
Today was quite a busy day here at the farm. Things didn’t really get started until the afternoon, but we had a lot to do. Our first problem was the septic tank. We’ve had some sewer gas backing up into the house when we do laundry. The plumber came yesterday, and we found a trap Continue reading

To get the back cedars section ready for Larry, we had to take down the old fence that was there. This is where the new fence will go. Ken moved a bunch of rocks out and smoothed the ground. Here’s another view of the new fence. A look at where the new fence line will Continue reading

With the front west orchard pasture now reseeded and back to permanent pasture, we needed to install a more permanent divider fence. The fence is far enough away from the trees that we can get the tractor and marker down beside them, but not too far into the next pasture. With a good, solid welded Continue reading
Day three proved to be hectic. We had poor post-thaw motility on the frozen semen for some reason, so we had to rearrange and collect the rams again and use fresh, cooled semen. With 56 ewes to inseminate and 15 rams to collect, it was impossible to get any pictures of the proceedings. Our cell Continue reading

We volunteered to be a test flock for a new sheep AI procedure. The plan for day 1 was to give the ewes their shots to bring them into heat. I didn’t get any pictures of the procedure, as we were working fast to get them all done. For the actual inseminations, we’ll be putting Continue reading
We’ve finished installing the solar hot water system, and after a month or so, I thought I’d post the first lessons we’ve learned. Installing a solar system will not, in and of itself, make a huge difference. You will also have to change your behavior to take advantage of the system’s strengths and weaknesses. For Continue reading

Flat Stanley joined us for Thanksgiving Dinner. We made mashed potatoes, bread, and a turkey. The turkey looked great, but it needed to cook for a little longer. Continue reading

Flat Stanley was freezing, so we made him some coveralls. We have to do some sheep work outside. This was his first introduction to our sheep toys. Ewes are in the chute, ready to be worked, with Stanley watching. Continue reading