I can start with the goals we are carrying over from 2016; the root cellar and other basement work, the mudroom, and the wool room.
The root cellar sounds like a pretty simple goal, but the section of the basement getting the root cellar has a dirt floor that is currently covered in black plastic. The plastic is a kitty magnet and they love to pee on it, right next to their litter boxes. But before we can get the floor poured there is some structural support work that needs to be done. The floor joists and main beam support are all undersized and need to be beefed up.
Our old Ford E150 van is nearing 190,000 miles and needs to be replaced. We love the van for it's versatility. We can put 10 foot boards in it and still close the back doors. It has served us very well when we go camping too. Ford, in their infinite wisdom, no longer makes the E series vans. Instead we could get a Sprinter type van that everyone we know who has one hates. 2014 was the last year for the E series vans so we have been looking for one in that year. But E150s are next to impossible to find. Looks like we might have to go with an E350.
My big gardening goals for 2017 are to have a flax plot and to give a quarter of my garden to my daughter so she can start a flower business. These changes, plus putting the chickens into another quarter of the garden, should make to remaining veggie garden much more manageable.
In the sheep world I really need to pare down my numbers of hair sheep. And I am building a business brand. LLC paperwork is ready to go in to the state. Next up is an EIN and business insurance. I am booked at my first fiber festival, in April, and have to get a booth ready too!
So we'll see how we go with all these goals. Hopefully we will do better than 2016!
Showing posts with label year in review. Show all posts
Showing posts with label year in review. Show all posts
Saturday, January 7, 2017
Sunday, January 1, 2017
2016 in Review
Wow, no blog posts for December. And we didn't fare too well on our goals for 2016 either!
The goals we actually met:
The ram hut for our boys for the winter was pretty smashed up by Elwood. It took a bit of work to get it back to a normal shape, but it provided nice shade and a place to get out of the weather during this hot summer.
The lambing jug I made from hog panels worked well. Now I need to figure out how to get more jugs set up in the barn since I have five ewes due in the third week of February.
Mama Sadie ended up in the lambing jug much longer than she should have been but she has a problem with letting ram lambs nurse. We would have to halter her so she would let her ram lamb nurse. Eventually she would stand still and let him if we just stood next to her and scratched her back.
The pasture seeding went well. The feed mill up in Kempton sells orchard grass and clover seed by the pound and my little seeder worked well. The pastures still need work though and I wasn't able to get any lime down this fall since it never went on sale. And when you need to by almost a 100 bags, a dollar off makes a difference.
The garage is basically finished. We still need to change the siding on the back and one side but that will get done when the rest of the siding gets replaced on the house.
And the rotting foot bridge was replaced. I can now get a wheel barrow across the stream without going around to the road.
The goals we didn't meet:
The garden was a complete bust this year due to the extreme heat we had. So no irrigation system was installed. The older I get the less I am able to tolerate the heat. Early mornings were the only time I could work outside and the garden was the loser.
The barn addition/wool storage room did not get built, but I wasn't really thinking that would get done. Another goal I didn't really think we would accomplish was the mudroom. We'll just tack these two goals on to 2017.
One goal I really did want to get accomplished was the root cellar. Again, another add on for 2017.
But we did accomplish quite a bit that was not on our list for 2016.
We managed through over two feet of snow in one day.
We continued to learn more about lambing and had a pretty successful season, only needing the vet once. But we did lose three lambs; one was sat on by her mother, one was stillborn or died at birth before I got there and one was my own fault for not feeling deep enough into the uterus looking for another lamb. We had out first Coopworth lambs born here on the farm.
We had our first visit with the shearer!
And I decided it was time I learned how to spin.
This whole fiber thing led to a collection of spinning wheels and fiber. And then there was the education on dyeing.
Alan learned about spinning wheel repair.
The grapes and raspberries got the attention they have been needing with the installation of the new trellises.
We welcomed Della to our flock!
So the year was busy and we did accomplish a lot of projects and we continue to grow the farm.
The goals we actually met:
The ram hut for our boys for the winter was pretty smashed up by Elwood. It took a bit of work to get it back to a normal shape, but it provided nice shade and a place to get out of the weather during this hot summer.
The lambing jug I made from hog panels worked well. Now I need to figure out how to get more jugs set up in the barn since I have five ewes due in the third week of February.
The pasture seeding went well. The feed mill up in Kempton sells orchard grass and clover seed by the pound and my little seeder worked well. The pastures still need work though and I wasn't able to get any lime down this fall since it never went on sale. And when you need to by almost a 100 bags, a dollar off makes a difference.
The garage is basically finished. We still need to change the siding on the back and one side but that will get done when the rest of the siding gets replaced on the house.
The goals we didn't meet:
The garden was a complete bust this year due to the extreme heat we had. So no irrigation system was installed. The older I get the less I am able to tolerate the heat. Early mornings were the only time I could work outside and the garden was the loser.
The barn addition/wool storage room did not get built, but I wasn't really thinking that would get done. Another goal I didn't really think we would accomplish was the mudroom. We'll just tack these two goals on to 2017.
