Scottish Shepherd with His Blackie Flock.....

   
   This photo reminds me of our Scottish Blackface: Wild Thing, Mild Thing , Malcolm and Whitey.
Blackies can be very skittish and standoffish, but I do have Wild Thing and Mild Thing eating raw carrots and apples from my hand. I'm still working on Malcolm and Whitey, hoping they will come around eventually.

An Adorable Sheep Face.....

    I found this sheep photo on a UK volunteering blog and I couldn't resist........

This contrary farmeress reads "The Contrary Farmer"

    I am very intently reading "The Contrary Farmer"  by Gene Logsdon.   This book provides much food for thought (no  pun intended)  and a view of agriculture that mirrors my own.  Anyone unfamiliar with his work can check out his books and his blog at the links above.

Just a Morning Post......

    A Chinese version of sheep!

" Little Norway " and 19th Century Norwegian Spinning Wheels...

" Little Norway " and 19th Century Norwegian Spinning Wheels...

" Little Norway " and 19th Century Norwegian Spinning Wheels...

    In the 1830's, Norwegian immigrants started arriving and setting up farms near Mount Horeb, Wisconsin. My husband and I took a side trip to see "Little Norway" on our trip to Minnesota.
"Little Norway" boasts of an original set of farm buildings and items from the 1850's, all of Norwegian
descent. This following building has a living grass roof where goats and other animals would graze.....

Back Home Again in Indiana..........and back to work!

    I wonder if people who do not live on a farm know the work involved just to keep it from looking like abandoned property! We had been away for five days and I mowed the yard the day before we left. Upon our return it looked like the mower had not touched it for at least two weeks...........and the garden.............. ...........looked bad when we left, indescribable upon our arrival . After weeding around the tomato and pepper plants, we discovered ripe tomatoes and peppers!

   My husband and I canned seven quarts of tomatoes yesterday. I was appreciative of his help. I have far to go to get the rest of the weeds out of the garden, but with eggs to wash and pack plus the laundry to catch up, I might get fifteen minutes to weed this evening............


   The back porch collects mud, hay, grass, and every manner of animal excrement imaginable, plus occasional chicken feathers! I usually sweep it twice a week so people can step in and not freak out.
This is on my agenda today in case anyone stops by.

   We did get some great photos of 18th-19th century Norwegian spinning wheels from our trip which I will post later.........until then, I have to find that broom!

Back Home Again in Indiana..........

We're back from a trip to Minnesota to see our daughter and grandkids. I will blog about our trip to a couple of sheep farms in central Minnesota later.........sure feels good to be home on the farm again!

Here is # 17....................................

The face that launched a thousand spindles!

Exciting Results From The Indiana State Fair!

Here is Donna Jo's jacket that took second place in the professional weaving category. This is an absolutely beautiful garment woven with superior skill........ Donna Jo used  one of our Dor Galen ewes, # 17, to make the jacket. This was #17's first shearing and everyone involved was extremely pleased with the results!

Donna Jo also purchased Malcolm's fleece from us and wove it into a rug. Malcolm is  a two year old Scottish Blackface wether born on our farm. The rug took first place in the professional weaving category.........

Needless to say, we were all excited by the results and wanted to share them with everyone!

Something Old is Something New for the Farm!

Our "new" sickle bar mower is our first purchase in haying equipment for the farm. We need a way to cut our own pasture without relying on farm neighbors to do the job. In the past few years we have not had our pasture cut at optimum nutritional value for the sheep. We do not believe in putting herbicides on the pasture because we do not want our sheep ingesting these chemicals and when one buys hay it is difficult to know what has been sprayed on the pasture before harvest. In 2006, we bought our hay, and an invasive herb came into our pasture.
   Take a close look at the wheels......solid iron!  One of our egg customers noted we didn't have to worry about "flat tires"!!!!!This model was built here in the U.S.A. circa 1910.....about the same year our farm house was built.  This is "ground driven" and has been adapted to be pulled by a small tractor, although one could use horses to pull it if necessary.
   We need a rake and a baler plus a small tractor, but we are imminently pleased  these items can be purchased for less then we had anticipated and are ideal for managing a small farm.

Farm Fresh Flowers and Yarn

Some zinnias, some sunflowers, some petunias and marigolds placed in a Mason jar, surrounded by a couple of balls of my handspun yarn............