Category: Farm Life
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Fall at the Farm
The leaves are starting to change up in the West Elks, on Mt. Lamborn, and on Mt. Gunnison. Fall comes with cool nights, but the days still get quite hot. Our sheep have been back out on pasture for a few days, but more for the exercise than for the food – the pastures are… Continue reading
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Sheep on Hay and Hill Sheep Show
The drought here in Colorado continues, and that, in combination with our ditches running dry, means our sheep are in their winter corrals a bit early. It’s easier to get them water and hay that way. It’s not all bad news, though. We’ll be heading to Michigan in a few days to attend the North… Continue reading
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Irrigation Troubles and Moving the Rams
Our irrigation ditch is turning off this Saturday, August 2nd. We’ve been moving sheep to get them closer to the house. That way, we can more easily haul water to them if necessary. We do have a pond that holds water, and the adult rams have access to it in the lower pear orchard pasture.… Continue reading
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Irrigation System Work and Poetry
Today, we had to take a trip up to Juniper Gulch to service the irrigation system. Unfortunately, it hasn’t been working, and the part we’ve needed to fix it isn’t available anymore. Ken spent all day at his metal lathe making a new one, so now we need to go install it and see if… Continue reading
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Checking the Hay
We went out to check on the hay at Juniper Gulch today. It’s ready to bale, so it’s a good thing we took a look. It should be done and baled by this evening. We’re taking bets on how many big round bales there will be. Last year, our first cutting resulted in 24 bales.… Continue reading
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We’re Back With a New Shop! Plus Conservation
Did you know that our farm property is in a conservation easement? Our land is preserved for farming for the future. In Colorado, the land trust puts out a resource that shows where all of the conserved farms and ranches are. It also lists the goods you can buy from them. Now is the perfect… Continue reading
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Juniper Gulch Ranch Solar
The project to add a grid-tied solar array to the house site up at Juniper Gulch Ranch is almost complete. Final inspections should be today, and swapping the meter for the net meter may be as soon as tomorrow. We hadn’t really planned on doing this project this year, but the combination of tax credits… Continue reading
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Hungry Sheep
Our pastures are now functioning as exercise lots. There’s no feed to speak of in them, so we’re putting hay bales out for the sheep to eat. We’ve done this before during droughts, and the increased fertilizer from the sheep eating in a concentrated area has improved the soil for the next few years. It’s… Continue reading
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Garden Bounty
I have a black thumb. I have been known to kill plants easily. However, this year, my stepdad is staying up here, and he always has a garden. We’re doing one, too. It’s been a wild success – lots of peppers and tomatoes, and even a large batch of peas, not to mention the lettuce… Continue reading
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Hay Is Arriving
It’s a bad year for hay with the drought, so we’re getting what we can get, when we can get it. This is a nice batch of grass/alfalfa mix hay that we’ll use to flush the ewes for breeding this winter. Our goal is to go into winter with the barn full. We’ve stored hay… Continue reading