Monday, October 23, 2017

What's For Supper?

Wild Rose Farm  Ewes Around Loafing Shed Door
After working with the ewes at the barn on Sunday, they trailed back over to the Loafing Shed.  Of course they know that their grain ration comes out of the front door and they attempted to get inside ... "I knew you kept the goodies in there!", they seemed to say.  You'd think they hadn't eaten for days.
On The Way To The Feed Bunks ...
The fall color here has been fleeting & slightly drab. A lot of the maple leaves went from brown tipped and yellow to "gone". Some are still turning orange & red, but not nearly as colorful as usual due to the dry & hot weather that we've had. See how dry it is in the woods around the water tank?
Wild Rose Farm Ewes Enjoying Spring Water
BTW, now is the time to come out and look at ewe lambs if you'd like to start a flock! We also have several Rambouillet ram lambs left & they'd be great to breed a small flock this fall.

Tuesday, October 10, 2017

Pollinators & Gathering Goldenrod!

Wild Rose Farm - Lots of Bees Here!
There were plenty of honeybees & other native pollinators buzzing around as I gathered more goldenrod for more natural dyeing projects. This picture came from a clump of flowering goldenrod stems next to the roadway. I ended up leaving one of the "not fully opened" stems for the bees ... feeling a little guilty, I guess!  There are also a TON of black walnuts falling everywhere right now. Every walnut that I gather from along the driveway goes right into the pot of water to soak for a dye bath.
We've finally gotten a bit of rain, but not as much as we'd like. Take a look at how dry the soil is here as we broke a little ground for a small garden next year.  The soil test sample has been sent off to the lab at Penn State and we're waiting for the results & soil pH to come back.
Talk About DRY Soil! 

Wednesday, October 4, 2017

Perfect Day For The Farm Tour!

"Hey Llama, Why Are You Looking At Me Like That?"
We had a perfect fall day for the 1st Beaver County Self-Guided Farm Tour. Temps ranged from the high 50's to the mid 60's with big, puffy white clouds and a nice breeze.  We were able to have Snow White & the ewe flock grazing right along the driveway in the small "Hospital Pen".
We were so busy talking with everyone and answering questions that I only got one or two pictures taken when the crowd thinned out near the end of the day - oh well!  Llama Snow White was pretty popular with the visitors. The young fellow above kept talking to her and asking why she was looking at him so funny ... we told him that she usually only sees sheep and they don't ask her questions!  One thing that I did notice - look closely at the grass in the pen. The flock spent most of their time grazing as far away from the people as they could get. The grass next to the front fence line is still tall after 5 hours!
Glenda did not disappoint either, with her random & raucous braying next to the folks looking at the lambs in the barn.  Thanks to everyone who came out and visited us at Wild Rose Farm!
Wild Rose Farm - Snow White & Her Flock Back at the Loafing Shed