Category: Farm Life
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Rebuilding the Sheep Sweep: Ewes on Pasture
We’ve had some problems with our sheep sweep over the years. The sheep have worn a path down the middle, and the panels have sunk into the ground. This year, we decided to put some gravel down over weed block, then use an old mine belt to make a more durable surface. We also finally… Continue reading
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More Brush Burning
We still have more burning to do, so we got the brush from the east orchard done today. Continue reading
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Burning More Brush
We started to burn the west orchard brush piles today. That’s where the ewes will go first for lambing, so we need the brush gone. Continue reading
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Moving Fence Panels
Larry’s back to build another section of our fence. Our first task was to remove the welded wire panels that make up our temporary fencing. He used the brush rake to move the panels. We built a large stack over by the guest house in front of the shop. Continue reading
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Shearing Is Done!
Our shearing is finally done for 2011. We had lots of sticky fleeces and hard-shearing sheep. I’m not entirely sure of the issue yet. Some of it is probably the weather, since ours was not the only hard-shearing flock in our area this year. Some of it was also due to coats. I ran out… Continue reading
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Black Sheep Power and Light
Here’s one of our new solar arrays. It doesn’t just collect power – it also provides shade for the sheep. Continue reading
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Spring Snow
It’s a good thing the ditch got cleaned yesterday! The new snow had already settled and started melting by the time I took these pictures. Continue reading
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Spring Ditch Cleaning
Spring groundswork has started. We hired a trackhoe to clean the ditch that carries water down through our property. It hadn’t been cleaned in years, and it required a larger machine than our small backhoe. Now, it’s looking good! Continue reading
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Winter Blahs
There’s not much going on at the farm right now. The sheep are getting fat. We fill hay feeders, fill water tanks, and repeat. I haven’t been taking many pictures, so there isn’t much to show. Last week we had help, and we got all of the ram lambs’ toes trimmed. We still have the… Continue reading
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Unintended Consequences
One of the issues with solar panels being high off the ground (to keep them out of the rams’ reach) is that they’re also too high for us to easily reach. We need to brush the snow off them. Now, if they were on the roof, we’d just have to wait until the snow melted.… Continue reading