Farm Day – One Week Until Shearing

Posted on January 14, 2024 by Robin

I scheduled a Farm Day today to take care of some chores prior to shearing next week. The ewes were ready to be vaccinated to provide the highest level of antibodies in the colostrum. I wanted to clip fleece samples from the yearlings (their second fleeces) to send in for micron testing. We also made sure that the ear tags were clean enough to read and that the tags would match the cards that go with each fleece.

Some long-time Farm Club members were there as well as some people who are new to Farm Club. It all went very smoothly and it took only a couple of hours to work through all the sheep and take time to take a closer look at some of those fleeces.

Farm Club members get a chance to reserve a fleece at this Fleece Preview Farm Day.

Deborah took the photos from above and this is me remembering to take at least a few photos. Often we get so busy that I overlook that.

While most of us were in with the sheep Susan, Chris, and Nikki volunteered to clean behind the barn. That’s always a big chore. When they finished here they moved to the ram pen and cleaned the ram barn.

Mary checked off the list on the clip board and made sure the cards matched the ear tags. Susan drew up vaccine into syringes.

Marina and Katy caught sheep, marked faces, and cleaned ear tags.

Rachel and Siobhan also helped catch and mark sheep.

The photos below are what it is all about. I had been thinking that the sheep are looking a bit bedraggled, but when I got hands-on those fleeces I changed my mind. They are looking good.

April is a yearling ewe, almost 2 year old.

Queen Q is the same age. The photos below are an on-the-hoof look at the fleeces of the four rams I have here.

Meridian Blizzard (Meridian Silverado x Meridian Bessie), 10 month old ram.

Meridian Typhoon (Meridian Turbo x Meridian Rocha)

Fair Adventure Horatio, 3 year old ram, from Colorado.

Hillside Gabby’s Barrett, 3 year old ram, from Michigan.

Shearing Day is Sunday, January 21.* We’ll be shearing about 70 sheep. Fleeces are available on shearing day and for a month or two afterwards as I skirt them and post them on-line. If you live in the area you can come here to choose a fleece. Contact me.

*I just fixed this. A friend pointed out that I wrote June 21. Yikes!

Lambtown Sheep Show with Farm Club

Posted on October 19, 2023 by Robin

One of the Lambtown events is the sheep show. I live so close that I like to participate and I know that people like to see my sheep there. But I knew that I couldn’t be a vendor AND show sheep. I told the FarmClub that I would get sheep to Lambtown if they wanted to handle the show. They were willing.

This was simpler than some other shows because there were no group classes and, as at many shows, you could only enter yearlings and lambs. I sold my yearling ram at Estes Park in June so we didn’t even have to worry about who would want to handle a ram. I entered two ram lambs, two ewe lambs, and two yearling ewes. It’s the yearling ewes in this photo. These are twins born in 2022.

Farm Club members set up a display about Jacob sheep and Farm Club. All I had to do was bring a few of the panels that we use at State Fair and the box of photos and signs. I forgot that I’d be using the Meridian Jacobs sign in my vendor booth so Lisa used her t-shirt to indicate Meridian Jacobs. Clever!

I have to explain about that panel in the center. When you wind a warp on a loom you pack the layers of yarn with paper as you roll it on the beam. During one of the Sheep-to-Shawl competitions a few years ago FC member, Alison, thought that the paper used for rolling the warp could be made more interesting. As the shawl was woven, this message emerged from the back of the loom. Isn’t that a great idea?I thought it was worth laminating and using as a sign.

I did not get to see the sheep show, but many Farm Club members were there and some took the following photos.

Beth and Marina did most of the showing. The competition was from a Shetland breeder. This is the ewe lamb class.

This is the ram lamb class. The green on the ram is because our breeding season had already started and this ram lamb was wearing a marking harness when he was with his group of ewes.

Beth ended up with a challenging sheep. This ewe decided to go on strike.

We ended up with Champion Ram and Champion Ewe of the Primitive Breeds division.

Deborah helped out when a third person was needed for the champion class. Once again Beth had a less cooperative sheep, but handled him well.

Dan spent all afternoon driving the tractor and wagon that transported people back and forth from the vendor halls to the livestock area.

