Off to the Lawrence County Wool Pool!

News Clip From Lancaster Farming

The news clip says it all if you've never heard of a "wool pool".  In 2020, due to the pandemic most, if not all, of the regional wool pools were canceled. This year folks will be bringing 2 years worth of their sheared fleeces to the pool and we're not sure of the price that we'll be getting.  I'll report back on the results later today! Wool is an international commodity, so that enters into the picture.

Wild Rose Farm - Truck Completely Packed With Fleeces!

Of course, even though the truck is crammed full of fleeces, we still have nicely skirted fleeces available for sale & I have some Rambouillet wool set aside to be sorted for processing into yarn.

 

Lambs Yesterday at Wild Rose Farm ...

 

Wild Rose Farm Rambouillet #565 and Twin Lambs

Lambing has finally drawn to a close here for the year. We have 3 ewes that have had their lambs yesterday and today. We're not sure why there was a little group that waited longer to get bred and essentially at the same time, but here they are!

Wild Rose Farm Rambouillet #574 With Ewe Lamb

There was another lamb born today, but no pictures have been taken yet.  We'll ear tag the 3 lambs above this evening and tomorrow we'll tag the lamb born today.  This little group of sheep doesn't have to worry about cold weather.  They're in the barn with a fan blowing towards the pens! 

Gardening & Grazing!

 

Garden Planted & Protected by Electric Net Fencing!

It's a bit hard to see from this wide shot, but the garden is planted. We'll have to give it a couple of weeks before you can the plants growing and the seeds sprouting.  It's easy to water plants now since they're so small.  Rain & t-storms have been in the forecast all week, but so far nothing has happened right here on the farm so we'll continue to spread the mulch.  There's a curious lamb gazing at the garden ... give it a few seconds and she'll jump back if she touches the fence!

Ewes & Lambs Out Now to Graze

We moved the ewes with the oldest lambs out to pasture.  Snow White is now mixed in with this group watching over things. Not much else going on now & that's a good thing!

Finally, Time for the Garden!

Wild Rose Farm - Garden Plot - Time to Plant!

It was dry enough this spring to get the garden plowed early and then rototilled by our neighbor almost a month ago.  So what's been happening since then?  We had a little cool spell, followed by the Waynesburg Sheep & Fiber Fest.  Then we had rain, followed by our pop up show at the Green Valley Country Store on Memorial Day.  Next were a couple of days with spotty rain.  Finally, we had several warm sunny days to get the plants in!  Not only that, everyone around here was getting in a first cutting of hay.

Mixed Flat of Plants from Randy's Raisings

I had scouted for plants while it was raining & returned a couple of days ago to pick out our selections at Randy's Raisings in Calcutta, Ohio.  "Only" 10 tomato plants this year, 8 pepper plants, spicy globe basil, flat Italian parsley, Antigua Gold marigolds, garlic chives, Greek oregano, & an impulse buy of 3 Sugar Baby watermelons ... haven't grown watermelons in YEARS!  They enjoyed sitting out in the rain overnight.  All of the plants are in the garden now.  Then I stopped at Janoski's Greenhouse & Garden Center today and picked out some marigolds, sage, salvia, Italian oregano and curly parsley to add to the mix.  We're thinking we'll plant the green beans tomorrow since it's looking like possible t-storms for the rest of the week.  Also ... a bonus this year were 2 groups of sunflowers sprouting on their own where they had been planted last year.  The mammoth sunflowers are coming up on one end of the garden and the multi-colored branching sunflowers are on the other end.  Sometimes the healthiest sunflowers come from the self-seeded plants!  We shall see ... 

 
 

Thanks for Stopping on Memorial Day!

 

Wild Rose Farm @ Green Valley Country Store
Memorial Day Market

Thanks to everyone who came out to the Hookstown, PA Memorial Day Parade. About a dozen vendors set up by 8am outside of the Green Valley Country Store. The fire trucks use the road out front as their staging area, so we had to be in, unloaded and out early!  The parade itself was just over a half hour long and was complete with small planes flying overhead.  

Green Valley Country Store Bulldogs Heading to their Float!

The streets started to fill up around 10:30 and that old Western PA tradition of putting out chairs in your spot in front of the house was in full swing!  After the parade, we were busy and there was also a big crowd at the car show on the Hookstown Fair Grounds.  We sold lots of wool yarn AND someone grabbed up that antique butterfly wing serving tray in the background of the previous post!  

American Legion Color Guard Leads Off the Parade

I couldn't leave the booth, but here's a shot of the American Legion leading the parade. That's one of the older historic brick homes in Hookstown ... 

