New Wild Rose Farm "Outbuilding"!

Wild Rose Farm "Outhouse" - Before

Yes, I've always wanted an outhouse for a toolshed ...... If you look around, you'll still spot them in backyards and around the countryside.  There's even a "brick *#%*house" in one of local towns that I spotted once when we were detoured because of a parade.  I found this Real Outhouses web-site & there is a whole sub-culture of devotees.  Who knew?
Mr. WRF built this one with a solid floor, so it's not a working model, and it's portable if you have a skid steer loader to move it ....... it weighs a ton!


Wild Rose Farm "Outhouse" - After

The window is an antique leaded glass transom window that's been collecting dust for 15 years, just waiting for the right remodeling project.   In a stroke of inspiration, it's finally found a home!  Next will be a coat of linseed oil for the natural colored wood .......
Finally, a place to grow hollyhocks in a historically accurate setting!   Any other landscaping ideas?

Wild Rose Farm #401 Follow-up .......

Wild Rose Farm #401- Happily Grazing!

The light was getting a little low, but I finally got a unobstructed picture of WRF Rambouillet #401.  Here she is after recovering from "something" this summer.   See how shaggy she is?  That's the "wool break" that comes when sheep are sick or stressed.  In this case, we'll get all of this wool off of her and she'll be fine.  A closer inspection shows that her hooves are also regrowing out stronger.  Sort of like when you smash a fingernail and the new nail is pushing out from the bottom of the nail bed.  We hadn't noticed that until last week.  Although she was sick, she never "went down", which is when you pretty much lose them and they give up.   Just thought of this ...... I'll have to look at her horns and see if there is any sign of her sickness there .... hmmm.

WRF Lisa With Her Sheep!

Here's the sun going down on a cool end of summer evening for Wild Rose Farm Llama Lisa & her sheep ....

A Few More Bales Of Hay!

Neighbor Leon Square Baling

You really couldn't have picked a better day to make some hay.  We got some square bales of 2nd cut grass from our neighbor .... the wooded back ends of properties butt up against each other.  We got 2 trailer loads and picked the bales up out of the field.  The next day we picked up another 20 bales of alfalfa.  We don't really "need" alfalfa, but we like to keep a few bales around in case we need to tempt an animal to eat.   After a lifetime of farming, you see a new tractor & baler .... what a difference that makes for being able to make the rounds without constantly tweaking & tinkering to keep things going. 

A Pause In The Action While Raking ......

This field was an overgrown brushy tangle 2 years ago ....... lots of work went into cleaning it up and re-seeding. 


Loading The Trailer!

And then the short drive back to Wild Rose Farm to unload & stack the bales.   Always a great feeling to have your hay in the barn!

2013 Hookstown Fair - Over 'til Next Year!

Feeding Time At The 2013 Hookstown Fair!

Don't we all feel this way on the first day of the fair, wide-eyed & eager like the sheep above?  Excited and happy to be out & about checking the exhibits, the animals, and visiting with all of our friends?  The Hookstown Fair enjoyed fine weather for fair week ..... not too hot, just a bit of rain late one night, and cool enough temperatures that the animals were comfortable.  

Exhibits For The Fiber Folks & A Backstory .....

Here was a bit of serendipity in the fiber arts exhibits ..... right next to each other, entries from 2 people who have been Wild Rose Farm customers!  Norma & her husband bought a WRF ram years ago, and Maria came with her mother to buy yarn and combed top as a young person just learning to knit & spin.  Both of them are quite prolific with their entries and I was pleasantly surprised to see these 2 blue ribbons side by side. 

Fair Week .... It's Finally Over .... Whew!

We get a "season pass", so we're at the fair for all 5 nights watching the 4H livestock shows, checking all of the exhibits, visiting the Southside Historical Village, and bidding at the 4H livestock auction to support the kids and fill the freezer.  By the end of fair season in a few weeks, we'll be "all faired out", just like the piggy sleeping it off above! 

Hope you get to enjoy your local fair, even for a day!  

