Hot & Boring .....

Just a few words to let everyone know that not much is going on at Wild Rose Farm right now.  This picture says it all ..... hot & hazy.  The sheep are out in the runway while a new round bale of hay is being placed in the feeder for them.  We just had our front spring water development refurbished ..... This is the stock water tank that many of you got to see when you visited the farm on the PASA Summer Farm Tour.  The old tank was not in good shape, so we replaced it and redirected the outflow down over the hill to a second tank.  Now we have 2 tanks and we will be able to run an interior fence line between the tanks to subdivide the pasture.  Aside from moving more of our barn stone collection up to the driveway for the retaining wall project (which our visitors also had to dodge on the way out of the tour!), that's about it for the dog days of summer.  The sheep are just hanging out trying to keep cool and Claire is standing in the sun as usual, even though she could be in the shade! 

Sun Sets on PASA Tour ....

Despite the HOT weather, we had a great day at the PASA Summer Farm Tour today at Wild Rose Farm.  We started the day with 4 sheep in the barn.  Separate from the farm tour, Ashley came to pick up her registered Rambouillet lambs.  The timing was good since we had to be here all day, anyway.  A ram lamb & a ewe lamb have found a great new home.  
That left WRF #802 and her lamb in the barn for everyone to see.  Seems that they already have a bit of a following from their recent blog postings.  Just about eveyone who came then went down into the pasture field to see the rest of the ewes and lambs hanging out in the shade.  One of our visitors had to come and see "U" to assure themselves that she really existed somewhere besides cyberspace!  They feel like they've been watching her grow up ..........  ;~) 
Boy, did Claire get her share of attention too.  We had a small group watching as we wiped fly repellent on her face & legs.  Livestock like days like today when there is a strong breeze.  They face into the wind and it helps keep the flys off of their face.  Claire was in her glory, gently taking animal crackers off of anyone who wanted to give her a treat. 
We did some indigo natural dyeing and showed a fleece being skirted on a table in the barn.  Once the yarn is washed and rinsed, we'll show you the pictures of the blue & teal colors that we made today. 
We had lots of questions about sheep, wool, & the possibility of buying a freezer lamb.  Keep in mind that our freezer lambs are ready in November/December.

Finally, at the end of the day, #802 and her lamb headed back down into the pasture to join the rest of the flock at feeding time ..........

Thanks to everyone who came to visit us at Wild Rose Farm!

LAST CALL !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Tomorrow is the big day & Dorset ewe #115 says "last call"!   Wild Rose Farm is open from 10AM to 6PM for the PASA Summer Farm Tour.   The indigo dye pot is ready to go and the tent is going up in front of the barn.  Look for the PASA Farm Tour sign and the balloons at the end of the driveway.  

If You're Coming .......

If you're planning to visit Wild Rose Farm on Saturday for the PASA Summer Farm Tour, look for this sign.  We will post it on a white board at the end of the "lower driveway" where you will want to turn in.  This is the end of the driveway that has the split rail fence on each side.  Come on down and park in the grass on either side of the driveway in front of the barn. 
We will set up the tent in front of the barn with the yarn and wool products for sale.  We'll be demonstrating natural dyeing and we'll also have fleeces on the sorting table to "skirt" for the fair.  The lambs and ewes will be just a short walk down into the pasture field if you want to go see them.  This will be a great opportunity to see the lambs that we have for sale as breeding stock. 
Also ..... if you're thinking about putting in a spring development or livestock stream crossing, those can be viewed when you visit.
If you're coming from Pittsburgh, you will pass Raccoon Creek State Park between Janoski's Farm Market & Wild Rose Farm.  There is a boat rental there and you can cook out or pack a picnic and swim at the beach. 
Can't wait 'til Saturday!

Come See Me & Mom!

It's just around the corner ..... Saturday July 24th ..... it's the .......
PASA Western Region Summer Farm Tour !  Wild Rose Farm is one of the farms on the tour again this year.  You'll be able to see our youngest lamb and his 12 year old dam, WRF #802!   We'll have our natually dyed yarns, Rambouillet combed top, spinning fleeces, wool quilt batts, and even some Dorset x Rambouillet ewe lambs for sale!   

Cooling for a few days ....

The temperature is dropping for several days at Wild Rose Farm.  We had hot & humid weather in the low 90's so we want to be careful if we have to move or work with the sheep.  We will probably separate the ewes off of the lambs later this week to wean the lambs.  This is stressful for both sides of the equation, so we'd like the temperatures to be cooler.   We just sent off the registration papers for one Rambouillet ewe lamb and one ram lamb.  Coincidentially, the ewe lamb (#896 eartag) that we've sold is right in the left foreground of this picture ..... I couldn't have done that if I'd tried to on request!  She'll be leaving soon to join 3 other WRF ewes on another farm.   

