October 2022

Fall has arrived on the farm


The air has shifted, bringing in cooler weather and shorter days, Autumn has arrived on the farm. This is the time of year when we take a deep breath in and reflect on the long, busy spring and summer. In many ways, the fall and harvest are our new year, a chance to reflect and rest. In the early fall, we round up the sheep and divide them into different groups before shearing and breeding, and they stay in these groups during the harvest and breeding season. Shearing is our wool harvest, which occurred earlier in the fall and we have started to prepare the fleece in the mill, which is exciting.
As we harvest the lambs we divide up the flock into different breeding groups, looking towards the next spring and the lambs that will be born, they will stay in these groups until we are satisfied the group is bred. Once breeding is over, we will join the different groups together and start the daily routine of feeding hay to the sheep in the morning and evening. The sheep are also blessed with an abundance of veggies from our friends at Open Hands Farm, and apples from our neighbors. This added food provides essential nutrients and minerals for the sheep, ensuring good strong lambs and lovely fleece. 

As the days get shorter and we retreat into the house for warmth, we are able to return to our crafts. Jake has taken to weaving, and you will find many of his beautifully woven scarves and rugs listed for sale on the website. I am finishing my second sweater (I am on sleeve island right now) and am ready to cast on some mittens next. I haven't spent as much time as I would like to, at my spinning wheel. I have been spending a good chunk of my week learning to make yarn on the machines and by the end of the day, the last thing I want to see is a drafting zone! (Ha!). We also find that the fall gives us a chance to return to slow-cooked meals filled with sweet earthy root veggies and rich juicy meats. My new favorite meal is roasted veggies with sliced rosemary and garlic lamb brats on top! Mmm delicious.
Make sure to check out the website for meat, we have added cuts of lamb meat for sale, as well as lamb brats!
I hope everyone is snuggled up in a warm wool blanket, sipping on hot tea, and dreaming about dinner as you read this.

A word from the flock

Hello!  I am the newest addition to the farm!  My name is Ranch and I am a blue heeler puppy, or as many people call me, a cattle dog.  My previous owner just couldn't keep me, and thankfully they knew about this farm because of a thing called "yarn" and "knitting", or at least that is what I heard.  My first name was Blanch, but the shepherd lady said it made her think of something called the "Golden Girls" too much and she "just can't do it" so they named me Ranch.  I have been learning all about the sheep on this farm.  Right now they have sheep in three different places, the lamb rams, or "freezer camp group" is grazing on the large hay field.  The other group is down the hillside with the one Opal calls "Nightmare" a four-horned Jacob ram and the last group is in the woods eating the apples that drop from the trees.  
I sure do like it here on the farm, or technically, the ranch.  I play all day with Pepper, the other heeler dog.  Theo, the older corgi, tends to sleep all day and yells at me if I take his bone.  Every day, sometimes twice a day, we go for walks in the woods.  During these walks I get to run, smell, jump, and most importantly eat some sheep poop when no one is looking.  They also have chickens and other birds on this farm, I like to run to the chickens and watch them flutter around.  They sure are silly-looking things.  The man with the beard says there are too many roosters on the farm, and soon they will have chicken soup!  I hope I get to have some of that soup.  
In the evenings, I enjoy chewing on a variety of things I should not be chewing on.  Sometimes I get away with it, most often I do not, but I am a puppy and that is my job!  Chew on things, sleep and play, and sometimes go potty in the house.  Oh and look cute. 
I am very glad I can call this place home, it is a perfect life for a heeler dog.  

The dye garden that won't end, and the mill

Woolen Mill

This past summer we grew the farm not only in the size of the flock but also in the mill.  As many of you know I participated in a successful Kickstarter campaign to expand the mill.  After the campaign was completed, the funds purchased all of the milling equipment needed to take my current end product, roving, and turn it into yarn.  Unfortunately in July, it was clear that the partnership that was Norn Sisters Woolen Mill was not going to continue.  In early August we voted to dissolve the LLC and have been working together to wrap up the business, which has been a long process.  During this time I have been learning how to use the new machines with some of the blends I created, spinning yarn on a larger machine is not easy and takes a lot of practice!  My goal is to start turning the Kickstarter rewards into yarn early next month, ensuring everyone who invested in the mill sees a return on their investment. 
Thank you to everyone who invested, please know your money was not wasted and I fully intend to make good on our promise.  If you have any questions about Kickstarter, please reach out.  Moving forward Norn Sisters will no longer be used, I have created my own brand for the fiber products which will be on all of the new products going forward.  
The dye garden which is part of a SARE grant has been doing really well!  This morning I picked more flowers even though it was only 30 degrees.  It seems these cold hardy plants live up to their name and reputation.  We still have loads of woad, weld, and chamomile. With the abundance of dye plants, we were able to use the dried flowers to make our newest, and soon-to-be-released Shepherds Share!  This share is full of beautiful fall colors and is made up of some of my favorite blends, Blue Face Leicester with Mohair and/or Alpaca!  Dreamy!  This share is a collaboration between myself and Trinity from Petal and Hank, we will release the boxes on November 5th at the Fall Fiber Festival.  If you haven't gone to this festival make sure to check it out, it is one of my favorite ones.  https://www.facebook.com/FallFiberFest/
This month we are also teaching an in-person Spin with Ewe at Nash Lake Farm, focusing on two fiber types and how they change with the addition of different spices (mohair, angora, alpaca).  This is a great opportunity to learn about how different percentages of additions change the feel of the spin and the end garment.  Make sure to check it out if you are interested in taking your spinning, and blending to a new level.  Nash Lake Farm also has a new website! Make sure to check it out for all the cool classes and events that are going on at this beautiful farm.  https://nashlakefiberfarm.com/

Lamb meat

I love fall and winter for all the amazing things you can cook that help heat up the house.  Some of my favorite meats are leg of lamb, lamb and roasted veggies, and lamb stew.  We understand that not everyone has space in their freezer for a whole or even half lamb, and we are thrilled to be partnering with a USDA butcher in the area to provide lamb cuts for our customers!  Make sure to check out the lamb meat page to find shoulder steaks, chops, ground lamb, and lamb brats!  We allow on the farm pick up, and if you pool with friends we will deliver multiple orders to the cities or surrounding areas.  
Leg of lamb is a perfect substitution for a turkey or ham during holiday meals, we are able to offer them in two different sizes to meat (har har) the needs of our customers.  Braised lamb shanks over garlic mashed potatoes makes for a perfect, easy crock pot meal that will "stick to your ribs" as they say.  Just the other evening I tried stuffed delicata squash with ground lamb and wild rice, it was so good and will be a regular dish going forward.  
Take advantage of the amazing fall vegetables this season, and be sure to add some local, grass-fed, meat to the plate.  

As always, thank you for reading this far! I hope to see ewe at a class soon!

Theresa, Jake, Padruig, Opal, and the whole flock.