Lambs in the snow

Well it is lambing season here at the ranch yet agan.  We have been working towards creating a self cycling lambing system that will produce lambs year round.  We specifically chose the Katahdin breed for their natural tendency to breed so prolifically.  Eight of our ewes have lambed since December and we have 14 little [...]

Harvest time

While fall is definitely my favorite time of year it is also our busiest.  All the big farm chores that we have put off all summer in favor of day at the lake or a trip to the mountain to pick berries or ride horses have suddenly become very pressing.  All our winter wood must [...]

Grass Conservation on the Ranch

As a sheep ranch we are constantly aware and adjusting the grazing patterns of our flocks.  Free grazing on large bodies of land seem to be a good idea at first.  One would think that a relatively small flock set out on a large parcel of land would have a minimal impact on the plants [...]

Next step

After the initial application process is completed – basically it is simply your intent to enter the program.  Then the next step is to determine which program would work best for your particular situation and to evaluate the scope of work.  This process involves an on site visit from one of the NRCS personnel.  Our plans [...]

Hay!

Late summer and the heat is here with a vengeance!  Temperatures down in the valley are reaching 109 and here on the ranch it is a throbbing 93 in the shade.  The saving grace is the constant light breeze and theoh so pleasant lake just down the road.  After a long hot day working on the [...]

Is it a good washboard?

I recently had a conversation with my husband regarding the quality of our new washboard.  My husband is of the mind that our washboard isn’t a good one and I agree – the legs are much too short.  As a little girl I am sure I didn’t imagine a day when I would become a [...]

vacation?

Do farmers take a vacation?  Not often!  We recently planned a family vacation to Hawaii only the family couldn’t go.  Someone had to stay behind and mind the animals.  So my husband elected to remain at the farm while the boys and I spent 8 days in Maui.  Granted my husband spent a lot of [...]

Skateboarding Farmer

My husband isn’t what one would call a stereotypical farmer.  In fact he despises any stereotype so much, he goes out of his way to not fit in.  Repeat any of the popular buzz words to him and you can see his spine visibly stiffen….  them’s fight’n words. He really hates it when I talk [...]

Flock building

We recently took a trip to the Seattle/Tacoma to explore some marketing options.  We are new at this marketing game and were hesitant to invest heavily in growing our farm too fast if there really wasn’t a customer base to support the growth.  So we sent out some feelers and were exploring some options.  We [...]

Sustainable Farming

Why are there so many buzz words related to farming these days.  When I was growing up the farmer was the slack jawed, overall wearing, grass chewing good ole boy that no one wanted to date.  Today, the farmer has stepped into the spot light.  We are no more reliant on the farmer for our [...]