Lone Lamb ......

Lamb On The Loose .....

This little lamb was not doing well in the pen with all of the others.  Nothing specific, she just looked droopy & poor.  So she gets to roam around the barn and come out and munch in front on the lawn area.  She won't be running off since all of her friends are back behind the barn.  Hopefully she snaps out of it ..... sometimes they don't. 
Maybe I'll remember to get a picture of #401.  She was thinking about dying about a month ago.  Again, nothing we could put a finger on, just suddenly hanging her head and looking sickly.  Well, she made a complete recovery in a week or so, but the proof of her stress shows in her wool.  She has "wool break" and is a shaggy creature as she looses the short fleece that she had. 
Anyway, you consult the books, try to troubleshoot symptoms, and "sometimes", "something" works.  It's not always cut & dried with animals.

2013 PA Perfomance Tested Ram Sale Results

Suffolk Ram Heads To The Barn At JAS Registered Stock Farm

Our last post ended as the truck pulled in at JAS Registered Stock Farm & we dropped off the Suffolk ram - you can bet he was an RR ram!  We haven't seen the auction results posted yet, so here are some highlights from the  2013 Pennsylvania Performance Tested Ram Sale :
Suffolk rams - 7 offered/sold - Top indexing ram sold for $475 & price ranges from $350 to 2 rams that sold for $750 each.  Texels - 6 offered/sold - Top indexing ram sold for $550 & price ranges from $450 to $725.  These chunky rams are definitely becoming more popular.  Senior Dorpers - 2 offered & sold for $300 each.  Junior Dorpers - 7 offered/5 sold/2 walked - Top indexing ram sold for $1050 - others sold for $300 - $325.  White Dorpers - 2 offered/sold - Top indexing ram sold for $725, 2nd ram sold for $550.

Maple Spring Farms - Lovell 13-566 TW RR 4.21 LEA

Senior Dorsets - 6 offered/sold - Top indexing fall born ram above sold to Wild Rose Farm for $600 - others sold for $375 - $650.  Junior Dorsets - 2 offered/sold - Top indexing ram sold for $500, 2nd ram sold for $450. The Shopshire ram from Calvert Farm sold for $600.  Katadin - 3 offered/2 sold - the top indexing ram was walked, the other 2 sold for $600 & $300.  Polypay - 2 offered/1 sold - Top indexing ram sold for $300.  Hampshire - 2 offered/sold - Top indexing ram sold for $450 & 2nd for $350 - both were RR.  Southdown - 1 ram - walked.  And the story of the day - the Merino ram - an entry from Robert Calvert of Calvert Farm sold for $1000.  This QR twin represents years of progress in breeding Merinos and was a great looking ram ..... unfortunately, my picture was blurred, but you can see him in the on-line sale catalog Lot # 138.
Yes, we dabble in Dorsets as a cross when we have enough Rambouillets.  They make a great cross and a good ram, like this performance tested ram, sires some nice replacement females and meaty market lambs.  We can also get some nice longer staple spinning fleeces from the x-bred ewes.
Oh - and here are some of the Suffolk ewes at JAS Farm ...... since we have the same sheep shearer, I may be able to get a fleece or two by spring for my friend Feisty!  You know who you are ..... :)

Suffolk Ewes & Polled Hereford Cattle

Thanks once again to the registered sheep producers who make this sale possible by sending their best rams in to be performance tested.  Not all of the rams make it to the sale - the top indexing rams are considered "flock improvers". 

Ram Sale

2013 PA Performance Tested Ram Sale - Suffolk Ram In Ring

Wild Rose Farm went to the 2013 Pennsylvania Performance Tested Ram Sale on Saturday.  We were successful bidders and brought home a new Polled Dorset ram for our crossbreeding program.
The picture below shows our Senior Dorset ram behind a Suffolk ram purchased by our friend who rode up to the sale with us.  More sale details & pictures later ..... it's been a busy weekend!

 

Suffolk & Dorset Rams - Time To Unload The Suffolk ...