Thursday, April 7, 2011

Portraits of the 12 sheep this past 12th of March, 2011






Here are Pinky on the left and Xaviar on the right














In the foreground is Anna















Emma in the foreground















This is Saphire












and this is Colette















This is Magdalene
















This is Mary
















This is 1068















This is 1062
















This is 1067
















and this is 1070

Wednesday, April 6, 2011

6 April, 2011

Our friends in Putney informed us that two lambs were born on the 4th. Four of our "Lorna" woolies, Emma, Anna, Colette and Sapphire also spent the autumn there and were bred by the same ram, Franklin. So, we are anticipating births here at Poplar Hill farm any hour now.

Our present flock consists of the five "Lorna" woolies:
Emma, born in 2008 to Magic (Shetland/Border Leicester) and Deliolah (Jenny/Shetland & Prima /Border Leicester)
Anna, born in 2005 to Less (Betty & Levin, both Border Leicester) and Fat Jenny (Black Shetland)
Colette, born in 2006 (twin) to Less and Fat Jenny
Saphire, born in 2009 to Prince and Alison
Magdalene, born last year 2010, to Emma and Franklin
Our Katahdin mixes who were bred by Joseph are:
#1062, 1067, and 1068
The rest are:
Mary, born last year 2010 and Joseph's sister
Pinky, a Katahdin mix
Xaviar
& 1070

This past 14th of Nov., our friend Bill picked up Dot # 1069 to add to his flock. Unfortunately Dot became way too aggressive against our Border Collies. Bill also picked up Joseph on Dec. 19 for a trip to a new USDA facility in Westminister, VT.
On Nov. 7 we picked up the four woolies in Putney and transported them very nicely to our place in our horse trailer. So, all twelve sheep spent the winter here at Poplar Hill Farm, and without incident.
On Feb. 23 we did seperate 1070, Xaviar and Pinky from the rest so that they would receive just hay and a daily half cup of alfalfa pellets and half cup of corn. The rest, the two youngsters and the seven pregnant ewes, are now receiving considerably more alfalfa & corn.
Valerie was alarmed to find 1067 on her back and unable to move on March 12th. She was probably in that position for a while. Fortunately she never aborted and is in great shape. What happens during the winter period is that paths, which lead to various points where hay is left, are created and built up and compacted with snow to the extent where our paddock area is crisscrossed by these high 10 inch plus mounded paths. Apparently she slipped off from one and ended up on her back and was unable to right herself.
This past Sunday, April 3, Valerie asked me to build a windbreak addition to the barn so that 1070, Xaviar & Pinky had a nice, comfortable place to be during the rain. The others have access to a barn stall.

Tuesday, March 22, 2011

22 March, 2011 - Spring has arrived

Spring has finally arrived and it is lambing season again. It's also been some ten months since sweet Blondie died of heat stroke.
Anyway, snow is presently blanketing Poplar Hill Farm and in less than a month we'll be seeing patches of green grass again and all the spring flowers blooming. This time of year is just filled with hope and rejuvenation.
We ended up with quite a bit of snow this past winter and so there should be plenty of moisture in the soil. We've already had one major warm-up a week ago that melted most of the snow and the water runoff was very moderate and controlled.

Sunday, May 30, 2010


This past Thursday morning I built the sides to Blondie's compost bid and
our good friend Al showed up with his tractor which he loaned me for the day. With it I was able to clear a small area by the North Entrance of the East Field; lay a bed of manure from the barn; pick up Blondie laying in the field and carefully deposit her onto the bed; build the four walls around her; fill the newly constructed bin with the old bedding from the barn; and last cover the compost bin with boards, now being sweet Blondie's grave.

I am presently walking as much as possible in order to strengthen my foot and so I've been walking about the property today. Friday and yesterday were spend mowing grass which also exercised my foot. To the right is a photo of a Naturschutzgebiet / nature preserve that we are slowly creating in between the two new fields. The barn is located in the distance.
During my walk this morning, I met with my neighbor who informed me that the male black bear has returned and is presently in the neighborhood. He is about two or three years old now and is probably on his own and checking out the area for food sources, including, unfortunately, bird feeders & etc. I'm hoping that everybody has taken their bird feeders in.