Memorial Day @ Green Valley Country Store!

Wild Rose Farm - Naturally Dyed Wool Yarn
Come See Us @ Green Valley Country Store in Hookstown!

Wild Rose Farm will be set up with other local vendors outside of the Green Valley Country Store in Hookstown, PA on Memorial Day!  If you've never been there (c'mon, really ?!?) it's a bright red building right behind the Hookstown Post Office.  They are a combination farm feed store and general store with their own ice cream & milk, plus meats and all kinds of local artisan food, veggie plants, flowering baskets and handmade items.  Well worth the visit ...  We'll have our wool yarns, combed top, pencil roving, wool quilt batts and spinning fleeces for sale.  We'll probably also have a few selected antique items along, like the enamel green roaster & butterfly wing serving tray that you see in the background behind the yarn above.  Come see the Memorial Day Parade and then stop over for Uncle Sonny's Ice Cream and some yummy soft yarn! 

Waynesburg Sheep & Fiber Fest Pics ...

Waynesburg Sheep & Fiber Fest Raffle Table

The 2021 Waynesburg Sheep & Fiber Fest is in the rearview mirror ... we had a great sunny day and a good turnout.  On the raffle table was an antique flax wheel generously donated by one of our committee members.  We had a very happy winner at the end of the day!  The booths were spread out a bit and we had more vendors who chose to be outside under their own tents rather than in a building. We did miss all of our fleece to shawl contest guild teams, but we expect to have them back next year when we can make more certain plans. 

Wild Rose Farm Naturally Dyed Rambouillet Yarn

There was a new twist this year at the festival. Lost & Found Pharmacy set up next to the raffle tables and offered a skein winding service with the proceeds going to charity.  I took advantage of that and had some superwash skeins wound into balls so now they're ready to go right on the needles. Of all the things that we have going on, there's never enough time to wind the skeins after dyeing into balls, lol.

The "fiber starved" customers were into combed top and several beginning spinners were choosing pencil roving to get started. Note to fleece lovers - the absence of the guild F2S contest teams meant that we have 6 full fleeces left that are available for sale. Contact wildrosefarm at earthlink dot net if you'd like to come out and look at the fleeces!  

Looking forward to the 2022 show!   

  

2021 Waynesburg Sheep & Fiber Fest - Friday Sneak Peek!

 

Appalachian Hills Farm - Beautiful Batts!

Here is your sneak peek at some of the booths set up today for the Waynesburg Sheep & Fiber Fest tomorrow!  After finishing the Wild Rose Farm booth set-up, I took the opportunity to get a few pictures of what some of the vendors brought.

Ashgrove Soaps & Sundries - Nice Selection!

Folks, Lori as back this year and the wonderful smell from this booth is sooooo tempting!

Mystery Booth?

Boone Hollow Baskets

It turns out that we can get a glimpse of the mystery booth in the background of the Boone Hollow Baskets photo ... that's Holly Road all the way from eastern Pennsylvania.   Can't wait to see what else is undercover.

Ridgetop Pottery - Working on Booth Set Up

Finally, a glimpse at some beautiful work in Tabitha's booth ... fingerless gloves or wristlets?

Tatting by Tabitha - More Than Tatting!

Of course, I forgot to take a picture of the Wild Rose Farm booth!  Well, you've seen the skirted fleece photos and the naturally-dyed yarn in the studio before it was packed up.  We have our Rambouillet combed top, Dorset wool quilt batts, Dorset pencil roving and wool locks for sale.  BTW, our "upcycled woolens" rack has several Irish wool sweaters, a vintage green Pearce wool blanket, some cool wool and felt hats and a Marlboro buffalo plaid car blanket with carrier handle strap.  

See you tomorrow! The festival is from 10AM - 5PM. 

MORE Fleeces for 2021 Waynesburg Sheep & Fiber Fest!

 

Wild Rose Farm Rambouillet #563 - Beautiful Fleece!

The better part of the day was spent getting ready for the 2021 Waynesburg Sheep & Fiber Fest, including skirting more fleeces!  The little notebook in the picture above is our farm "barn book".  On sheep shearing day - this year in March - each fleece is evaluated and notes are taken on promising "show" fleeces. Every fleece isn't suitable for hand spinning or for fleece judging. This makes it easier to pull out the cleanest & best fleeces to skirt and bring to the shows and fairs.

