out of 30 plants, this is all there was.  Most were undersized; a lot had some sort of pest damage in them.  I think a combination of crappy soil and the rainiest season this side of the Amazon had parts to play, but it’s hard not to feel completely inept when faced with the outcome of your hard work and investment.  All I know is, thank goodness we can still hunt and gather at Trader Joe’s, because if I had to feed my family from the gardens, we’d starve.  The pigs, on the other hand, were thrilled with the treat of broken and damaged sweet potatoes.

After bemoaning my lack of luscious tubers I cleaned out one chicken coop, treated for lice and mites, and put in fresh bedding.

11.11.13b

11.11.13c

They seemed to appreciate it.

It’ll be filthy again by mid-week.

11.11.13d

Meanwhile the indoor animals are honing their napping all day skills.  Generally in whatever sunny spot they can find, though a quiet bedroom is always a sure bet, too.

11.11.13e

With the time change I’ve been getting up much earlier than I had been; it’s so much brighter in the mornings now!  It’s becoming a favorite ritual to be up before anyone else and out in the frosty air to feed and check on everyone outside before heading back into a still, quiet house for a cup of coffee.  I even change back into my pajamas and no one even knows I’ve been out when they come down later, rubbing sleep from their eyes.  I think we’d all like to join the cats and indoor dogs and curl up for the season.

 

 

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This Morning in Pictures

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11.08.13a

I can’t get Churchill his breakfast fast enough.

11.08.13b

At this point, the sheep have realized what trickery is afoot.  I used feeding time to pen them into the small paddock to wait for Dr. Grover to come take some blood for routine testing.

11.08.13c

Suspicious Alabama is suspicious.

11.08.13d

Angry Bertie.  She is not a fan of being handled.  Or having blood drawn.  Or the further injustice of getting a dose of wormer.

Aside from the bloodwork (to test for fairly common goat and sheep viruses) the flock has a clean bill of health.  That’s enough for a happy Friday!

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Shepherd Sweater Update

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Well that was a pointless interlude – Paul came home, took one look at my computer, rebooted it, and it was good to go.  No data loss, nothing.

Figures.

This is why I never, ever try to fix anything without first asking.

Anyhoo….

11.07.13a

Here’s how my Shepherd Sweater is coming along!

11.07.13b

It looks so cozy and comforting, like a hot bowl of your favorite oatmeal on a cold winter morning.

I am so glad I chose to knit the Shepherd version (besides the fact that being a shepherd made me feel like it was necessary); the cables have been so much fun and not too fiddly at all.  I did go down several needle sizes – to size 5’s – but I am using completely different yarn than the pattern calls for (I am using wool that came off the very backs of the animals I’ve been caring for) and my gauge is still a tad larger than it should be.  I went down a sweater size to accommodate the difference and it seems to be working splendidly!

I may even knit this again in another color.

It’s that good.