Rain & Temps In The 60's !!!

Glenda At The Barn

What a change from the freezing weather last weekend!  At Wild Rose Farm, we had temperatures in the high 50's on Saturday and then we were in the mid-60's on Sunday.  Glenda has a sheltered area in the barn, but she was out and about in the rain on Saturday.  She was in the paddock picking around at her hay, then she went out and stood in the rain ....... suit yourself Glenda! 

It Is Freezing Out There!

I just stepped out onto the porch to let the dog out and hadn't put a coat on first ... not the smartest thing to do when it's 23 degrees outside.  But then I noticed the "outhouse" out back and thought, "what is missing from this picture?".  Take a look .......

Wild Rose Farm "Outhouse" In The Moonlight

I'll tell you what is missing ..... a well worn path through the snow from the porch to the door!  Yes, we can be thankful for indoor plumbing.  Obviously, an old farmhouse like this had a real working outhouse at one time.  That's also why some old houses like ours have a large bathroom.  It used to be the smallest bedroom!   Other times, the bathroom is smallish & jammed under the stairway. 
So I grabbed the camera to document the moment .... pretty, but I'm glad that I didn't have to hike outside. The blue Christmas star on the barn reminds us to be thankful for the gifts that we may already have!  ;)

Wild Rose Farm At Old Economy Village!

Wild Rose Farm - Christmas At The Village 2012

Wild Rose Farm will be at Old Economy Village this weekend for the Christmas At The Village  event.  After listening to the weather forecast, it looks like we will have snow on the ground.  The candle lit lanterns along the walkways create a festive atmosphere that really brings out the Christmas spirit!   It's a great place to pick up unique hancrafted & local Christmas gifts and enjoy good food & music. 
Saturday 12/7 from 2PM - 9PM and Sunday 12/8 from 2PM to 7PM ...  maybe I'll see you there!

Oh, and the ram count?  Dorset ram 11 & Rambouillet ram 7 ...... over 1/3 of the ewes in just under a week. 

Thanksgiving Weekend At Wild Rose Farm

Wild Rose Farm Ewes At Dusk Feeding Time

We had a typical Thanksgiving weekend here at Wild Rose Farm.  Those who have been following us know that this is the weekend when we put the rams in with the ewes to kick off the breeding season.  That timing puts our lambing season in late April/early May. 
This year we are using 2 rams.  The first is our new performance tested Dorset ram & he has 30 ewes.  The second is our homebred horned Rambouillet ram.  He has 12 ewes, none of them yearlings because they're all his siblings ..... his dam is also in with the Dorset ram.  We will use him just for this breeding season and then he will be sold.  If you're in the market for a young registered Rambouillet ram, he's your man!   He would also add some fine wool to a commercial flock.
By the time we got done working with the sheep on Friday, it was getting late, as you can see.  The groups are now in 2 different pastures.
Both rams got right down to business and here is "U" below with the the Dorset ram courting along side ..... you can see his harness if you look closely.

Wild Rose Farm Performance Tested Dorset Ram & "U"

Current standings as of Sunday afternoon?  Rambouillet ram six, Dorset ram four. 
We still have the 2 registered Rambouillet & 2 Dorset/Rambouillet x-bred yearling ewes for sale .... they are in with the Dorset ram, so they can be purchased as "exposed or bred" ewes. 
We still have some spring ewe lambs for sale too ...... Christmas is coming!

It's Almost Time!

Wild Rose Farm Ewes Grazing After Light Snow

We had an inch or two of snow last night and the temps were in the 20's today.  It wasn't too bad outside since the sun was shining while we were working with the sheep.  Look closely and you can see the ewes have green numbers on their hips in preparation for the start of breeding season.  We added flock number ear tags to the yearlings, trimmed them up as needed, and sprayed on their tag numbers ..... it's much easier to read a big painted number than try to read the ear tags when we're looking to see which ewe has been marked as being bred by the ram.  We'll be using more than 1 rams this year.  The new Dorset ram from the PA Performance Tested Ram Sale will be in with most of the ewes.  He is definitely eager to get out with the ewes .......

Dorset Ram Standing Up And Watching The Ewes!

We'll also use the Rambouillet rams on select groups of Rambouillet ewes.  The rams will go in over the Thanksgiving weekend.  We ordered crayons for the breeding harnesses & FedEx tracking says that they're on the way! 


Wild Rose Farm Yearling Rambouillet Ram #339

Time To Sell Some Sheep!

Wild Rose Farm Llama Lisa Gliding Past Her Sheep!

Doesn't Lisa look like a ship in a sea of fall gold?!?  She came up with the ewes and was headed to the water tank.  Meanwhile, the ewes were headed back towards the rock pile.  It's actually a pile of barn stone that we have stored in the pasture field.  Usually it's the lambs that frolic on the pile, but right now the ewes are using it.  They're a little fiesty right now as the weather cools down and the days get shorter ...... lots of head butting.  Yes, it's getting close to our breeding season at Wild Rose Farm.
It's also time to sell our ewe lambs, so we just put an ad in the Farm And Dairy.  We'd love to see some of the ewe lambs go to new flocks.  We have 7 Rambouillet & 9 Dorset/Rambouillet crossbred ewe lambs for sale and all of them are twins.  We have enough sheep for ourselves, so this is one of those rare years where we will not hold any back for our own breeding program. 
But back to the rock pile ........ !!!

Wild Rose Farm Ewes On The Rock Pile ....

Roadtrip After Chores Are Done ......

Wild Rose Farm Ewes - Sunday Morning As We Left For A Roadtrip ...

After rain last night, the morning started out sunny, so we left the farm for a fall road trip.  We headed up to the Pymatuning State Park  area and did some leaf peeping on the way. 

Spillway Pull Off - Hey! That Old Car Brings Back Memories.

I haven't been to the "Spillway" in Linesville, PA since I was a kid going with my family.  Their claim to fame is being the "place where the ducks walk on the fishes' backs".  

Folks At The New Viewing Area- Kids Throwing Bread To The Seagulls 

There's a great new viewing area complete with educational sign boards and a concession stand, which, of course, was closed for the season ......
But here's the Spillway that I remember. Check out the old concrete & heavy fence railing worn smooth by hundreds of thousands of hands!   I have to say it seemed soooo much bigger too!  :)

The Spillway With Waiting Ducks

You can imagine that this place is pretty packed in the summer.  So here's a couple of views of the ducks & carp when people are throwing out fish food and bread ......

The Waiting Game As People Approach ......
 

Feeding Frenzy - Mallard Gliding By ... Not Enough Bread To Walk On The Fish?!?

After this amusing visit, we headed back home through Amish country in New Wilmington, PA.

Sharing The Road In New Wilmington, PA.