Category: Farm Life
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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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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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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
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More on Sorting Sheep
Yesterday, we gave all the ewe lambs their second shots. All of them were evaluated. I managed to get coats on most of them, but I still need to make 11 more coats, as I ran out of some sizes. The uncoated sheep went back to the orchard on pasture, while the rest are here… Continue reading
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Farm Tour Tomorrow!
Anyone in western Colorado is welcome to come visit us at the Paonia Harvest Festival’s Self-Guided Farm Tour tomorrow between 11 AM and 4 PM. We’ll be here all day talking about our sheep, geese, and chickens. I’ll have meat, wool, and yarn for sale. They’ll also be for sale all day Sunday at the… Continue reading
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US Organic Is Cruel and Inhumane for Livestock
US Organic is cruel and inhumane to livestock. This statement will shock many and be denied by others. US standards for organic production of livestock are cruel and inhumane. They are a travesty of what “organic” should be. In an ideal world, buying organic would mean the products you purchase were produced in a fair… Continue reading
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Wine, Mutton, and Cheese
This past weekend, the three main agricultural businesses on our mesa held a wine, cheese, and mutton tasting. Our farm had slow-cooked mutton shoulder roasts and two Welsh cheeses to taste. Terror Creek Winery brought lovely fondue to go with their Swiss-style wines. Stone Cottage Cellars had a selection of cheeses paired with their wines,… Continue reading
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Escape!
Unfortunately, no pictures for this one – sorry! Things were too chaotic in the heat of the moment. Needless to say, today was a bit more exciting than I wanted. The morning started with the contractor laying out our new shop. The backhoe operator was moving rock piles and getting ready to level the pad.… Continue reading