Wild Rose Farm Rambouillet #574

Wild Rose Farm #764 First Shearing Lamb Fleece

Here are a couple of bundles of lamb fleece that will be bagged for smaller projects. A whole fleece can last quite a while and various parts of the fleece may find different uses like spinning and felting. 

Wild Rose Farm #783 Lamb Fleece Bundles 
Lamb in the Background ...

Ewe Watching the Skirting Table - Almost 90F Today! 

Skirting Fleeces for 2021 Waynesburg Sheep & Fiber Fest!

 

Wild Rose Farm #119 Dorset Fleece

Here are a couple of fleeces that we skirted today - warm weather is perfect for this job!  The lanolin is great for your hands ...

Wild Rose Farm #151 Dorset x Rambouillet Fleece

Stay tuned for more skirted fleece pics tomorrow.  We're bringing these fleeces to the 2021 Waynesburg Sheep & Fiber Fest this weekend.  The festival will be a "streamlined" one day event this year on Saturday May 22nd at the Greene County Fairground in Waynesburg, PA just off of the I-79 Waynesburg exit. This is in Southwestern PA folks! :)

Finally after a year without fiber festivals, you'll be able to actually GET YOUR HANDS on wool & wool yarn!

Wild Rose Farm - Three Lambs Resting!

The great part about skirting fleeces is that I get to enjoy watching - and listening to - the ewes and lambs in the barn!  

Just Relaxing ...

 

Wild Rose Farm Ewes & Lambs Sunning!

The weather was a little cooler yesterday than it was today & I caught this picture of the ewes with the younger lambs enjoying the morning sun.  I didn't realize until I looked closer, but that little lamb was just holding onto the fence panel until I walked right up. Then she looked startled & let go ... :)

Wild Rose Farm Studio - We're Packing!

 

Wild Rose Farm Studio Shelves
Naturally Dyed Yarn - Pencil Roving - Combed Top!

We'll post more photos of what we're bringing to the 2021 Waynesburg Sheep & Fiber Fest on Saturday May 22nd!  Today we packed the yarn, pencil roving, & Rambouillet combed top. There are about a half dozen or so "sheep items", a tapestry frame, antique sock form, and maybe that plaid picnic basket with wooden handles coming too!  Stay tuned fiber friends ...

Wild Rose Farm Ewes & Lambs at Feeding Time

Meanwhile, back in the barn on the shed roof side, the lambs have room to run when the ewes line up at the feeders ... 

2021 Waynesburg Sheep & Fiber Fest!

 Yes, there will be a 2021 Waynesburg Sheep & Fiber Fest on Saturday May 22nd. Stay tuned for more information. A vendor list is forthcoming and Wild Rose Farm will be there for a streamlined 1 day festival to quench your fiber needs! 

This is What "Nothing" Looks Like!

Wild Rose Farm - "Nothing Happening" Looks Like This!

When one of us comes in after a lambing check and says "nothing happening", this is what it looks like.  A few ewes grazing.  The rest of the flock is sitting up and chewing their cud. Our llama Snow White is cushed and watching, or as in this case, looking at us as if to say, "what are you looking at?".  It looks similar at night, except that a scan of the field returns sets of glowing eyes! 

Wild Rose Farm #136 With Newborn Twins

We had 3 sets of twins born yesterday. The first set was on the previous post, the 2nd set arrived around 2:00pm and the picture above is the 3rd pair born around 8:30pm.  It was a busy day here and all are doing well! 
 

 

Why We Go Out At 1AM ...

 

Wild Rose Farm Rambouillet #571 & Twin Ewe Lambs

This is why the pasture checks continue around the clock!  Rambouillet ewe #571 has lambed for the first time and has a nice set of twin ewe lambs. She's standing over the first lamb that has already nursed and is curled up resting. The second lamb is right in position - isn't instinct amazing?  She's trying to nurse and this "first time" ewe is standing still for her.  She's not in a panic when I approach & then stop to get a picture.  For the curious folks out there, Snow White is cushed about 50 feet away in the dark & the temperature is 48 degrees.  The chance of light rain is 40% by 6am and this group will be dry in the barn. 

Previous "Midnight" Pasture Check - Ewes Resting

 Yesterday the scene was similar, but nothing was happening. None of the ewes were in labor, so by 5am, the shepherd knows that things cannot have gone too far astray. 

Snow White Was Just Out of the Picture!

The same as this morning, Snow White was just out of the picture watching over the flock!  You can see the barn lit up in the background on the hill.  Ok, time to get some sleep now.  

Liquid Gold!

 

Sheep Milk Colostrum Going to the Freezer!

