Bearer of the Crown

I'm behind on posts, but still trying to get some updates done. September brought the first homecoming for the North Woods School Grizzlies. This school year two local schools, Cook and Orr, were consolidated into one. For this school year school is held in Cook while the new facility is being built four miles north of town.

Kohen was surprised to be chosen since he is new to the school, but he was chosen as crown bearer. Some suit shopping and plenty of texting to insure he matched his walking partner Abbi, and he was ready. Typical Kohen fashion, not nervous at all. He participated in the afternoon coronation and also walked at the football game that night.

Gramma Jan and Annalise made the trip up from Rochester to join Nanny, Papa, and other family in the crowd. We were veryproud of our boy!

Going Well

Things are going well, if as crazy busy as ever. Kohen and I have both adjusted to our new school, though he still misses many of his friends. Isaiah loves his new day care, and has done well with the transition.

I can say that I love teaching sixth grade. I also love the convenience of working so much closer to home. The boys and I only travel to Virginia one day per week, and that is for violin lessons, and errands.

Nate is staying busy with plenty of varied jobs. Roofing, log restoration, and building. We still have to roof our house and plenty of projects to complete around here, but it's tough when he is working seven days a week! My parents are making progress on the garage/apartment they are building next door. Right now the boys walked over to "help" so I have five minutes to blog!

Animals are doing well, though we are again struggling with deer liver fluke infecting the sheep. I've lost three since July- two ewes, Shrek and Splash, and one ram lamb. The breeding stock is now on a five week rotation of the only two wormers available that kill adult liver fluke. The animals being raised for meat only have one or two weeks until processing, and I do not give any chemicals to our meat animals, so I'm crossing my fingers.

We are currently at 15 pigs. Lyle, Gertie, Gwenie, and pigs we are raising for meat. Last week Nate made a trade of boars, one of our young red wattle boars for a berkshire. He definately stands out in the group! Black and white with erect ears compared to the dark red and floppy ears of the red wattles. The plan is to do some crossbreeding next year. The May litter has a few more weeks of growing before processing, but I'm getting anxious. We are finally purchasing a large pig feeder so I don't have to crawl over the fence with buckets twice a day. Will lighten the labor load as the weather changes.

Speaking of weather, it has been beautiful. Isaiah and I even enjoyed a boat ride/lunch with Carlsons on the lake yesterday. I know that soon it will be a memory so we are trying to enjoy it as much as we can. The amount of waterfowl that have been passing through on the river is amazing. I love doing chores in the morning as they are beginning to take off from the water.

The picture above is Northwestern yesterday. We have the ewe flock in an area along the river that has some brush, and they have never been in before. When I checked the sheep yesterday morning, Northwestern was sporting a bright orange fishing lure firmly attached to her fleece. Mom and I were able to remove it before it worked its way to her flesh. One hazard of the area that I hadn't planned on!

July Recap

Isaiah & LouLou

• Gwendolyn gave birth to 8 purebred red wattle piglets, all thriving.



• The weather has been HOT!



• All things are growing on the Rice River Lamb Co. Farm, including pigs, goats, chicks, sheep, gardens, and children.



• Our turkey hens hatched out ten baby turkeys, they were only around for two days before the dang fox got them.



• Did I mention we have a fox problem? Caused plenty of sleepless nights listening to those darn things hunting.



• 96 meat bird chicks are growing in my front yard, surrounded by chicken wire, encircled in electronet. Did I mention that darn fox?
  


• A new Scottish Highland calf was born, Porter, joining Goldilocks and Chuck as calves here so far.
  


• Made a game changing occupation move; I will no longer be teaching special education in Eveleth, but will be teaching at the North Woods School in our hometown, in sixth grade! I am very excited about the change, but felt a bit heartsick over leaving the friends, students, and connections I've made in Eveleth in the last nine years.
  


• Added a guinea pig to the mix, Isaiah's first pet of his own. Just because you can never have too much going on!



• Looking forward to finishing July out with some county fair time, yoga for the kids, and a pedicure. (Probably should have had the pedicure about two months ago!)

Lyle on the Lam

Walking the escapee back home, no shackles required.

There is never a dull moment around this place, be it caused by the kids, or the animals or one of our projects. Last Wednesday was no different. The day had been spent with various chores and tasks, with a quick break in the afternoon for some hydration. As I headed back outside I surveyed the lower pastures as I always do. Wait, what is that large, red, mass, ACROSS the river? That would be Lyle, who waded the shallow spot to check out the great green yonder. Before Nate could make it down there, he was gone. Where to? Why? We are a pretty close distance to a dirt road as the crow flies, or pig lumbers. Horrible thoughts of an accident caused by hitting a 600 pound boar, spurred me to convince my dad to drive with me down the road and across the fields on the other side of the river. It took some time, and we did find Lyle's trail, just as my cell phone rang. Nate was calling to report that he could see Lyle, across the river, up the hill, in the neighbors' front yard. Great. I made a quick trek to the spot, and started to talk to my wayward hog. He looked surprised, and happy to see me, and lumbered over "talking" all the time. Luckily he followed me home, with the help of his feed bucket that Nate brought over. Lots of grunts, heavy breathing (that poor pig was tired!) and we made it home. He was put in the "detention" pen, which does not have access to the river but has plenty of shade, vegetation, and fencing! Best outcome we could have had in this instance.

Busy as a ...