Here's the first notification on this blog that Wild Rose Farm will be on the "drive it yourself" PASA Western Pennsylvania Farm Tour on July 24th.  Details & MAP here !!!!!! 

Stay tuned for more details to follow. 

And the WINNER is ......

After the 2009 PASA Western PA Summer Farm Tour, we have 2 gift card winners from the folks who visited Wild Rose Farm on Saturday! We've all been to an event where one of the door prize winners is the person who traveled the longest distance, right? Since this program is all about supporting local agriculture, we decided to give one of the prizes to the person who traveled the SHORTEST DISTANCE to our farm. The winner of the "Most Local Visitor" Bocktown Bucks gift card is Regina H. from across the river in Industry, PA. It turns out that Regina is already a fan of Bocktown Beer & Grill, one of PASA's Buy Fresh/Buy Local Restaurant Partners.

Our 2nd winner is Liz D from Pittsburgh. Liz (above) wins her gift card for being the first person to show up with something "Made From Wild Rose Farm Wool". Liz visited last fall with the Herb Society of America - Western PA Unit and needed more yarn to complete her project. Liz brought along a friend whose little granddaughter had a great time visiting with Stripe, one of our barn cats. She didn't seem to be too interested in the lambs .... couldn't pet them!

We demonstrated indigo natural dyeing throughout the day. As the group gathers around to watch the demo, it's always fascinating to see the white yarn go into the dyebath and change from yellow to blue when it is pulled out and the air hits the yarm. We spent a lot of time talking & answering questions about the ewes & lambs. Everyone was able to handle a fleece that was laid out in the barn to be skirted for a wool show. We even went out and looked at one of the water tanks that we have in the field from a spring development conservation project. The partly sunny/overcast weather was great for the ewes & lambs who were brought up to the paddock next to the barn, although some of us were wearing light jackets on a cool July day.

We're looking forward to hearing about & seeing what everyone makes from the yarn, fleeces, & combed top that they got on Saturday! If you were here and bought something, send pictures when your project is done. We'll share a picture of the handspun yarn that Tiana made from WRF combed top in our next post.

P.S. - We'll be mailing out the gift cards this week .......

P.P.S. - Thanks to our WRF Event Staff who helped make all of this possible. You know who you are!

Going or Staying?

Three of these skeins of Wild Rose Farm naturally dyed yarn will be going to a new home soon, destined to become a childs' sweater. The peach toned yarn is from madder roots. The berry colors are from cochineal. We're just waiting on a decision!
The other six will be available at the PASA 2009 Summer Farm Tour on Saturday.
Here's another look at the farms hosting visitors on Saturday.

Tour Brochure

Here's a link to the brochure & map for the PASA 2009 "Behind the Barn" Farm Tour" on Saturday the 18th. It looks like there's something for everyone in Western PA .......

The Tour is Coming, the Tour is Coming!

We're starting to get things ready for the PASA Western Region "Buy Fresh/Buy Local Farm Tour 2009" this coming Saturday July 18th. We're planning to have an indigo dye bath going to demonstrate natural dyeing. Visitors will be able to see several natural dye sources growing here on the on the farm. Some may surprise you. We will also be "skirting" fleeces from the spring shearing to get them ready for show. We'll be able to see the difference between what a good handspinning fleece should look like for show, and why some fleeces are sorted to make our Rambouillet fine wool yarn.
Our Wild Rose Farm naturally dyed yarn, combed top, fleeces, and quilt batts will be available for purchase. The ewes and lambs will be nearby for everyone to see. This will be great time to look at the lambs that we will have for sale. We have 6 Dorset x Rambouillet crossbred ewe lambs for sale - all twins - and several registered Rambouillet ram lambs for sale - twins & singles, horned & polled.
If you're coming, here are couple of other attractions in the area:
You'll pass Raccoon Creek State Park on your way here from Pittsburgh if you take US Route 30. Are you a daylily enthusiast/junkie? About 7 miles west of here minutes off of US Route 30 is Patty's Daylilies. Into one-of-a-kind wacky roadside points of interest? Well, just off of US Route 30 at the Chester, WV exit is "The World's Largest Teapot"! And finally for the history buffs, we're not far from The Point of Beginning of the United States Public Land Survey which opened the Northwest Territory for settlement .....