Snow in October

At least the Shetlands enjoyed the fallen branches.

Never Say Never...Again

This is getting to be an ongoing theme around here as I take over more of Bill's jobs. Last week, when the lightbulb in the refrig blew out I thought no one would notice that there was no food. Darkness and placing veggies on the front of the shelves worked for a while but I was busted when Molly came home. I had been feeding us on local veggies and natural purchases from the Amish market but it really was time for me to bite the bullet and go to the supermarket. Why did Bill like this job?

The large unidentified usurping plant that was growing (and growing) in my Hazelnut tree had to go. All summer I begged for someone to chain saw it since that is another tool I seldom have used. Well, we have this tool called an alligator. It's like a mini chain saw only easier to start. Timber. It worked well on the invading species. Why didn't I do this sooner?

Mice. Never would bait a trap or empty one. Gross. Bill's job. Well with the Fall invasion of the wee beasties it was trap time. The second one popped the trap and landed on the stovetop. I told Bill I was going to turn the burner on and serve mouse on a plank for breakfast. He never has enjoyed my humor but now he can't run away before the punch line. Love a captive audience!

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.