Here it is June, I'm not teaching right now, and I have less time to blog! I'm hoping to be caught up by July, but not banking on it. I'll give a quick recap now, but hopefully put together a string of smaller posts, just to keep you interested!
June started with a quick trip to Rochester for a graduation party, and the boys spent a day with their Grandma and cousins so I could attend an organic market gardening workshop at the Gardens of Eagan. Jeanette and I both enjoyed it, though the amount of work can be daunting! I headed back to Rochester and picked up THREE kids, as Annalise was coming to spend some time with us while her mom had a medical procedure. Having another three year old in the house was an adjustment for all of us.
Kohen had four days of "string camp", where he spent a lot of quality time with his violin. The camp was held at the Minnesota Discovery Center, a great stop if you want to learn more about the heritage and mining of the area. We all took the trolley ride and are planning on going back soon for the mini golf.
The weekend of the 11-12 was Timberdays, Amber and the Young boys came to enjoy. Having five kids participating in the pet show meant three goats, one piglet, and one chicken got to travel to town and be paraded around. They all enjoyed it, well I know the kids did at least!
The following week brought Vacation Bible School at church, along with 125 other kids! Great time as always.
Add in a jewelry party, Farmers market meeting, Annalise's dad when he came to fetch her home, a nice summer cold, Lyle taking a walk-a-bout, and you can see why I haven't blogged much. In addition to trying to get gardens planted, animal husbandry, and house cleaning, I feel like my favorite month has blasted by. This weekend brings a family reunion for the Heiam side of my family, so my goal is for Nate and I to take some time on Sunday to enjoy the lake and family, before more hardcore farm work gets under way with the arrival of the "farm interns" next week.
(No pictures today, I can barely get enough internet connection to post this, darn weather!)

June

Really. It's June. Our weather is not attesting the fact, but the calendar is. Today was the last day of school for students at my school. I have one more day of inservice tomorrow, and then I'm free. Well, not really. Then the whirlwind of summer activities start.
The gardens are patiently waiting for some plants to grow. We had awful wind for two days, and then frost last night, so I'm not rushing it.
The summer looks to be filling up fast, but with fun activities:

• Annalise will be coming for a visit next week


• Kohen has a week of orchestra camp


• Timber Days in Cook, with the popular pet show


• Bible School


• Gardens, gardens, gardens


• Pigs, pigs, pigs


• Weddings


• Family Reunions


• Visits from Friends


• Farmers Market


• A new ram


• and plenty more.

I just am ready to develop a summer routine, but it will have to wait a bit. I am anxious to just be able to soak in the days on the farm. Nate and I both agreed that we enjoy vacations, but are perfectly happy being able to stay home with the boys and all of the animals we enjoy. We've expanded our nightly routine from cups of tea in front of a dvr'd program, to include last checks on the pigs and cows. The cattle are not scared of my headlamp anymore, they know that treats accompany it. The little pigs have grown so much they rarely use their ramp into the shed anymore, they just jump.

Kohen has his heart set on bringing a pig to the pet show. But you may not know this- little pigs have a BIG voice. They squeal, grunt, and scream when you pick them up now. Even the ones we've handled daily. I'm hoping a harness and leash will be the answer. That's on the schedule for next week: pig leash training. Never would have thunk it. Isaiah cannot decide his victim-er-entry. Yesterday it was Darla, today it was Daisy. For some reason I don't think Daisy (who has never been farther then her pastures) would do well. I can't hardly get her to move from one pasture to the next if she doesn't want to. I'm encouraging chickens, chicks, poults, lambs, baby goats... Hey, it's not like the kid doesn't have options. We are excited to share our options with Brody, Cam, and Annalise. Maybe I should get some tshirts printed for all the kids. Might make some other local kids feel left out if they don't have a matching t-shirt though.

This weekend I get to learn something new. More on that later.

Thankfully we have not lost any more sheep, though we are constantly on guard. The goats are all out in the north field now, with access to the barn at night. So far they are doing great with it. My plan is to start milking on Monday. We are all anxious for fresh, raw, goat milk.

Well, that was rambling enough wasn't it. I better go and get some housework done before my husband gets home (he took a day trip to Rochester for farm supplies) and accuses me of spending all my time on the computer.

Sometimes Farm Life Sucks

The past 36 hours have not been the brightest in the Rice River Lamb Co. After three years of lambing without predator difficulties, I have become too complacent. Nate found the remains of two lambs on Wednesday night. He and the vet both think it is an eagle or other large bird since a fox or other four legged would have been able to drag the whole carcass off. Of course they both had to be ewe lambs: Erin Go Bragh, half shetland, half icelandic, and Tillamore Dew- one of Scar's ewe lambs. So now we are on edge, scanning the field, scanning the sky, and spending more time then I would like just counting sheep!
The herd of Highland cattle had grown by one on Sunday. Black Beauty, the old (at least 12) black highlander gave birth to a red calf. Since the cattle are new to us and we are new to them, I had been just giving them space. She kept him towards the back of the corral, much like the other mama cows had done initially. Well, by Wednesday night he wasn't doing well: moving slow, lethargic, with a hunched up body. I could not get him to nurse on his mom, but did get him to take 20 oz. of milk replacer from a bottle. We moved the pair into the barn and hoped he would make it through the night. Yesterday morning he was worse, and after much debate Nate headed on the 30 minute drive to the vet, at 6:00 in the morning (Thank you Jerry!) They tubed him, and then made the realization that he was blind, and had some other problems. I had noticed his eyes when I got close enough the previous night, but just figured in his distressed state he couldn't focus. The decision was made that the humane thing was to end his suffering. The vet's thoughts were a virus in the cow during pregnancy could be the cause. We know that the previous owner had been having his own health problems and not given the cattle all their vaccinations regularly, and that we had to get everyone back in condition. Hopefully we can quickly enough without any other big problems.
To top it off I had a sore throat that grew progressively worse, and I realized it was more than just allergies. Add to that Kohen complaining of a sore throat, so we skipped out of school yesterday morning for a visit to the clinic. Two strep cultures and shots later we were on our way home, with 24 hours of contagiousness left. Coupled with the sore throat I was running a fever of 101.5, and totally wiped out. The animals don't care though when they need water, hay and grain.
On a lighter note, Gertie's eleven babies are growing wonderfully. I never knew how cute baby pigs are, or how noisy when you are trying to catch them to lock them in the shed for the night!
The nights have been well below freezing the last few, so I'm glad that I haven't planted the gardens yet. My hope is to feel better by this weekend and get all my starts in along with some lettuce and peas. The new/lower garden plot has been taken back from the pigs but is a long way from being ready for planting. We will see what the long weekend brings.
I better get moving- Isaiah has his St. Jude's Trike-a-thon at daycare, and I need to sneak into school and grab my grade book. Grades are due today- means school is SO close to being over, and more of my time can be spent on the farm.

Babies...Babies...Babies...

Gertrude and her eleven purebred red wattles.

Brie's new babies, one doe, one buck.

