Random Farm Photos – Yesterday

Posted on November 25, 2025 by Robin

This morning I shared photos of our grazing set-up now that it’s one year after the big project began. I just looked back through my blog and found this post when we seeded. That was November 19, just hours before we had a lot of rain. A lot has happened in a year. This winter it feels like a whole new experience because prior to this project I would not have been grazing in late November and would be waiting for spring.

Yesterday about noon I walked out to check the fence. Some of the sheep were on their way in.

This is the corner of the new paddock I’d just set up. I think I mentioned something in previous posts about acquiring five new sheep. This is one of the three Corriedales, so far named Corri 1, Corri 2, and Corri 3. Yeah, not very creative. This is Corri 3…

…and she is one of my best friends.

Sparky is another.

I have been taking photos of individual sheep to update the pages on the website. I have updated this page with the current ewes, but haven’t included all the new photos yet. The ewe in this photo is Ophelia, a yearling.

I also took photos of new lambskins yesterday. I stopped in the middle of writing this to list them here.

The hedgerow project wasn’t completely finished yesterday. I found more cardboard and cut it up for the remaining 19 plants and added more straw. We hadn’t got them all watered yesterday so I brought out a wagon to haul more water at one time.

I finished just as the sun went down.

In the evening I jumped on Zoom for my final Basics of Bark Tan class presented by Traditional Tanners where I have had the latest sheepskins tanned. This is leather I made from deerskin! I highly recommend this class. It is very well presented and a lot of fun!

Visitors at the Farm

Posted on April 18, 2025 by Robin

It was a busy over the last week. (Well, it’s always busy, but last week I was scheduling other people into the routine.) On Friday I hosted a field trip of 26 third graders as well as a few other visitors. On Saturday Kira K led a Knitters Retreat, and on Tuesday about 15 homeschoolers visited. These aren’t great photos but I said I’d take photos where the kids are mostly not recognizable.

Jade is in the middle of all those kids and loving it!

These two were glad to have me take photos. The fifth grade boy taught himself to needle felt watching YouTube videos! He came here to buy fleece for his next project and is ambitious enough that he plans to wash the fleece and then felt with it.

Two people from Kira K’s Knitters’ Retreat. A big part of the retreat is going to the barn and cuddling lambs. That’s Sparky on the left and another lamb I’ve been partially bottle-feeding.

Sparky getting her 1 p.m. bottle.

Kira describing the knitting and crochet patterns the attendees were given.

The weather was great and everyone sat outside at the picnic tables the whole day.

Here are some examples of beginning the knitted cowl. These are both naturally dyed Timm Ranch yarn. The yarns are dyed with cosmos, madder, and hollyhock.

Tuesday’s field trip. That’s Jade again.

And here is Sparky.

Kirby Says Goodbye

Posted on August 9, 2023 by Robin

The day after I got back from Black Sheep Gathering in June my granddaughter started her visit with us. She had traveled to California from Texas with her other grandparents who live nearby and was with them for the first week. Since then she has mostly been here, but visited in town with the other grandparents and cousins periodically. Kirby was eight when she got here but had her ninth birthday last week during the fair.

It has been seven weeks that Kirby was here with us. I wrote about some of our adventures in previous posts, but most of the time was spent here at the farm.

Kirby had a birthday party with her cousins at the other grandparents’ house and got plenty of presents. But last week a birthday present came from Aunt Kaleena and Uncle Matt. It was a box of three Squishmallows. She had received one from her Great Grandmother a few days before. Kirby was thrilled. I was amused at how she used books and boxes and cloth napkins and towels to set up a dining table for the Squishmallows. She found small dishes in the kitchen and fed them all lettuce with ranch dressing. She spent quite a bit of time feeding them and the next couple of nights brought them to the dinner table to share her dinner.

It’s a good thing there is a queen size bed so they all could fit.

Matt told Kirby that if she left one here when she went back home he would take it on adventures for the rest of the summer and send her pictures. Matt supervises air attack watches over wildfires from the air so we will all look forward to hearing about these adventures.

The time came for Kirby to return home. It was a long wait while her dad was on the road.

We got in a couple more walks across the road.

She spent time with her favorite sheep. They are everyone’s favorites because they are so tame. That’s Jade in the middle. Her daughter, Hazel is near the gate and Hazel’s 2023 lamb, Harry, is in front. Harry was turned into such a pet by Farm Club members that I made him a wether. Kirby picked all the leaves she could reach to give them treats.

Even the goat, who can be somewhat intimidating, got goodbye scratches.

Hazel and Jade were joined by Lavender.

Now Harry is back in the mix.

A last hug for Jade.

Alice, one of the family dogs, made the trip from Texas.

One Special Sheep

Posted on April 11, 2018 by Robin

I’ve had tame sheep before, but not like Jade. I always bring her out when we have field trips and let her loose with the kids.

She stands still when kids are all around as long as she is being petted. She lets people touch her horns when I tell them to feel how the horns are warm at the base and cool at the top.

Jade and Lisa-13 Now I find out that she likes watching videos with friends. Jade and Lisa-16 “Don’t you like watching videos with friends?” Jade and Lisa-15