This was very popular not only with adults that appreciated the rides, but with kids who liked to sit in the front. Dan took extra laps to give some of those kids more time sitting on the front bench.

Lambtown 2023 was a big success for all of us. The crew that put the show on this year is to be commended for the time they spent on planning and organizing and the professionalism they brought to the event.

Farm Day & Another Lamb Graft

Posted on March 24, 2016 by Robin

Last Saturday was a Farm Day. Some of the Farm Club members have been coming during the last month to help with all the barn chores during lambing, but this was the “official” Farm Day.We caught all the lambs to check for number of horns and split eyelids (a trait that is sometimes seen in 4-horn lambs). This was also a good time to check the paperwork and make sure that I had recorded the gender and sires correctly.My neighbor who recently purchased sheep was here also to get some hands-on experience. He told me that a recently purchased goat had kidded that morning and he wasn’t sure the kid had nursed.I went to his place at lunchtime to check on the kid and while he held the doe (very skittish) I got the kid nursing.Back at our place, we finished moving sheep around. I moved “Ginny’s flock” of wethers and she was so hot when she was finished that she found the only accessible mud puddle to sit in.Last in the afternoon we decided to try grafting a lamb onto a ewe whose lamb had been killed the day before. I had debated it that day and at the time didn’t want to deal with it. But I had some new twins and though it was worth a try. This method of grafting is not as pleasant or as satisfying as “slime” grafting where you just cover the adopted baby in the birth fluids so that the mom will think the lamb is hers. With this method there is a dead lamb and you need to use it’s skin to cover the adoptive lamb to trick the mom into thinking it’s hers. That photo above is the lamb in the skin before I cut it to fit better. Bea, the young ewe, was unsure. The scent of her lamb was there but the sound wasn’t right. The lamb didn’t want to nurse at first and when it did Bea wasn’t happy about it.This photo is blurry because I must have smeared my iPhone lens while working with the lamb. When Bea finally lay down while trying to avoid me attaching the lamb to her teat I was able to get the lamb to nurse on the engorged udder. For a day or two I needed to halter her or just stand there. Bea and adopted lamb At this point Bea has completely claimed the lamb as her own. (The dead lamb’s skin is gone in this photo–I took it off the next morning.)We were impatiently waiting for Jazz to lamb. I was sure that she would have triplets because she was so huge. She surprised me with twins the day after Farm Day. They are 9.6 and 12 pounds. At that size it’s good there were only two of them.

More About Shearing Day

Posted on February 10, 2016 by Robin

I’ve written a couple of posts about shearing day already, but I have so many photos to share. As John worked through the main flock I brought in the sheep from other areas. The two ewes with two-week old lambs were shorn (last post) and then the three Jacob rams.This is the yearling ram, Rotor. IMG_8597 lilac and black rams A good comparison of a lilac Jacob (Nash) and black & white (Rotor). Rotor fleece This is Rotor’s fleece.They aren’t all spotted. This is one of the BFL-Jacob cross ewes.Lots of people help to make Shearing Day fun and easy for me. Kathleen weighed fleeces. DSC_5273-Stephany Stephany and Gynna wrangled sheep all morning.Alison and many others helped at the skirting table.People are welcome to skirt their fleeces before buying or ask for advice about fleeces.

It was a great day to stand in the sun with your hands in freshly shorn wool.One more ewe to be shorn and then it was Faulkner’s turn.His buddy, Jerry looked on. Faulkner weighed in at 235 lbs (down about 30 pounds from what he sometimes weighs in the summer). DSC_5387 Jacob fleece Fresh Jacob fleece. Faulkner's fleece Faulkner’s fleece.While the shearing and wool sorting was going on, friends were helping buyers in the shop. Farm Club group photo Later we got everyone (almost) to the barn for a group photo. That’s a lot of enthusiastic friends!

Celebrate Hug a Sheep Day

Posted on October 31, 2015 by Robin

Yes, it is Hug a Sheep Day and we’ll be celebrating it here at the farm. Anyone can join us. So that those of you who have never hugged a sheep can get a feel for this I thought I’d share some sheep hugging photos.