In my last post I discussed the girth of Gertie, and how she looked quite pregnant for still having over a month till her expected due date. Well, last night Nate and I coaxed her out of the pasture and into the newly cleaned, remodeled, and updated goat shed. Today when I got home (after 6 pm) I ran down to the shed to check on her because I didn't see her. With good reason. A little red wattle piglet was scurrying around. Wowsers!!! The iphone got some usage tonight between calling Nate, my grandma, parents... along with a few facebook posts. I spent the next four hours with Gertie as she gave birth to twelve gorgeous piglets. Sadly, the tenth one was born dead, but our current count is 6 girls, 5 boys. Poor Gertrude is so tired, she ate a bit of food, drank some water, and layed back down to reopen the all you can eat buffet. Kohen spent a bit of time with me in the shed tonight, observing the birth of 7, 8, and 10. He started to get worried with number eight, and counted Gerties nipples. Mom, she might not have enough! was his thought. I reminded him that siblings are always supposed to share. He also was emotional during the birth of number ten, when it was evident we couldn't bring her back. Auntie Linda was here watching the show at that time and we both talked Koe through the tough situation. He stroked her little ears, sucked back tears and then began cuddling the wiggling, squealing, babies. Our first piglet/farrowing experience went well. The babies are purebred red wattle, but will not be registerable since we don't know who 'got busy' with Gertie before we picked her up from her original farm.
Poor Nate got put into duty modifying the shed to minimize the chance that Gertie accidentally lays on her new babes.

I finally made it into the house about 10:30 and decide to sit with a friendly beer and watch a couple of minutes of Deadliest Catch. It was a very short couple of minutes as we heard a goat begin to scream from the garage/barn. I know what that means. Would you believe it was Brie? Our yearling 1/2 nubian, 1/2 saanen doe? I walked in as she was giving the last push to birth a little doeling. She looked at the baby, and ran. Great. I ended up having to enlist Nate to help me move Brie into a jug, and try to get her to acknowledge her baby. Didn't work so well, and it got worse when I realized Brie was having a second baby. The second one was a buck, with similar markings to his sister. 45 minutes later I'm back in the house. Baby goats are dried off, their mom is tied so she can't make a run for it, and they have been assisted in their first tastes of colostrum, Baby pigs have been checked on three more times, and are busy nursing. My boys are sound asleep on the couch- since their mom neglected them tonight. Nate is asleep in his recliner. I better go to bed, but Sweet Home Alabama (my most favorite movie of all time) is on, and I really should make one more check of all thirteen new babies.

I also forgot to mention that Annafleece finally had her lamb yesterday morning, a big black ram lamb with lots of white markings. They will get their own post later, when I've had some sleep!

Farm Maternity Ward

Baby turkeys hatching in the kitchen. Baby chickens and poults (turkeys) in brooders in the back porch. Two pregnant ewes and three pregnant goats hanging out in the garage. One very pregnant pig ready to move to her private quarters later today. One turkey hen brooding a nest of about 30 turkey eggs. Yep, pregnant farm animals and babies are everywhere!
The spring chores are gearing up here. Earlier in the week Nate and I cleaned out the barn, yesterday we cleaned out the goat shed. My body is feeling the effects of a winter spent not shoveling, suddenly thrown back into the task.

Saturday mornings are now spent watching a large number of children chase balls at soccer. Kohen loves it- even though last Saturday was miserably cold and rainy. Today looks like it will be a beautiful day.

Freshly hatched turkey poult.

The school year is quickly winding down, and summer plans are unfolding. June looks to bring String Camp, Bible School, some Annalise time, Timberdays and a family reunion. In addition I have doubled my own garden space in addition to beginning to work on the garden space for the farm next door. Cattle will be coming in just over a week, and we have yet to put a single post in the ground. The corral lumber is scheduled to be delivered tomorrow, so then the fencing fun can begin. So far two of the cows have calved. I cannot wait to see the hairy babies!

Gertie's Story: When we brought the red wattles home the expectation was piglets around mid-June. I've been getting progressively concerned with how big Gertrude is looking. I'm thinking there may be a chance that she had an accidental breeding prior to leaving her original farm. I have to keep it as a possibility since I have been unable to get in touch with her breeders: they are not responding to email, and their phone has been disconnected. Hence, Nate and I scrambling to turn the goat shed and pen into a pig maternity ward. The plan is to move her later today and giver her her own space, more feed, and some extra attention. I'm very excited for our first litter of baby red wattles!

Poultry News: We had 20 chicken eggs and 14 turkey eggs in the incubator. We managed to have only one chicken hatch, and I took pity on the thing after three days and the boys and I headed to the farm store and picked up four more chicks for company: 2 production reds for Kohen- named Red Pepper and Red Apple. Two gold laced wyandottes for Isaiah with the names of TreeCutter and Tornado.

We have had seven turkeys hatch, one didn't make it and the other six are doing well. I'll probably clean the incubator out today the last two that have started to hatch did not survive to completely break out of the shell. However one of our turkey hens is currently residing on a large nest, so my hopes are for her to hatch out a brood naturally.

Our week was also busy with a sick boy. Croup, severe enough to warrant nebulizer treatments and steroids- and two days of missed work for this mom. He was still coughing some last night, but seems to be doing better.

The sun just broke over the trees- and is now shining directly in my eyes as I sit typing at the table. Guess that's my sign I better do some chores, feed some hungry animals, make some coffee, pack a soccer bag and get ready for a new day.

Have a great weekend everybody!

Happy Easter & Farm Updates

Happy Easter all my readers, especially Don M. from Texas! We had a great Easter, lots of time at home, a scavenger hunt for Easter baskets (that silly bunny), and dinner at Grandma Butchy's with my sister and her family. The boys have eaten WAY to much sugar, and took very late naps, so they are still up, but chilling in the great room with Diego.

SHEEP: I had hoped that Annafleece would give us an Easter lamb or two, but no such luck. The seventeen lambs we currently have are doing wonderful. The poor sheep are still hanging out in the garage, we had another couple of inches of snow this weekend, along with plenty of rain. Sam, Northwestern's neglected child (see previous post) was lucky enough to travel to school with me last Wednesday. Dressed in a pull-up, he followed me down the halls, slept under my students' feet at the table, and won the hearts of hundreds of children. We even took a quick morning walk down to Isaiah's daycare to visit 25+ preschoolers. He's still getting three supplemental bottles a day, his mom just is not producing enough milk or being a good mom. I'm afraid I know her future outlook...

