Desert Weyr Blog
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More Elk Fence
We’re continuing to replace the old DOW elk fence around the orchard. L & S Mountain Fence is doing an excellent job for us. They did the elk fence we put around our front pasture and the lower fence around the back cedars pasture. Those pastures allowed us to safely put the horses out back… Continue reading
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Shop Construction
Construction on the shop continues. Bill McKee and his crew were out putting all the rebar in the concrete floors and installing drains. Once all the rebar was installed, we had to wait until Tom McCormick could come and pour the floors. They came back on Thursday to do the work. Continue reading
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Off to Slaughter
This year, I vowed not to go into winter with as many sheep as I had last year. Our fall slaughtering has started. We’ve already done 16 adult ewes, and today we sent off 10 young rams. We have to schedule slaughter dates over a year in advance. I have 66 slots reserved for this… Continue reading
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Shop Building
Our new shop building really got going this past week. After the footers were poured, the actual foundation walls were formed and poured in. The back of the covered carport area will have a wall, but it’ll be open at the top for light and airflow. The back wall ended up being a bit taller… Continue reading
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Back on Pasture and Why Labels Are Misleading
The early snow has pretty much all melted, and we got one batch of ram lambs back out on our triticale pasture regrowth. We made sure they were all pretty full of hay before putting them out, and we made an aisle of electric fencing to prevent too much plugging of the permanent pastures. We’ll… Continue reading
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Emergency Preparations for a Farm
Watching the news about the big fires in San Diego yesterday and today prompted me to review our farm emergency plan. We used to live in Ramona, San Diego, one of the towns in the path of the fires. The latest data indicates that our old house was either on the very edges or was… Continue reading
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Winter Snow
It’s the first snow of 2007 here on Gavin Mesa. It’s a bit early this year. The sheep love the snow! I think it’s because they have such warm, woolly coats. They enjoy playing in it. The rams are eagerly awaiting their breakfast. The ewes especially like to go around the corrals, licking and eating… Continue reading
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Ovine Haute Couture Part 2
Ewes raved at the latest designs from Oogie M at the final showing of the new fall collection this week. Ovine Barn Wear has over 100 pieces in the new collection, and there was something for every sheep. Colorful patchwork was a highlight of the show as old coats were refreshed with new edging and… Continue reading
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Back From Taos
I had a lovely time in Taos, and I didn’t come back with more wool than I took – that was good! I did find a pair of patterns for knitted dragons, so I bought two types of roving to make a knitted dragon like our logo. My test sample looks pretty good, so I’ll… Continue reading
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Off to the Wool Festival (And Bears)
I’m heading out today to attend part of the Taos Wool Festival. I’m taking my second revision of a Monmouth cap, plus the start of a scarf from a chart that I’m having issues with, in hopes that I can get some help from friends there. Some of my knitting friends will fortunately be attending.… Continue reading