The photos above are all of Farm Club members. If you join Farm Club you will have plenty of sheep hugging opportunities.My granddaughter on a visit out here last spring. This is another cute kid, the age my granddaughter is now, at Fiber Fusion. Chickens deserve hugs too. And baby goats. Now we’re getting into the archives. This is my son about 10 years ago. Another sheep hug. Running with sheep. I love this photo. A couple of these girls are in college now.While I was searching photos I found this one. Doesn’t have to do with hugging sheep, but it’s two of my kids waking up in the dairy barn at the State Fair back in my dairy cow days. My mom drying off a newly born kid.But today will be all about hugging sheep.

Farm Club Appreciation Day

Posted on August 31, 2015 by Robin

I love my Farm Club, so I hosted a day just for them when there was no work (although Stephany came early just to help me stack hay in the barn), just food and visiting…oh, and party games. Thanks to Dona for all these photos. There is always good food when Farm Club does a potluck. No skimping on desserts. Kathleen shared her treasures from a recent trip to Russia that included seeing sheep and visiting with the shepherd in Gotland. Stephany charted an old Elizabeth Zimmerman pattern and is knitting it up in Imperial Yarn Company’s Columbia. Prizes were awarded to the winners of the party games. How many sheep pellets in the container? 660. Stephany seems stumped (or frightened) by the contents of the bag–things gathered from the barn. I had told everyone that there was nothing disgusting or dangerous.Mary shared the warp just off the loom. This is four towels from the Friendship Towel Kit supporting the Natural Dye Project in Guatemala. In the background is the preview of my big Estate Sale that will be over Labor Day weekend.

Farm Day – May 2015

Posted on May 9, 2015 by Robin

Where is Dona when you need her? As much as I like taking photos I don’t take very many on a Farm Day because I’m distracted. Seven Farm Club members were here this morning to help with some specific tasks.

We accomplished those easily all the while enjoying each other’s company. This is such a great group of friends First we caught all 76 lambs. We weighed all of them and vaccinated the older ones. We chose four ewe lambs and 4 ram lambs as the most likely options (narrowing it to 2 each later) for taking to Black Sheep Gathering next month. Because my flock lambs in March the lambs are still young and it’s hard to think who I might want to take to the show in June. We also caught the 4 yearlings who did not lamb this year to choose which of them I’d take and also to replace their lamb ear tags with larger easier-to-read tags. After we finished with the lambs I showed Gynna how to go about halter breaking lambs that she is going to take home with her in a few weeks.The birds were happy when we finished in the barn because then they had free access to their babies without worrying about all the people and dogs.

Timm Ranch wool ready for the mill

After lunch Kathleen, Gynna, and Peggy went to the barn and helped me change this pile into……this one. By sucking the air out of the bags with the shop vac we condensed that pile of wool into about half the space. That’s a much easier job with more than one person.

Ginny found an out-of-the-way place to sleep.Later this afternoon Dan put the mower on the tractor and I mowed the pasture behind the barn.

I’ve been trying to clean out the freezer and I found a turkey the other day. It’s in the oven now and I’m getting ready for turkey dinner (without all the trappings because that would take too much work).

Farm Club’s Annual Retreat – Day 2

Posted on February 11, 2015 by Robin

The first day of our Farm Club Retreat was rainy and windy–a good day to relax in the parlor of the Home. On the second day the sun was out and we had a plan. But first we gathered in the dining room for our traditional breakfast.

Some of the group decided to stay at the Home and continue with their projects and others went to the Asian Art Museum. Some of us decided to take advantage of the beautiful day and walk to the museum.That was a good opportunity to see some of the beautiful old houses in this part of San Francisco.First stop at the Museum was the Museum Store. In recognition of the Year of the Sheep there were plenty of sheep figurines and trinkets. Alison showed me how this Buddha Board works. You “paint” with a brush and water. The image takes a few seconds to be seen and then disappears as it dries. Alison described it as a version of an etch-a-sketch.

We didn’t have nearly enough time to see all that is in this museum. We split up as we wandered the three floors that hold art from 2000 years old to contemporary that represents all the Asian nations. I found myself focusing on finding sheep and horse images–at least a way to narrow my photographs. Not sheep, but labeled “A Goat Pen” from the year 25 to 220. Now that’s old!

Here is a beautiful “glazed earthenware” horse (618-906).