GARDEN: I've been busy transplanting seedlings and planting more seeds. Last fall I made a few crazy purchases at an online gardening center auction that involved a LONG drive to pick up. But one of the purchases was a three shelf galvanized steel cart. It works perfect in the back porch, in front of the sliding glass door, with some lights wired to it. I start my seeds on the heated concrete floor and then transfer them to the lighted shelves to grow. They are doing great. Gwenny and Lyle, my gasoline free roto-tillers.

In related news, we've decided to add another garden this year. This one is between our driveway and the sheep pastures. Instead of working myself to break up the sod, I'm working the pigs. We installed portable electronet fencing, and opened a spot in the pasture fence for the pigs to move in. What three snouts can do in a day is amazing. I've been spending some time with them throwing chunks of sod into the pasture, but they are doing most of the work.

Speaking of PIGS, we will definitely have more in the near future. Gertie is starting to show that she is caring some baby red wattles. We are most excited about these additions. The pigs have done a number on the large pasture, but we are planning on building them a new pig pasture soon so that we can disc, plant and get the large pasture ready for rotational grazing of the sheep.

GOATS: The goat girls continue to get wider and wider. I gave them all CD&T boosters today. This vaccine is an important one to help the baby goats immunities when they are born. I cannot wait to see what we get from their breeding to Jeri's boer buckling. He had some nice color, so we'll see what we get. We are all looking forward to fresh milk again too.

KIDS- HUMAN VARIETY: The boys are loving the arrival of spring weather. K has stepped it up in the chores department. He is now able to get a bale of hay from the hay loft, onto the wagon and hauled to the sheep. Some grumbling is usually heard, but he can do it. His favorite job lately is anything that can be done while driving the lawn tractor. Having outgrown the battery powered gator, he's suffering through power withdrawal. He's also been stepping up and giving Sam most of his bottles when he is home. Don't worry, he still has plenty of play time, including playing in the nice black dirt mud, and tracking it into the mud room, and across my floors...or chasing the chickens around the yard with a stick...or "helping" his brother into the giant puddle along the driveway...

On this Easter I feel truly blessed to be living the life we are living. It's hard work, but things are starting to pay off. After Earthfest and some other opportunities I've had in the past month to share the what and why of our little farm with others, I feel so good about the life that Nate and I are creating. My boys are so happy, and learning so much every day. Watching K tell his kindergarten class about a five-day old lamb's life, and how to care for him. Or seeing how happy Is looks when he gets to help me transplant plants (he wanted the Easter bunny to bring him his own spray bottle for Easter, for some reason that didn't happen.) This summer is looking to be a very busy one for the farm, with new additions, and opportunities. I just hope that I can continue to enjoy every minute as much as I have been. Who knew that working this hard could be so much fun?

Lamb Count at 17, with two more to go

Cooley

Lambing has been going well so far, with some firsts this year. I'll run down the chronological list and then hopefully add some photos, though it's a challenge to take good photos in a garage, especially when there is 5 inches of fresh snow outside and a howling north wind so you don't want to leave too many doors open.

3/31 J.J.- twins, ram lamb died of possible PEM, ewe lamb is moorit (brown) with white markings, named Avoca

4/4 Pamela-single ram lamb, small, moorit, had to be bottle-fed first two days because Pamela's udder is so horrible, think this is her last lamb.

4/4 Splash, this yearling ewe gave us a large black ram lamb.

4/6 Cocoa, second lambing, Cocoa gave us a moorit with lots of white facial markings, named Cooley.

4/6 Fiona, twins, one ram, one ewe, both moorit. The ewes name is Erin Go Bragh.

4/10 Scar, twin ews, one white, one moorit. Tillamore Dew is the white ewe, Tyrconnel is the moorit ewe.

4/11 Jacobs, twin rams, both black with white head markings. The least flashy lambs she has ever had. One is substantially smaller than the other, but both doing well.

4/12 Darla, her first lambing, while Nate and I were both at work. She had the white ram all dried off and fed when I got home. Kohen was very bummed that his favorite girl's first baby was a ram, we are leaning toward wethering him for a pet for the boys, hence, he received a name: Jameson.

4/12 Emma, first lambing also. Single black ram lamb.

4/15 Poppy, single ram lamb, moorit in color.

4/15 Northwestern, single, huge legged ram lamb, more on this crazy story later.

4/16 Shrek, twins, one moorit ram, one white ewe, the ewe is named Shanahan. I had to seriously assist- as in hands dirty, get in there and help. The ram lamb was coming out nose only (normal presentation is nose with two front hooves. Nate held her head and I was able to hook a finger around each leg and slowly ease it into proper position. Once his position was good she delivered him in two minutes. Scary, but happy that I was able to help.

4/16 Time, single ewe lamb, black with krunet. Had to try and help on this one too. Nose and one hoof. Poor Time was straining and nothing was happening. Being a first time mom, and small, I was not successful in getting the second leg lined up, but had to slowly help Time deliver this huge baby. We did so without much damage to Time, though I don't think she likes me much right now.

So, the lamb stats are as follows:

-18 lambs, 17 alive

-10 rams, 7 ewes.

-4 white, 4 black, 9 moorit lambs, with lots of white head and facial markings.

Northwestern (1/2 Jacobs, 1/4 Shetand, 1/4 Suffolk) just doesn't want to be a mom. She gave birth to a large ram lamb on Friday, while Nate and I were both at work. Kohen helped me move babe and mom to a jug, I knew right away that there was an issue because Northwestern didn't follow her baby like most of our ewes, I had to lead her. The lamb had been licked clean and had nursed, but she still wasn't showing much interest. My suspicions were confirmed when she jumped out of the jug and tried to escape. This happened multiple times over the next 12 hours, even though we increased the height of the jug walls. She would only let the lamb nurse when I held her still. We ended up tying her and have been supplementing him with some saved milk from Pamela as well. The corner might be turned, this morning she was visibly upset and noisy when I took him out to give him a bottle. Hopefully a couple of extra days in the jug will firm up the bonding.