Here's an upside down selfie that I took to show everyone the precious colostrum that we milked from our ewes.  The first milk from the ewe after lambing is "anti-body rich" colostrum and it's critical for the newborns to get up and nurse.  It's thick and you can see the more golden color - which is one of the reasons we consider it liquid gold!  When a ewe has a single lamb, that's a perfect time to get some colostrum for the freezer. The frozen colostrum can be thawed later and fed to another newborn lamb that needs to be started or supplemented.  Both of the jugs above are colostrum, but from different ewes, so there's a difference in their color. 

Wild Rose Farm Rambouillet Ewe #568 & Ram Lamb

The ewe above delivered this large single ram lamb and is the donor for the jug on the left. The picture was taken after a 1AM pasture check when we brought them up to the barn.  The colostrum was milked from the side that the lamb wasn't nursing on yet at around 7AM.  It actually provides some relief to milk out the ewe and the single lamb will soon be nursing on both sides.  

The jug on the right came from a ewe that delivered twin lambs around 6AM the same morning. She just happens to have a very heavy milk flow, so we recruited her as a colostrum donor ... 

There was plenty of milk to go around!  :)

Keeping Track of Who's Who!

 

Scourable Spray Paint & Barn Supplies

Every year we get questions about the green numbers painted on the ewes in the fall and on the lambs in the spring. The paint is a special formula for livestock - sheep in particular - that is "scourable". It will wash out in the wool washing or scouring process.  If you notice in the pictures as time goes on, the numbers fade in the sun & rain.  We refresh the markings once or twice over the summer as the lambs grow.  We have the paint out in the barn as we vaccinate, ear tag, and dock the lambs. Pretty nice tackle box, eh?  It's just the right size and the sheep "duck tape" is holding together the cracks in the lid.

Wild Rose Farm #141 & Twin Ram Lambs

Here are a couple of lambs that we just painted. The tag number of the ewe is painted on the lamb and in the case of twins, one of them gets a "dot".  That way, you can tell them apart at a distance if there's a problem without having to catch them to read the ear tag number. 

Time to head back out to the barn to check on a newborn set of twins and then make a quick pasture check!

Lambing Season & Changing Weather

 

Snow White Watches Ewe & Newborn Twins!

Even though it's much warmer now for lambing than in February, the weather changes by the hour.  Our Dorset ewe #119 had a set of twin ewe lambs just as the wind picked up and a misty rain started.  Snow White stayed nearby and we saw her go up and greet the lambs!  Time to go out and bring the new group up to the barn. Snow White is relieved of her duties as she sees someone coming and she heads back to the rest of the flock.  

Wild Rose Farm Dorset Ewe #119 & Twin Ewe Lambs
Dried Off & Warmer in the Barn ...

This is the second time that #119 has lambed and she followed right along up to the barn and into the pen like an old pro.  After having their navels dipped in iodine, it doesn't take long for the newborn lambs to start nursing!  Two hours later, the sun came back out for the rest of the day ... 

More Lambs Arriving!

Wild Rose Farm Dorset Ewe #117 & Twins

A couple of days have gone by and that means more lambs have arrived here at Wild Rose Farm.  The 3 pictures in this post are from lambs that were born on Tuesday the 27th.  We processed the lambs today giving them their shots and ear tags. Tomorrow we'll paint numbers on them and put them into the mixing pen to run around!

Wild Rose Farm X-Bred Ewe #144 & Ewe Lamb

Wild Rose Farm Dorset #120 & Twins
... this is her first lambing!

Hello 2021!

Snow White & Ewe Flock Headed Back to Pasture

 It's been quite a while since we've posted here at Wild Rose Farm!  Our 2020 was pretty uneventful with all of the pandemic restrictions and canceled events.  No shows, no festivals, no wool pool, no Hookstown Fair ... nothing to report except sticking close to home!  We even had to cancel our last group of freezer lambs due to lack of processing capacity, grrrr.  The breeding season began on Thanksgiving weekend as usual and we've been grazing and waiting for the first lambs to arrive.  The ewes come up to the barn for feed each afternoon and we look them over.  You can see them above on a beautiful day headed back to a fresh section of pasture with Snow White bringing up the rear.

Rambouillet Ewe #333 With Ewe Lamb!

 Our frequent pasture checks paid off this afternoon! We found one of our Rambouillet ewes under the pine trees with a new ewe lamb.  Actually, I was looking closely at the ewes below the trees for signs of impending labor when I heard a lamb bleat! There she was standing next to the ewe up in the shade of the trees. Both are resting comfortably in the barn tonight.