Replaced by a Baby

The big tractor has been replaced. Bill is not too happy to see the big blue monster gone but 40 horses was a bit too much for me now that we don't pull a baler or haybine. I can mow just fine with the new 30 horsepower model.I still have a bucket for manure moving. And I can get the jumper cables on without climbing in .It's the little things in life. Snow removal will be a bit chillier without the cab but it's NOT going to snow this year.....right???

Rhinebeck Next Weekend

It's my favorite festival. Potosi Sheep Farm will set up with Feederbrook Farm in our usual place in the horse barn at the NY Sheep and Wool Festival in Rhinebeck. Please stop by and say hello. BFL and Shetland products for everyone.

My beautiful new ram arrived today thanks to the largesse of my friend Dave who drove to WI to collect him for me. It is a new blood line here and hopefully will be instrumental in creating the perfect Bluefaced Leicester Flock. My flock is drastically reduced and many of my beautiful ewes have moved to new homes but I am determined to start over with the ewes I have left and create a smaller but more beautiful Bluefaced Leicester flock. Might be like making a silk purse out of a sow's ear but I can try. Who knows, with good rams and a good breeding plan it could happen.

Shearing

Since the fleeces were rain washed and really clean, Nathan came to shear. I am so lucky to have such an amazing shearer and friend. The fleeces are super clean but wet so they will set in the sun today to dry before being bagged for sale at Rhinebeck. Clean..no veg... they should sell.

On Sunday six these sheared ewes moved to lush pastures in Ohio. They have a great home with Lisa and Chuck Rodenfels but I really miss them. 17 adult BFL sheep left to breed this season. That's half of last year's number.

Plans A, B and C

Since I have become a one woman operation here at Potosi Farm, I am learning that shepherding is a constant mental and physical exercise. Plan A never seems to work. Last week, plan A for getting my sheep cage on the truck failed. So did plan B. Success came with plan C. Smugly,I returned to the house only to get a call that my son needed my truck to haul his mowers to a job. Yup, the cage was unloaded.

Last night Molly and I got the family room ready for the return of Dad,aka Mr. Bill.
Plan A got a sofa stuck in the front door. Plan B resulted in a bigger sofa stuck in the family room door. By this time it appeared that losing it was surely Plan C. When faced with stress and anxiety, psychologists tell you to remove yourself from the situation. Impossible with sofas stuck in the doorways. If I could have gotten to the workroom for a chain saw, sofa B would now be a sectional but luckily it's still in one piece. Molly came up with Plan D. This meant putting back both sofas and removing all my spinning stuff from the other side of the room to make space for the bed on the other wall. We pitched all my unfinished knitting projects still on the needles to the porch and piled multiple skeins and balls of roving on top of them. Five hours after starting the bed was brought down from the third floor and set up. Molly went to get the newly purchased pillows only to find that Tim's terror terrier had peed on them sometime during the chaos.

Elenor Roosevelt once said,"Like tea, a woman never knows how strong she is til she's in hot water". Well I am about to find out how strong I am when Mr. Bill comes home on Thursday. He is still unable to walk and is over 75% dependent on help. Looks like we are facing a lot of plans A,B and C. Til then I will be finding another place for the hugh pile of wool and knitting on the porch. Finishing some of those projects might be a good idea.

After weeks (it seems like more) of rain, my clean BFL sheep are pushing the gate to get in the barn. Usually I have my rams in by now but everything is a bit later this year.

Alone

Last week my husband went to rehab after being unable to walk for 3 weeks. Three days after getting him settled, I had to put our 13 year old farm dog down. Since Tim and Molly have both moved, Thursday night I came home to an empty house for the first time.It felt so strange.
Today, Lillian, my child care companion went to school full time. Miss Kathy's Fine Academy is officially closed. When I retired from teaching I said I would never do child care but along came Lillian making me realize that you never say never. Lillian added an element of excitement to my life. Every day was a new adventure. We went to see Thomas the Tank Engine, frequented every zoo within driving distance, went to the theater and the central market and the "wavy ocean" in NJ. Lillian would ask, "Where we going today?" each morning when she arrived. We made friends together at the library and enjoyed play dates with so many friends. Five fun years flew by with only a handful of bad days included. She is part of the family for sure. Upon graduation, Lillian, I hope I taught you to be spontaneous,sing in the car, feed sheep,laugh,be kind to others,admit mistakes without blaming others and say "I'm sorry", slide down slides,fish,read books and plant flowers (not petunias). Sometimes decorated cakes slide off plates, the dog eats your lunch, and going fishing doesn't always mean there will be a fish dinner. (That's what the fish market is for.) But rocking the dock when the fish don't bite makes up for being fishless. Every day is an adventure waiting to be enjoyed. Be creative and enjoy it.