Annafleece and Marie have yet to lamb, and neither looks too close. Cornelia is the only remaining ewe, a yearling, and she does not look to be bred. My hope now is that our weather returns to spring so that this snow melts and everyone can be put back out on pasture. Speaking of pasture- the pigs have done a number on the big pasture with their rooting in the soft mud, They are very happy to be exploring. Well, until the snow came. Lyle was not excited to get up yesterday, wander out of the shelter and encounter all the snow. He looked around, and headed back in to lay down. The girls were a bit more adventurous, Gwennie was running and jumping with the snow.

Lambing 2011

Killbeggan, Pamela's ram lamb.

J.J and Avoca

Yes, lambing has started, and I have been remiss in blogging about it.

J.J. got things going this year with the set of twins I blogged about earlier. We ended up losing the ram lamb before he was 24 hours old. Everything I've researched points to PEM, caused by a thiamine deficiency. Thankfully, no one else has had any symptoms.

Pamela decided to go second this year, with a small ram lamb about 4:30 am on the fourth. I'm in the habit of turning on the lamb cam if I wake up at night, and squinting to look for lambs. She was helpful enough to lamb right in front of the camera and was licking him off when I looked at 4:35. We've decided this will be Pamela's last lamb. Her udder is horrible, it hangs low, gets huge, and is not the buffet it should be for a newborn lamb. For the first two days I was milking her and feeding the poor little guy. He has finally gotten big and strong enough to nurse, but primarily on one side. I am still milking the other side of her udder in hopes that he can eventually use it.

Shearing 2011

Thor with Annafleece, he jumped right in and helped.

Since there is a break in the lambing action (darn it) I decided I better post about last Saturday's shearing. We have had Brian Fitzpatrick shear for us each year, and he always does a great job. He lives a considerable distance away, so he usually only makes one or two passes this far north each year. Shearing was set for Saturday evening. All the sheep were in the garage, tables ready, sheets and tags ready.

We had a good crowd this year: Judy and Jerry, Jeri, Tim & Karlene along with Thor and Autumn, Sandy, Nate's mom Jan, my parents, Auntie Linda and of course Gramma Butchy.

After a good meal of bbq beef, salads, mac and cheese, onion casserole, and other goodies, we got to work.

All 19 sheep were shorn, and everyone had a good time. The rams were brought back to the pasture and decided to put on a show for everyone since they didn't recognize each other. I appreciated all the help. Nine fleeces were sold fresh off the sheep, so heading in the right direction there too.

Out Like a Lamb...or two!

J.J. and Avoca

J.J. (2 year old 1/2 Shetland, 1/2 Icelandic) started our 2011 lambing season off right, with twin lambs- one ewe, one ram. Best of all, she had them dried off and up and nursing before Nate discovered them this morning. I was in a bit of a hurry this morning, trying to get out of the door before seven to be ready for a meeting, with two boys in tow. I had turned on the television and scanned for lambs when I got up at 5:30, but didn't see anything out of the ordinary. I guess I better quit relying on technology and just get my butt outside.

The lambs are very dark, I haven't looked at them closely enough or in good enough light to determine if they are black or moorit. The ram lamb is the smaller of the two, and seems to be having some sight issues. He's struggling with finding the teat and bumps into the walls on occasion. I'm on my way out to give him a shot of Super B complex. Not too concerned, for he's destined for fall butcher lamb anyway.

If you follow this crazy rambling blog very often, you might remember that we only name girls around this place. (When we have broken down and named boys they end up with crazy names like Marshmallow, and hang around the place to become pesky rams.) So without further ado, the naming theme for Rice River Lamb Company 2011 is..............................................................

Irish Whiskeys

(Please tell me you can think of one besides Jameson, though I don't drink whiskey so I had to rely on my friend google.) Thus J.J.'s new daughter is named Avoca. Though Kohen and Nate are both calling her Avocado.

Off to the check on the ewes, and lambs in the conveniently located (ten paces from the house) lambing barn, er, garage. Look for a posting on shearing soon, it was a great time.

Meat

Isaiah overseeing sausage making last weekend, proudly wearing his apron made my Gramma Butchy.

We've been busy with a lot of meat processing around here in the past two weeks. I decided I better blog about it before more exciting news takes front page (namely lambs.)

Last summer my craigslist lurking paid off. I found an ad for a meat saw and grinder. It was a drive, but dad and Nate made the trip and hauled home some heavy Hobarts. After setting up a makeshift "meat shop" they tested things out with a whole beef that we bought. Things worked well, and they had all the meat processed and wrapped in about five hours. Family pitched in and helped for the day with kid wrangling, wrapping, and hauling. Half of the meat now resides in our freezers and half in my parents. Our 60+ pounds of hamburger took less than ten minutes to grind, twice, with the large grinder. Having a father who used to cut meat for a living didn't hurt either.

Last weekend Dad and Nate decided to test the grinder a bit more. 160 pounds of beef, pork, and venison were transformed into potato sausage, bratwurst, italian sausage, and snack sticks.

All of it tastes great, and is being thoroughly enjoyed by all. Nate smoked the italian sausage and snack sticks.

It is a great feeling to have plenty to feed the family. Mukwah didn't mind the giant bones that came his way either. Both weekends of meat processing he was loose the majority of the time, without wandering away. Is it surprising that he didn't leave the meat shop door?

Kohen and Isaiah loved the process as well. When we were processing the beef Kohen was up "helping" before I was. I don't know if I'll be able to eat the flank steak, seeing his perfect kindergarten printing on that white wrapped package brings a smile to my face. Last weekend Isaiah informed me it wasn't a "meat shop" anymore, it was now a "sausage shop." Whatever the name, I like it.

SHEARING NOTE: Shearing is next Saturday, the 26th, in the evening. Onlookers are welcome, help is appreciated. You won't even have to brave a walk across the awful ice to the barn, we are shearing/lambing in the garage again. Hopefully this will be the last year before the barn is completely set up, though I do admit I don't mind the very short walk to do lamb checks!

