Back to Work!

Lambs eating last breakfast

I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving--I know the history of the holiday has sketchy beginnings but we now have a day to put together a wonderful meal, be grateful for the presence our family and friends and be appreciative of the first settlers of North America.  Now that the temperature has dipped well below freezing up here on the ridge, I appreciate the hardships that those first Europeans.


Our first task today was to help round up six of our lambs for slaughter.  With the trailer backed up to the paddock, we made an extra paddock around the truck and trailer.  The plan was to lure all the sheep into the trailer with molasses-coated alfalfa, and let the ewes out the back door and keep the lambs.  It was a good plan.  Not as easy at it might seem.

Olivier setting up the capture

The gathering

Coming in for the alfalfa pellets

We finally loaded up 5 lambs and Emily walked out and snagged another and carried it in with the help of Olivier.  Sorry I didn't snap the photo--it was too exciting to watch!


















Olivier set us up with the task of gathering the seeds from the hayloft floor and we were busy with that as we thought that Olivier had left.  He stepped into the barn to let us know that we had a ewe in the trailer and needed to return her and gather another lamb.  Justin and Olivier marched out into the paddock and snagged another lamb, letting the ewe free.  Now that six lambs were loaded up, we went back to the barn.

Betsy in the manger

Sheep rope up for the winter

Our main task here was to scoop up all the hay that has fallen out of the bales and sift it through chicken wire letting the seedy bits fall through and the straw remain on top.    As we scooped out the delicious bits for chicken feed, Betsy slithered in to pull more out.  The chickens will eat this as a treat through the winter providing them carotenes to make bright yellowy-orange yolks.  We are learning to make use of all that is on the farm and how one aspect supports another.  .

Artsy shot of sun on the hay

Greenhouse snugging!

In the afternoon, the whole crew went over to Sentinel Elm Farm to work on the greenhouse and look at end-of-season activities there.  The plastic covering needed tightening on the greenhouse, so we popped out these "wiggle wires" that lay in a track in the frame of the green house, snapping the plastic in place.  We took a meander up to the orchard/berries field up at the top of the hill and had a long discussion on the procedures of fruit tree grafting which led the topic of cross-breeding vs genetic engineering.  Pretty deep on the top of the ridge.  Thank you Nate, for keeping us thinking.

Huge puff-ball fungus at Sentinel Elm