One goal I really did want to get accomplished was the root cellar. Again, another add on for 2017.
But we did accomplish quite a bit that was not on our list for 2016.
We managed through over two feet of snow in one day.
We had our first visit with the shearer!
And I decided it was time I learned how to spin.
This whole fiber thing led to a collection of spinning wheels and fiber. And then there was the education on dyeing.
Alan learned about spinning wheel repair.
The grapes and raspberries got the attention they have been needing with the installation of the new trellises.
We welcomed Della to our flock!
So the year was busy and we did accomplish a lot of projects and we continue to grow the farm.
Tuesday, January 5, 2016
2016 Goals (and How to Build a Cattle Panel Structure)
2016 is here and I want to write down a plan for the year so I can visualize all we need/want to accomplish. Seeing everything we got done in 2015 was very eye opening; hopefully, we can be as productive in 2016.
In the farming realm, I need a larger shelter for the rams in the south pasture. We had the ram lambs there this summer and they did fine in the two calf hutches. But Mercer and Elwood are just too big to be in the hutches together. A portable temporary shelter was on my list of 2016 projects. Isn't it great when you write a list and can immediately cross something off? This past weekend we built a hoop house and covered it with tarps.
The larger calf hutch is on the right in the picture above. The new shelter, to the left, is made of an 8x8 frame and two cattle panels. Some bracing, front and back, help to stiffen the structure. A tarp across the back is secured with zip ties through the grommet holes and a couple of screws and washers through the grommets at the base.
The back is covered by an 8x12 tarp. The main body of the shelter is covered by a 12x 16 tarp, the front and back overlapping. On the back we threaded a piece of poly rope to pull it tighter and hold it on.
With the second tarp on and the hay rack and mineral trough mounted, the boys are all set for winter weather.
The rams have quickly gotten used to finding their hay in a new place. Elwood was a little territorial at first but is now OK with sharing the space with Mercer.
Four of my ewes are due the first week in March so I need to figure out a better system for lambing jugs. I have a couple of ideas inspired by systems I saw at the lambing clinic and Cornell's Sheep and Goat Symposium. Using hog panels to make smaller pens, approx 5x6, I figure with three or four extra jugs the sheep should be fine.
Our new pasture area in the upper pasture needs to be seeded and I want to over seed a lot of the other pastures. Need to find some bulk orchard grass seed.
We have been using a 250+ gallon water reservoir for rainwater collection off the barn. I have been using a hose to water the veggie garden and orchard. A gravity fed irrigation system would be very useful and a time saver. Most irrigation systems sold in catalogs assume a pressurized water system but I did find a few references to using a gravity fed system. This blog post has a great design and the system would easily work with my set up. So I am adding a gravity fed irrigation system for the main garden to the list of goals for 2016.
The barn addition we had built last year is supposed to have a corner turned into a storage/wool room. With all the other things Alan wants to get done, I see this as a low priority.
A carry-over from 2015 is finishing up the garage. The third bay needs doors. Alan is almost done with the side door. And I would like to paint the whole garage. That will give us an idea if we like the color palette we are thinking of using.
Our poor little foot bridge over the stream desperately needs to be replaced. We are still discussing plans though. We need to cross about 8 feet and also raise up about 2-3 feet. I want to be able to take the wheelbarrow over the bridge but also don't want it to be slanted and become slippery when it is wet or icy.
One big project I have been waiting a while for is my root cellar in the basement. One third of our basement still has a dirt floor and there is a perfect spot for a root cellar. There is a small window in the northeast corner for ventilation and the floor where the root cellar will go will remain dirt. The rest of the area will get a poured concrete floor instead of the plastic that is there now. We have a cat who thinks peeing on plastic is great. Before we can pour the floor though, the floor above needs to have new joists and supports placed. We'll probably find a bit of rotten sill while we're at it.
Alan also has plans to build the mudroom addition this year. That will give us a covered access to the garage from the house and a service entrance from barn and outside chores instead of right into the living room. The mudroom addition will also include a walk-in closet from the area that will become the master bedroom.
I think this is a pretty ambitious list so it will be interesting to see how much we accomplish and what else comes along that gets added.
In the farming realm, I need a larger shelter for the rams in the south pasture. We had the ram lambs there this summer and they did fine in the two calf hutches. But Mercer and Elwood are just too big to be in the hutches together. A portable temporary shelter was on my list of 2016 projects. Isn't it great when you write a list and can immediately cross something off? This past weekend we built a hoop house and covered it with tarps.
With the second tarp on and the hay rack and mineral trough mounted, the boys are all set for winter weather.
Four of my ewes are due the first week in March so I need to figure out a better system for lambing jugs. I have a couple of ideas inspired by systems I saw at the lambing clinic and Cornell's Sheep and Goat Symposium. Using hog panels to make smaller pens, approx 5x6, I figure with three or four extra jugs the sheep should be fine.
Our new pasture area in the upper pasture needs to be seeded and I want to over seed a lot of the other pastures. Need to find some bulk orchard grass seed.
