Black Walnut Dyeing ...

Wild Rose Farm Walnut Dyed Rambouillet 2-Ply Yarn & Combed Top

Goldenrod Dyed 2-Ply 

We've done some dyeing over the winter. Black walnuts harvested here on the farm were soaked for several weeks and then boiled to extract the dye. The yarns were done first and then we followed up with the combed top. We created several shades of brown and down through caramel as the natural dye bath was exhausted. The Rambouillet wool combed top would also be excellent for felting projects!

A Great Weekend!

Wild Rose Farm Naturally Dyed Yarn

We had a great weekend at the Old Economy Village "Christmas At The Village" event.  It was good to see old friends and customers and to meet some new folks!  Our new Rambouillet wool yarn spun at Mill At The Meadowlands was super soft and popular with the knitters who stopped & gave it a squeeze ...  Many of our collection of vintage woolen sweaters, scarves, hats, & blankets found new homes too. Thanks to everyone who came out and enjoyed the historical site and the wonderful food and entertainment.

Rambouillet Ram & Ewes

The rams have been in with the ewes for almost 2 weeks now. Most of the ewes have been marked since they have an approximately 17 day cycle. We'll have to get an updated picture of the ewes in the next few days to post on the blog. It goes without saying that the sheep love this colder weather!

Come See Us This Weekend!

Wild Rose Farm Will Be At Old Economy Village!

Wild Rose Farm will be set up at Old Economy Village in Ambridge, PA this weekend. It looks like we will be in the Feast Hall on the 2nd floor. Come and visit with us. The grounds of Old Economy Village are lovely with candle lanterns lighting the walk ways outside. We'll have our new farm yarn made from our Rambouillet wool and other wool items. We'll also bring vintage woolen sweaters, hats, scarves, & blankets.  Come on down!

Snow White in the Barn With the Ewe Lambs

Breeding season started on the 25th, so Snow White is pulled out of the ewe flock and moved indoors with the ewe lambs. Here she is with the lambs. She does some humming for the first day or two as she settles in ... she misses the ewes and has to adapt to the lambs that she hasn't seen since July.

Rambouillet Ram (center) & Rambouillet Ewes

We have the sheep split up into two groups this year. The Dorset ram is in with 22 Dorset & crossbred ewes and a young Rambouillet ram is in with 10 Rambouillet ewes.  His dam is in a separate pen with another unrelated young Rambouillet ram ... we've got to keep things straight for registration!

Ewe Lamb Leaves For New Home!

Wild Rose Farm Crossbred Ewe Lamb Loaded Up!

Another of our nice Dorset x Rambouillet ewe lambs left the farm this afternoon. She was a twin ewe lamb born on April 28th ... out of the first ewe to have lambs this spring. She had been chosen several weeks ago and was waiting for pick-up. We were working on the ewes in preparation for breeding season and her new owner stopped in on his day off from work. We trimmed her hooves, loaded her up, and away she went ...

Rambouillet Ewe Lamb #561 - A Keeper!

We had a lot more ram lambs than ewe lambs born this spring for "whatever" reason. All of our Rambouillet ewe lambs were born as twins, but their twins were ram lambs!  The #561 Rambouillet ewe lamb above is shown in the handling chute with several of the crossbred ewe lambs that we have for sale. What a beautiful day to be working outside with the ewes & lambs!  We'll be putting the rams in over the weekend to kick off the breeding season here.

Besides The Sheep ...

Wild Rose Farm Glenda Wants To Come In!

Visitors ask what goes on at the farm "besides working with the sheep?". Well, the sheep are the centerpiece of the farm activity, but Glenda and Snow White have to manage and circulate around the ewes & lambs. Glenda is always nosey and shows up when there's activity in the pens or when people are visiting.
Snow White on the other hand, is more likely to hang back and avoid the fuss. She can be found in the lead of the flock, but if we WANT to move everyone, she has a way of trying to skip out on the round up!  She also has to be fed separately from the piggish ewes and can be seen fending them off if they get too close.  Unfortunately, sheep don't always understand llama-speak ...

Hey, You're Getting Too Close To My Dinner!

 Snow White gets her feed over the pen divider in the Loafing Shed, but the ewes sometimes crowd her, even thought they can't reach it ... and the ewe looks so innocent & friendly, right?

Now You're Really Annoying Me!  

That's Right, Go Eat Your Hay! 

Off To New Pastures!

Wild Rose Farm Ewe Lamb #0641 Ready To Travel

Who Opened That Gate?

Three nice ewe lambs left the farm yesterday for a new home. Their new owner is a fiber artist. We picked over the ewe lambs, looking closely at their fleeces to select the type she preferred to add to her flock. Twins out of our #142 ewe were selected and a twin from our 20 micron #98 ewe rounded out the little group. All were sired by a Rambouillet ram, so they are all at least 75% fine wool Rambouillet.
The lambs were delighted to find some nice second cut hay waiting for them in the trailer.  Much tastier than the 1st cutting they've been eating!

Two Wild Rose Farm Ewe Lambs Loaded Up  

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.