Snow Flying

It may be March 12, but in northern Minnesota the snow is flying, the wind is blowing, and the "feels like" temperature is 7 degrees! Even that fine forecast doesn't daunt me from preparing for Spring, at least the necessities.
This morning found Nate, my dad and I along with pockets of vaccinations, in the sheep pen. It was time for CD & T, and BosE shots for all the sheep. This is the first year I've vaccinated everyone with BosE prior to lambing. Last year we lost two lambs from white muscle disease. We are in an area that is severely deficient in selenium. Even with free choice mineral, we made the decision to have some added protection this year.
The process actually went quite smoothly. (After three years you would hope that we would start to figure it out!) I caught and vaccinated, Nate handed me syringes, and dad held up a piece of plywood over the exit to the pasture. Along with a donkey. Daisy has been very loving lately and wanted her share of attention. She did get some pats, rubs, and loves, along with a dose of wormer.
Of course the infamous Shrek was too smart to be caught easily. She saw us block her escape and headed into the sheep shelter. Saving her until last, I still had to bite the bullet and crawl through the small door (all the snow has made the opening a lot smaller than it was in October!) and corner her and Cocoa. Cocoa was an easy catch and I vaccinated her inside the shelter. Before I could even turn her lose Shrek headed out the door. She is a sheep with some serious intuition. Once Nate grabbed her she stood calmly for her two shots. She may be a headache but she gives us beautiful fleece and lambs. She's also managed to survive with far less wormings than the rest of the flock. I'll admit, I sometimes give up before catching her when vaccinating. Nine out of ten times she won't even come near the feed when we are watching.
I took the opportunity to feel udder development on all the girls. My hope is at least fourteen of them are bred this year. April will be busy!
I just looked back at pictures from March 20th of last year. Darla Gay arrived then, and the field was bare of snow. The picture will be slightly different this year.
Besides vaccinating I managed to get some seeds planted, and some spring cleaning started. Tomorrow will be another meat shop day, with plans to make 100+ pounds of sausage. Potato sausage, venison/pork snack sticks, and italian sausage are all in the works. This means the smoker will be fired up tomorrow too.
Come on spring, I want to see geese flying, not snow!

Spring...where are you?

Kohen with the red girls Gertrude and Gwendalyn.

I've got it, the spring bug that is. Yesterday I sat down with my calendar and realized it is less than four weeks till lambs could arrive. Not a happy thought when every outside surface is buried under snow and ice.

Our plan is/was to lamb in the barn this year. Novel concept right? The past two years lambing has taken place in the garage. Nate the great does a nice job of converting out two stalls into a large pen and four lambing jugs. The concern now is if the snow will be gone enough to move the hogs out of the barn and into their pasture pen, easier said then done. From there we would set up jugs (small pens the ewe and lambs are located to, assists with observation and bonding) and move the sheep into the barn. I admit the garage had its advantages, namely an eight step walk from the house, convenient on middle of the night checks.

I do realize that we live in Minnesota, where the weather is known to make crazy shifts, but I don't want to count on that.

Vaccines have been ordered, the shearer called, I'm trying to get the pieces I can control taken care of, and hoping that the weather turns around. Unfortunately, our forecast includes snow in the next few days.

The animals are getting ready for spring. Turk is currently in the tree gobbling and displaying for the hens, who happen to be on the ground. The chickens have increased their egg production, the goats are getting fat (they aren't due until May), my seed starting materials have at least made it to the back porch, and the boys are talking about novel things like gator driving, grass, and mud. I spent some time with the sheep yesterday, and felt udders on a few of the friendlies. Darla surprise me most of all. She has some good development. I'm excited to see what Isaiah's favorite sheep and Marshmallow will present us this spring. It will be Darla's first lambing.

I get anxious to get the sheep sheared, it's so much easier to see the condition of everyone. It looks like Jacobs is carrying twins again, but I'm a bit concerned about Pamela, she's one of our oldest girls and has started to look a bit swaybacked. She also lost one of her horns which had been cracked since last spring. I get so excited at the thought of new babies, and watching my ewes with great mothering abilities take care of their babies. Nate thinks that all the lambs should be market lambs this year, and that our flock should shrink a bit. I refuse to make any decisions yet.

One of the things I am most looking forward to is June, and not having to use 2 1/2 gallons of gas each day to drive to work. Mukwah will be much happier when he gets more free time too.

Today is a busy day too. Nate and my dad are headed out to pick up our beef. We bought a whole this year and it's been hanging for nine days. The guys have converted a side room of the morton building into a meat shop. I'll spend the day with freezer paper, a sharpie, and tape, lots of tape. Tonight will be capped off with some fresh cut steaks on a wood fired grill (coals taken out of the outside wood boiler and thrown in the webber.) My mouth is watering.

The Red Wattle Adventure

Lyle, Girl 1, Girl 2 (maybe I'll have the energy to think up names tomorrow!)

When you have a "mini" farm, you don't always have the equipment necessary for ventures. Especially ventures that I come up with. When we originally started talking and researching hogs we decided we want to try Red Wattles. We also made the decision that instead of starting small with a couple of feeders, we would jump in to breeders. Do you sense the path this story is taking? Flash forward to this weekend when we made the journey to pick up two gilts (young girl pigs who have not had babies) and a boar. Red Wattles are a rare, heritage breed, so you have to search a bit harder to find them. The gilts were located south of Owatonna, and the boar was southwest of the Twin Cities. Nate and I were just happy to find them in Minnesota.

The Red Wattle Adventure began on Friday after a long school week and chiropractor appointment. We dropped my car off at a friends and headed south. A four hour drive to Rochester and we arrived at Nate's sisters. The boys were relatively good, plied with bean burritos and a view of the gorgeous full moon as it rose, a bright orange color. They loved visiting and playing with their cousins (unfortunately I left my camera in the truck.) After a good breakfast we headed west.