We have been using a 250+ gallon water reservoir for rainwater collection off the barn. I have been using a hose to water the veggie garden and orchard. A gravity fed irrigation system would be very useful and a time saver. Most irrigation systems sold in catalogs assume a pressurized water system but I did find a few references to using a gravity fed system. This blog post has a great design and the system would easily work with my set up. So I am adding a gravity fed irrigation system for the main garden to the list of goals for 2016.
The barn addition we had built last year is supposed to have a corner turned into a storage/wool room. With all the other things Alan wants to get done, I see this as a low priority.
A carry-over from 2015 is finishing up the garage. The third bay needs doors. Alan is almost done with the side door. And I would like to paint the whole garage. That will give us an idea if we like the color palette we are thinking of using.
Our poor little foot bridge over the stream desperately needs to be replaced. We are still discussing plans though. We need to cross about 8 feet and also raise up about 2-3 feet. I want to be able to take the wheelbarrow over the bridge but also don't want it to be slanted and become slippery when it is wet or icy.
One big project I have been waiting a while for is my root cellar in the basement. One third of our basement still has a dirt floor and there is a perfect spot for a root cellar. There is a small window in the northeast corner for ventilation and the floor where the root cellar will go will remain dirt. The rest of the area will get a poured concrete floor instead of the plastic that is there now. We have a cat who thinks peeing on plastic is great. Before we can pour the floor though, the floor above needs to have new joists and supports placed. We'll probably find a bit of rotten sill while we're at it.
Alan also has plans to build the mudroom addition this year. That will give us a covered access to the garage from the house and a service entrance from barn and outside chores instead of right into the living room. The mudroom addition will also include a walk-in closet from the area that will become the master bedroom.
I think this is a pretty ambitious list so it will be interesting to see how much we accomplish and what else comes along that gets added.
Thursday, December 31, 2015
A Sheepy Year in Review
I love it when blogs do a year in review and a New Year's Goals post. So here is my year in review.
January:
Our first on farm lambings!
January was also the start of the demolition for the end bay of the garage.
February:
Lambing continued with our last sheep to lamb, Leda and ram 6.
Leda taught me a lot, and not about good things. She lambed with a very lopsided udder but raised one lamb just fine. She also had a problem with mites.
March:
Our first death and the pasture work began. The death of ram 3 is still full of questions, but as I have learned more over the year my number one differential is Barberpole worm infestation. At one of the conferences/workshops or possibly in a reading I found a reference to constipation as a symptom of barberpole worm infestation, which is exactly the way ram 3 started. At the first vet visit he did get an injection of ivermectin but injections don't work very well on the barberpole worm. I should have given him an oral worming med. Now I know to add that to the list of things to try.
Maddy and I also attended a lambing clinic which was terrific.
We started with the ongoing job of clearing pasture too.
April:
Another course, this time on FAMACHA, at DelVal College.
More work on the garage.
More pasture and garden work.
And the orchard was planted too, along with some help from the sheep! I am getting tired just remembering.
May:
Our feral cat had kittens!
The sheep went out grazing and learned about electric rope.
We learned how to scythe.
And the bridge was completed.
And we had a barn addition put up.
June:
We finally got a glimpse of the kittens!
Mostly just gardening and grazing.
July:
Brave kittens!
Flowers, flowers, and more flowers!
And harvesting in earnest.
August:
Our new Coopworth sheep, Hazel, Ruth and Elwood.
A new sheep chair.
More garage work, this time inside.
Taking down the tower in prep for the outside garage wall demolition.
Learning more about electric fencing.
September:
All the outside cats were trapped and neutered.
Work on the garage end wall began and ended.
And I got water in the barn!
October:
More pasture work.
Breeding began.
And Maddy and I went to the Cornell Sheep and Goat Symposium.
November:
The end wall is just about done.
Mercer came to stay.
December:
I've been a slacking blogger and there hasn't been much to blog about. We have a freezer full of lamb and mutton and have been getting ready for the holidays. Here's to a better blogging year for 2016!
January:
Our first on farm lambings!
February:
Lambing continued with our last sheep to lamb, Leda and ram 6.
March:
Our first death and the pasture work began. The death of ram 3 is still full of questions, but as I have learned more over the year my number one differential is Barberpole worm infestation. At one of the conferences/workshops or possibly in a reading I found a reference to constipation as a symptom of barberpole worm infestation, which is exactly the way ram 3 started. At the first vet visit he did get an injection of ivermectin but injections don't work very well on the barberpole worm. I should have given him an oral worming med. Now I know to add that to the list of things to try.
Maddy and I also attended a lambing clinic which was terrific.
Another course, this time on FAMACHA, at DelVal College.
May:
Our feral cat had kittens!
June:
We finally got a glimpse of the kittens!
Mostly just gardening and grazing.
Brave kittens!
Our new Coopworth sheep, Hazel, Ruth and Elwood.
All the outside cats were trapped and neutered.
Work on the garage end wall began and ended.
More pasture work.
The end wall is just about done.
I've been a slacking blogger and there hasn't been much to blog about. We have a freezer full of lamb and mutton and have been getting ready for the holidays. Here's to a better blogging year for 2016!
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