Last year I hardly saw any Monarch butterflies. One thing Valerie and I do is set aside three large areas of milkweed in order to attract them and unfortunately I didn't see a single Monarch butterfly cocoon last year. This year they seem to be everywhere, which we just love. Their visit also reinforces me to make sure that I properly take care of the three milk weed patches.

Valerie is presently attending with her Border Collies Jessica, Rose and Kep the Massachusetts Sheep & Woolcraft Fair in Cummington. Yesterday she won a Ranch Class first place with Jessica, a Novice Class second place with Kep and a fourth place Novice with Rose. That is quite an accomplishment. A video was made of Jessica's run and will be posted on YouTube.

Wednesday, May 26, 2010

Early this morning Valerie and I gave wormer to the two mother ewes, Emma and Dorothy, and to 1070 & Blondie. In addition, we gave the three lambs their second CDNT shot against tetanus and over eating disease. When we returned this early evening from the Brattleboro Food CoOp, Valerie went out to check on the sheep and to make sure that they had enough water and were all o.k. Unfortunately Blondie had died, probably around mid afternoon. The temperature was 98 deg. F. in Brattleboro at 6 PM. Apparently the wormer and the awful heat was just too much for our sweet ol' girl to bear. I certainly will miss her. I still have her wool from her shearing a month ago and will definitely have it turned into yarn. Valerie's friend Lorna made us both a hat out of her fur a year ago.

This evening I started building a 6' long x 4' wide x 2' high cage, out of some rough, scrap lumber, in which Blondie will be naturally composted. We have already done this once with Fifi about seven years ago during the mid of winter and it worked very well. It is a clean, natural and odorless way of disposing a body. One starts by cleaning out the barn stall and taking the hay/manure mix to where you wish to place the composting cage. There, you create with the mix a bed of about six inches deep and of course as wide and long as the cage. You then place the dead animal onto the bed you had just made and build the cage around the animal. You then fill the cage with the rest of the hay/manure mix until the cage is completely filled, which naturally means that the animal is completely covered. Lastly, you add the cover to the cage. Make sure the boards have a one inch space between them so that air and water can enter the cage and help those microbes/bacteria do their job. The main reason for the cage is to keep animals away from the dead animal body. A secondary reason is to hold the hay, manure mix in place. I believe it takes less than a year for the dead animal to totally decompose.

By the way, the x-rays looked great, my foot is healing well and the doctor told me that I don't have to wear the portable cast any more. I now have to exercise my foot and learn how to properly walk again. Valerie joined me today and had her annual physical which determined that she's in great shape.

Unfortunately the temperature is in the low 90's right now. We're having temperatures these days that just ten years ago were rare experiences in July and August, let alone in May.

Above is a photo of Blondie. She is certainly feeling better than she was a few weeks ago when we thought the worst.

The sheep do have access to some shelter such as this burn pile. Their white wool has changed color to an attractive gray as a result of all the ash on the ground.

Valerie and I are in the process of designing a portable shade for them consisting of cattle panels. We thought we would have plenty of time to build them, BUT!

It's been just over five weeks now since I broke my right foot. This afternoon it will be x-rayed and checked by the hospital podiatrist. Hopefully the news will be positive, but unfortunately the foot does presently hurt where the break occurred. I definitely am sick and tired of being immobile and certainly don't want to stay this way for another month. There is just so much to do outside.

The photo on the right is of a Lady Slipper, one of four around the house. Twenty years ago I would count over two dozen of them in the same area. It is such an attractive flower and we are actually fortunate to have an environment here in which they are able to grow, since it's quite a rare flower.

Saturday, May 8, 2010

Blondie did eat some of her special pellets today and she did get up and move about. She doesn't seem to be in any pain. It just seems as though she doesn't have the strength anymore to live.












Dorothy and the young ones are doing very well.

Valerie is off at a sheep dog trial in Hopkinton today. Two weeks ago at a trial in Connecticut she won a first place with Jessica in Ranch class. That is quite an accomplishment. Unfortunately for Val, it has been raining for most of the day.