First stop was at Auntie 'Laine's for some visiting. Nate and Kohen headed to the farm to get some straw. Next stop was picking up a rental trailer in Owatonna. From there we headed south. Upon arriving at the first hog pickup location, we were greeted by a loose pig. I was just happy she wasn't the one coming home with it. After considerable chasing, grabbing, corralling, and a fair bit of pain for Nate (he fell hard on his hand, hitting the ice) we had two gilts in the trailer. They are nine and almost eight months old, and big! Both are over 225 pounds. Nate and I were more appreciative to how strong pigs are, how much they can lift with their snouts, and the lack of anything to grab on them. I guess we've been spoiled by the wool that makes the sheep easier to catch.

Back on the road and headed north. A quick stop for tacos and to check on the girls, who were riding comfortably in the trailer. Through the outskirts of the cities and on to our second hog pickup location. The setup at the second farm was much easier for catching and loading. Lyle however, had other ideas. This two year old boar gave us a run for our money. He stepped right into the trailer but then hit the brakes before his hind legs and rumps were in. This led to plan B, plan C, plan D... and finally Lyle was loaded. Multiple doors, pieces of plywood, bumps, bruises, and not so clean words were shared.

By this time it was 6 pm, and we still had a 4 1/2 hour drive home, and 1000 pounds of pig to unload. Thankfully we were ahead of the weather. Jan, Nate's mom, called this morning and said they had three inches of snow in 2 hours this morning, and more falling. The boys were at the end of their ok stretch with being stuck in carseats in the truck for the majority of the day. DVDs and bribes finally led to some quiet.

The adventure wasn't over. There is a section of interstate north of Hinckley that is horrible. Big potholes and chunks of concrete out of the road. So we are driving along, about 8 pm when suddenly an SUV pulls alongside us with the passenger waving out the window, motioning us to pull over. The longest fifteen seconds of my life till we were stopped on the shoulder of the road. I jump out of the truck and run back to the trailer expecting a flat tire. Nope, it's better. The rough road had jostled the trailer enough that the rear door had popped open. On the interstate. At night. With three stressed hogs pressed to the front of the trailer away from the edge of death. Not a good feeling. I said a quick prayer for hogs in their place and good samaritans on the road with us. A bungee securing the door latch and another stop for gas and checking the door, we were still one and a half hours from home! Thankfully the boys were asleep.

A quick stop in Eveleth to pick up my car (which was covered with over an inch of snow) and we were in the home stretch. No more door malfunctions, but the task of unloading two sleeping boys and three scared hogs awaited us. It was nice to get home and see my dad here, waiting to help us unload. We quickly carried sleeping boys into the house and headed down to the barn. Some expert driving by the hubby got the trailer as close as we could to the barn entrance. Add in a few pieces of plywood and some straw bales and you've got a nice wide shoot to the back of the barn were the pigs will stay till they can get out in the pasture. Opening the trailer door we were greeted with some grunts and other assorted noises, but no one was moving. Standing around trying to coax three big pigs out of a trailer at midnight when the temperature is dropping and your toes are freezing is not an exciting adventure. Finally, Nate decided he was brave (or as he told me this morning, ready for his life to be over.) He crawled in that small trailer with the three big pigs and a small piece of plywood. With all of his strength he shoved Lyle (who is around 500 pounds) to the back of the trailer. One final push and he was out, sniffing the straw a bit and then lumbering down our nice wide straw and plywood shoot directly into the pen. My dad was impressed with his size and laughing at our technique. A few more shoves and the lovely ladies joined Lyle in the pen. Quick work with 2x4s, ole bolts and the drill and they were secure in their winter home. Of course it took all of five minutes before they dumped half their water, and started fluffing up the straw to make some resting spots.

The night was not over. As dad, Nate and I surveyed our handiwork we realized that Mukwah was gone. Mind you- he stood by through the entire shoot building, trailer unloading experience, but did get yelled at when he came into the barn to check out the pigs. I figured they were stressed enough and didn't need his nose poking in. In the five to ten minutes it took us to realize Mukwah had hit the road he had lumbered over half a mile. Dad was parked behind me so he headed down the road to find him. Thankfully the fresh fallen snow made it easy to track his giant snowshoe sized tracks.
I waited for about five minutes, without saying a word to my husband who had his own opinions on this 12:30am task, and this dog for that matter. Finally I couldn't stand it, so out the car came from the garage, down the slippery driveway, and I was going to find my crazy wanderlust dog. As I turned our big corner and came up the hill, I saw my dad driving slowly towards me. I still wish I had the foresight to take out my camera or iphone and snap a picture of the scene that greeted me. (Somehow this always escapes me in the midst of exhaustion.) My dad drove slowly, window down, leading Mukwah alongside the car, with a, wait for it....household extension cord looped through his collar as a leash. By this time I couldn't stop laughing. Once Mukwah saw me the small Christmas sized light bulb that resides in his big head lit up and he realized he was happy to see me, like he had been looking for me all along. Thus he refused to continue to follow dad in his auto exercising method. Thankfully when I opened up the liftgate to my car Mukwah slowly, regally stepped up and crawled in. I then headed home. For some reason dad followed with. I think he was worried Nate would be waiting in the driveway with a gun. Thankfully Nate was stretched out on the couch by this time. Mukwah was again secured, and I finally headed into the house.

36 hours, 745 miles, one trailer rental, two crabby kids, an oversupply of adrenaline, bumps, bruises, headaches, promises to my man of never making him load or unload anything larger than a baby donkey, and three red wattle hogs in the barn. Not sure if it was priceless, yet. But I guess the adventure was.

Making a Muck of It

Mukwah that is. Meet Mukwah. Great pyreness/mastiff. Gentle Giant. Mudroom Door chewer. Wanderer. Hopefully best friend and guardian to two boys.

Mukwah came to us via the Finnegans. The boys and I first appreciated him last fall. Last week they called and asked if we could give him a home. I agreed. Note the "I", (remind me that I need to have a "we" when making animal addition decisions.) I have an unhappy Nate. A furious Nate. It didn't help that Mukwah chewed on the mudroom door, or removed the mudflap from my dad's truck with those same teeth. The loping down the road until Nate caught up to him with the snowmobile three neighbors later didn't help much either. Nope, none of it has helped cement his place in my man's heart.

The little boy's heart is vastly different. He is in love with this dog. The big, gentle shadow who observes Kohen's every move. Mukwah comes to Kohen, he loves Kohen. The feelings are very mutual.

