A Different Project - "New" Wagon

Local Sawmill - Lyons Hardwoods

We've been hauling a lot of firewood around for the last 2 years and we've borrowed a wagon from our neighbor a couple of times.  Said neighbor decided that we needed our own heavy duty wagon, so he built one for us this winter.   It is a limited edition 001 of 001 for 2012 and his name is on the tongue with a weld bead!  :)  It's mostly salvaged parts & a used running gear, but it 's pretty cool.  We painted the frame green & then had to get rough cut lumber to make the box. 
Here's what the equipment at our local sawmill looks like in the winter ..... this is the "de-barker" below.

Waiting for Spring!

We got rough cut oak boards from their prime stash stacked in the mill & loaded them on our trailer.  Talk about heavy!  While we were there to pick up the lumber, a young couple stopped in for firewood.  The mill has racks of firewood - unfortunately the seasoned wood is sold out - and racks of slabwood for sale.  Nothing goes to waste. 

Lyons Hardwoods - Slabwood Stacked & Banded For Sale

Barnyard In January Snow

Wild Rose Farm Ram #402 Back In The Ram Pen!

We've had some cold weather & snow this week ..... temps down to the single digits.  The sheep don't really mind since they're well insulated!   The big ram is back in the ram pen behind the barn.  He has the lambs on one side for company and Glenda the donkey has access to shelter & hay on the other side of his pen.

Lambs In The Snow .....

The lambs are a little frisky when the weather is cold.  Most of their time is spent eating and chewing their cud ..... or running into a corner to avoid this photographer!

Wild Rose Farm Rambouillet Ewe Lamb

Name That Hawk ......

Wild Rose Farm - Broad-winged Hawk?

We spotted an unusual "bird" perched in the locust tree yesterday, so I went out and took a couple of pictures.  It flew towards the spruce tree & settled in above where we have our bird feeders .....
Mr. Wild Rose Farm tells me that there's a pile of feathers behind the tree on the driveway.  Looks like the hawk found it's own "bird feeder".  Anyway, the best guess we have is that it's a Broad-winged Hawk.  The Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Birds says that it winters in tropical South America ...... perhaps it's a juvenile and doesn't read yet. 
Anyone out there who can confirm?   It did have a very thin whistle cry, not what I expected from a hawk.

Wild Rose Farm Winter Activities!

Wild Rose Farm Ewes Leaving The Barn

There's really not a lot going on with the sheep at this time of year .... we just removed the big Rambouillet ram from the ewes & put in a young Dorset x Rambouillet ram.  He is a "clean-up" ram in case anyone didn't get bred.  A lot of farmers do that as insurance in the event that some unknown problem occured with a ram settling his ewes.   We've never had a problem, but it pays to be safe! 
After spending breeding season in the barn with the lambs, llama Lisa was sent back out with the ewes.  Somestimes a ram will bother a llama & sometimes a llama will get in the way of the ram breeding process, so we separate them.  Lisa was scampering around, just happy to be free & out of the small barnyard.
Couldn't upload a picture when I put up this post the first time. Found this on Google "known issues".  Sheesh !!!
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