Friday, August 03, 2012

Fiber and food

Another morning, another 20 hooves trimmed. This morning it was Bramble, Bonny, Sarai, Marta and Bing. Bing also needed to move up to a size D coat but I didn't have one available. I ended up taking the D off Marta and putting it on her big son, and putting an off-brand, slightly longer coat on her. That meant a photo op!
Marta's fleece could be finer, but she is otherwise a perfect, petite package!
I'm seeing more organization to her crimp than before.
Can you say "absolutely black"?!?
Tiny, organized crimp, just like Dad's (Whistlestop Bunker) – and hopefully as fine!
If you see a fleece you can't live without, I do take reservations. No financial obligation on your part; reservations simply give you first dibs should that sheep still be here at spring shearing time.

I was going to ride after finishing chores while it was still comfortable, but Rick asked for my help getting hay. Considering that he's done the lion's share of the hay hauling and stacking this year, how could I say no? With the load we got today, we now have 14 tons in the barn. There's room enough left for the couple tons of third-cutting orchard grass we're hoping to get for the sheep; that should give us all we need. Hay is expensive this year, but at least it is available; I hear there is no hay to be had in much of the Midwest.

After a dry but pleasant July, the first weekend of August is turning into a scorcher. Veggies in the garden are coming on nicely; there are green beans, zucchini and a cucumber to pick, tomatoes are turning red, and there are baby bell, jalapeƱo and anaheim peppers galore – and even one small watermelon. We are always thankful for the groceries our garden, bushes and trees provide!

Wishing you a great weekend, from . . .



3 comments:

Mary Ann said...

Michelle, you are so lucky to have your hay.. treasure it. As I drove to get Nathan today, I saw corn had been cut and rolled into big rolls of baleage, to get some use out of it... that's how little hay we have here. The corn is burned brown in the fields. There was only one cutting of hay in our area, and it appeared so 70 miles south as well.

Michelle said...

I do treasure it, Mary Ann, even though it cost us pretty dearly. The vast majority of hay in this area is single-cutting; we know of only two small-scale producers who irrigate and get two or three cuttings, and they both have waiting lists. That's why we were only able to get two tons of second-cutting, and are left hoping for a couple more of third-cutting. There is more second and third cutting hay in central Oregon, but it is too expensive to buy and haul for our budget....

Dianne@sheepdreams said...

That's such a good feeling when you can see your winter supply stacked in the loft. We're still waiting for our regular source to have some available. Starting to get a little nervous about it.