Mukwah was born in a barn and raised around a variety of animals. So far he has paid no mind to the turkeys, chickens, goats, sheep, or donkey. He did chase Hank, one of the outside cats, for about six feet before giving up.

Here's hoping that those soulful eyes start working their magic on Nate, and that Muk's place on our farm is permanent.

Yarn...8250 yards of it!

I came home to a big box today. A box of Beautiful, shetland yarn. Made from our sheep.

In December we made the decision to send out all the fleece I had left to get it processed. I knew I would not have time to spin it all. I decided it would be better to send it off and get processed into something to sell, instead of listening to a husband gripe about all the bags of wool. (I didn't remind him we would have 19 more bags of wool come April!) Lots of picking of fleece, with help from the Sunday Spinners crew who labored over it one Sunday afternoon. We shipped it to the Stonehedge Fiber Mill in Michigan, and are not disappointed with the results. It is SO soft. We decided to split it into two colors, moorit and then all the gray/white together. The result is wonderful. So I now have 12 250 yard skeins of moorit shetland, and 21 skeins of gray/white/oatmeal. The best part is, I don't know how to knit. So, anyone looking for some yarn? I have hopes to sell some at EarthFest, but wouldn't mind a few preorders. Poor Nate's just hoping that Grandma Butchy will make him a hat!

Winter...and that's all I'll say about that...

Shep modeling his latest accessory...snow.

Beautiful snow boy.

Kohen and Isaiah trekking out to the "animal rescue center" aka play system. (This picture was taken three weeks ago, and we've received even more snow.) Notice Kohen using a broom to "clear" a path. Isaiah made it out there but I had to go and rescue him back.

Kohen standing in front of one of the giant snowbanks.

A few weeks without internet and extra paperwork at work makes me a poor blogger. I'm going to take a page from cousin Chelsi and try to catch up, and be better.

First off, Hi Don M from Texas! Gramma Butchy is nudging me to blog more for you, so I'll do my best.

All the living things on our bit-o-farm have survived the massive snowbanks and bitter cold. I was a bit worried about Turk for awhile. In the coldest days (highs staying below zero, lows ito 40 below, he didn't come out of the pine tree for two days.) I guess his old age of five has taught him how to conserve his energy and make it through. Right now our numbers stand at 19 sheep, 3 goats, 1 donkey, 17 chickens, 7 turkeys, three outside cats, one indoor cat, one dog, and one guinea pig. The plan is to make the trek for the hogs in two weeks. I am excited for their arrival, but need to get a spot prepped for them. The south pasture where their permanent home will be won't work until the snowbanks reduce enough in size to get gates opened and shelters moved. Looks like they will be the first inhabitants of the barn.

I'm getting excited for spring, and starting to thinking about starting some seeds, peppers first. I'm excited for February to be here, it always feels much closer to spring for me.

Since it's Friday night and the boys don't have to be in bed at 7:30, the plan is to pop some popcorn, snuggle on the couch and watch "Ramona and Beezus." Geez, Taryn should be here!

Go Organic? Comments Please!

As we prepare for the arrival of swine, we are trying to make a decision of "natural" vs. "organic". I currently market my lamb as organic, it is 100% pasture raised, no wormer, no grain, relatively easy to achieve. We are not certified organic because we sell well under $5000 a year in product. With the addition of hogs comes the addition of feed. Nate did some phone calling today, and we can get certified organic feed, for twice the price of regular feed. So my question -to the three of you that read this blog- is it worth it to pay the extra to have an organic product? Would YOU pay twice the amount to know that the pork you are eating was raised on all organic feed, on pasture, in God's country of northern MN? Our pork operation will be as small as our lamb company. Two gilts, one boar, 2-4 litters of piglets per year.

New Year...New Ventures

As we begin a new year, we are organizing and planning new ventures. In our quest to diversify, we are soon going to be adding a new dimension to the Rice River Lamb Company. A red one. Not nearly as woolly as our current inhabitants. Red Wattle hogs. Google them, they are pretty unique, pretty rare, and pretty cool pigs. We visited a small group of them yesterday, and made the decision to purchase two gilts (young females.) They will arrive in a month.

The Red Wattle met our requirements for friendliness, flavor, and a breed that will do well on pasture. We are excited to soon add this element to our small, niche market farm. Nate and the boys had a conversation on the way home about ham, bacon, and sausage all with a bit of drool and gleam in the eye. The plan is to sell some feeder pigs and pork along with filling our freezer.

As we develop our farm goals they remain simple and straightforward. To supply ourselves and others with top quality, naturally raised, respected, cared for food. To know that the lamb, chicken, or soon pork that I put on our table was able to have a quality life, grown in sunshine, good feed and love. To keep it small enough and simple enough that we can continue to enjoy doing chores. To see our boys learn lessons that television and the classroom cannot give them. (As a side note, Isaiah wanted to bring one of the five week old piglets home yesterday, on his lap. He's an instant gratification guy, and didn't want to wait a month and then bring home 7 month old gilts. Though he was OK with leaving the babies on the farm when he heard the squeals they emit when picked up!) Our plan to start is two gilts and a boar, a small breeding group. I had to give Isaiah a promise that when we do have babies, he will be able to hold them.

I am in love (call me a romantic in mud boots) with the idea of raising our lamb, our pork, milk goats, along with a few turkeys and chickens and a garden that contains more edible produce than weeds. The sheep provide us with meat and wool (my first order of yarn is being processed at the mill right now), the pigs will provide us with meat, the goats provide milk for our family for drinking, cheese, yogurt and soap, with extra for the hogs and chickens, the chickens give us eggs and meat. It feels good to know that we can achieve a balance with our small bit of a farm. To be able to produce enough to share with others is an added bonus.

As I write this I think of how busy this spring and summer will be with the animals and gardens. Others might get excited about planning a vacation, me, give me some animals to take care of. Though I must admit that the care taking is much easier in the sunshine, grass and mud than it is right now as the snow flies outside my windows. Chores right now require down jacket, boots, my new super cool "ponytail" hat, mittens, shovel, five gallon buckets of warm water, and a willing husband doesn't hurt either. Speaking of, we better go shovel a path out the mud room door. Happy New Year everyone!