Jackson learning about irrigation Springtime at the Lamb Ranch has been very busy and very rewarding. It was still winter the last time I posted, and now snow is a distant memory. I got an early start (for me) on getting the greenhouse up and starting some seeds. Our helper, Jackson arrived in late March, and we put him to work right away. He got a lesson in driving the tractor, and learned about the irrigation system. We put him to work attacking weeds, which are plentiful in certain parts of the pasture. Since we don’t use herbicides, it’s a big job to dig up each one by hand, but in the end it’ s very effective. The areas that we have done over the past few years have almost no weeds any more. The remaining section is mostly mullein, which is easy to dig out, so by next Spring our weed work will be minimal.
Arrowleaf Balsamroot What a difference a year makes in the fire recovery! Last year (first Spring after the fire) the hillside among the burned trees was mostly brown, and although there were delicious morel mushrooms to be found, it wasn’t all that nice to look at. This year (second year after the fire), the entire hillside exploded in yellow balsamroot, which was impressive, but then we had an unexpected bonus of a lupine bloom. It went from yellow to purple. Big swaths of hillside just covered with brilliant color. And now instead of dull brown below the trees, it’s a carpet of green. Even though we miss our trees, we are really enjoying watching the transformation each year as the land recovers.
higher and higher... There was above average snow this winter, and everyone here was hopeful that would mean more water soaking into the ground and less fire danger. But the Springtime temperatures were above average, and it’s melting off very fast. All the streams and rivers started running high much earlier than usual. Our little creek that runs through the front yard started rising in mid-April. By early May it had come up onto the grass and we had to dig out the spillway and let it go over the driveway. It’s a nice feature that is leftover from the days when this property was a power generation plant, and it allows us to control the flooding really well. It peaked about a week ago and is slowly going back down now.
Our regular shearer, Martin, showed up right on schedule- first weekend in April- and got all 40 of our sheep sheared in just a few hours. He is such a pleasure to work with and we are grateful to have him. He had just returned from a trip to Australia where he got to shear with some world famous shearers. This year I had every fleece micron tested and was pleased to find that many of our yearlings had readings that were in the 26-29 range. There were three Romney/Cormo cross fleeces that were 24-26. I can hardly wait to wash them and see what they are like once they are spun.
Pearl and her triplets Shortly after shearing comes lambing, which started on April 14th. It was another very successful year. All the ewes lambed in a 10 day period, and we ended up with 23 little rascals. All healthy, with all good mothers. It’s the second year in a row with no bummers (meaning I don’t have to bottle feed any of them). There were only two singles out of the bunch, and the grand finale was a set of really nice triplets out of our veteran ewe, Pearl. She waited until the very end, and they were all nice big lambs. She had only had singles up to this point, so I was watching her carefully to make sure she would take all of them and be able to nurse that many. She proved to be just a wonderful mother. She somehow manages to keep track of all three, and they hang out together like a little tribe. Her bag is huge, and they are all getting plenty to eat. All of the lambs this year are from Manny, our Cormo ram, so next shearing should result in plenty of very nice fleeces.
The lambs were so cute this year that I couldn't resist posting a video of them racing around while their mothers were eating. I have more video on the Facebook page, too.
The lambs were so cute this year that I couldn't resist posting a video of them racing around while their mothers were eating. I have more video on the Facebook page, too.
Got an early start on the garden Once all the lambs were on the ground we were able to turn out attention to other things. The garden got planted, and we started getting the site ready for our new shop. We had to have a lot of fill dirt brought in to level it up, and it looks great. It’s going to be a bigger structure that the one that burned, and will include an enclosed garage, a workshop for tools and repairs, a small office space, a walk-in cooler for hanging meat, and an upstairs that will be used as a fiber art studio. We don’t expect to get it done completely this year but are hoping to have it framed up with siding and roof before winter. We will finish out the interior spaces as time and money allow. The main thing is that we will have covered space for our woodpile and other items that have been spending the past two winters outside under blue tarps.
Business has been good. On the meat side, we are almost sold out of all the available lamb for this Spring. We only have one left, and have started a waiting list for the Fall. Yarn sales have picked up considerably, too. Our local yarn shop, Twisted Knitters in Twisp, has moved to a storefront on Main Street, which seems to have been a good move. It’s only been a couple of weeks, but business is booming. I encourage any of my blog readers who are in Twisp to visit this delightful yarn shop. It's right across from the bakery, so you can indulge all of your appetites.
I am headed to the West side tomorrow to do meat delivery and pick up a new ram. He is a purebred Romney from The Pines Farm in Maple Valley. They sent me a picture of him and he is a very handsome fellow. I’ll be posting photos of him in the next installment, so stay tuned!
I am headed to the West side tomorrow to do meat delivery and pick up a new ram. He is a purebred Romney from The Pines Farm in Maple Valley. They sent me a picture of him and he is a very handsome fellow. I’ll be posting photos of him in the next installment, so stay tuned!
RSS Feed