Bowl (1662-1722)“Horse with pack” (386-584).

There were a lot of other animals represented as well. Tiger netsuke (1675-1800) in ivory. Wikipedia says: “Netsuke [netsu͍ke] are miniature sculptures that were invented in 17th-century Japan to serve a practical function (the two Japanese characters ne+tsuke mean “root” and “to attach”)” Traditional clothing had no pockets so people used small containers hung around the neck with cords. Netsuke were decorative closures.

I love this one:Buffalo (1800-1900) in rock crystal, but I think my favorite piece of the day is this one:“Ewe with lamb” (1644-1911) in ivory.

After lunch at the museum we headed back to the home where we said our goodbye’s Some of us headed to Ribboneri, a store filled with any kind of ribbon you could possible want and some went to Lacis in Berkeley.

This was a great weekend and we already have a plan for next year!

Farm Club’s Annual Retreat – Day 1

Posted on February 7, 2015 by Robin

I think that this is Farm Club’s fifth annual retreat to San Francisco where we spend the night at the Home, designed by Julia Morgan and owned by the Native Daughters of the Golden West. If you search for NDGW in my blogs you will find photos of our activities during past retreats and of this gorgeous Home. We usually try to find a farm-related activity for Friday afternoon, but couldn’t come up with one this year. Since a big storm was predicted we decided that it was just as well to curl up in the parlor for the afternoon and evening with our spinning and knitting projects. And that’s just what we did.We arrived in the early afternoon from the North Bay, East Bay, South Bay and Solano and Yolo Counties. Since there were to be 14 (!!) of us for dinner we scoped out our favorite restaurant and the pie place (where we get pie for the next morning’s breakfast), were assured that there would be room for all of us at dinner, and returned to the Home (only a block away) to spin and knit for the afternoon.This is an example of one of the 30 rooms that can be reserved for NDGW members and their guests. Each room is decorated and maintained by one of the many “parlors” around the state.The rooms are on the third and fourth floors. This is looking down the stairway to the second floor. To the right is the dining room and a huge kitchen available to all who stay there. The atrium is directly across from the stairs and I found out on this visit that originally there was a glass pyramid in that area directly over the museum that is beneath. How wonderful that natural light must have been on the lower story. There was also decorative painting (I have just blanked on what that is called) on those columns and around the ceiling. To the left is the parlor where we spend our time socializing (albeit in pajamas instead of flowing gowns).We walked up Baker Street to Green Chili Kitchen……where we had an early dinner, which left us plenty of time for our evening of sitting around in the parlor in our pjs.There was a record 14 of us! Here are some of our projects:

Alene spun Teeswater wool. Amy began a knitting project with help from Shelby. Betty was knitting a shawl.Wandering around the room to take a stretch break from projects one can find all kinds of interesting things. This is from an oversize journal in which donations to the Home were recorded. “Wool” caught my eye here. Other donations included tea towels, dishes, and preserves. Look at that penmanship!

Carol brought spinning and knitting.Kathy set to work on deleting what may be an embarrassing number of emails that were bogging down her computer. She worked diligently on this all evening and made good progress.

Another break time with yoga for Amy and Shelby.I worked on the Zoom Loom and on spinning Raquel’s fleece, bringing far more than I could possibly spin in a week.Joy needlefelted a guinea pig.Polly worked on rug-hooking while Janis took photos and worked on her computer.

Another break. This is a book on the coffee table edited by John Muir.

Kathleen finished a handspun knitted sleeve. Only one more and a body to go!

Lisa spun and knitted. If you look closely you’ll see someone else also wearing sheep pajamas.

Mary knit a colorful sock.

Shelby knitted and……Stephany worked on a sweater. She is wearing a Jacob sweater that she finished last year.

Stay tuned for the Saturday adventures of Farm Club in the City.

Farm Day

Posted on December 30, 2014 by Robin

Shearing Day is coming up so next weekend and Farm Club members came Saturday to help get things ready. Dona took a lot of great photos and all of these are hers. There is always barn cleaning. A break for puppy-time.After finishing with the barn……it was time to preview fleeces. Mary made cards to be put into bags as the sheep are shorn and she recorded which fleeces were reserved by Farm Club members.