Sensitive Sheep in the Vineyard


Yes, it’s okay. The sheep are supposed to be in the vineyard. As you can probably see, the grapevines haven’t yet budded out, which is why they look so awful and scraggly. So we let the sheep in to graze down the grass, which will set it back considerably, thereby delaying the day when I must start mowing the vineyard. This is called sustainable agriculture—mowing with a munching sheep instead of a machine.

But let’s zoom in a little closer on the lead sheep.



This is Orange Tag #3, who was a bottle lamb, so she likes me. Notice the bulging sides. #3 is approximately 4/5 of the way through her pregnancy. This last month, those little fetuses are growing like crazy, and it’s really starting to show.

I sat down in the pasture the other day with #3 and tried a little girl talk.

“So, #3,” I said cheerfully, “you’re as big as a house.”

She made a rude noise.

I tried again. “Well, it’s just that you look like you’ve swallowed about five basket—”

She snorted, since I guess she’d heard that one before.

“So I’m guessing you don’t like the one about buns in the oven, ‘cause you have, like, a entire tray full.”

To describe her glare as withering doesn’t even begin to do it justice, so I made the universal ‘my lips are sealed’ motion.

We sat there for a number of minutes, not making eye contact, watching the grass grow.

Finally, I sighed. “I don’t know about you, but I’m finding this pregnant pause uncomfortable.”

#3 got to her feet with a groan,and walked away, probably reviewing all the ways she'd like to hurt me.

‘Tis a lonely life for a shepherd when her sheep have lost their sense of humor. We can only hope it will be restored when they give birth.

T minus twenty-three days and counting before the beginning of the 2007 lambing season.

Fiber Fanatic Finds Favor with Farm’s Fleece

We never thought our wool was much good, so we stuffed it into massive bags the shearer provided, stored the bags in the barn, then every few years all the shepherds in the area rented a semi and shipped the bags off to a mill, where the wool was turned into carpeting.

Enter an enterprising Hit By a Farm fan with an addiction to fiber. Sherry spins like a crazy woman, and offered to turn one of our fleeces into roving and yarn. Much to our surprise, she pronounced the roving lovely, and the yarn wonderful. Who knew?

So this year we put some of the individual fleeces in their own bags, and are going to give this whole fiber thing a try (not hand-spun by me, however, unless lumpy yarn becomes trendy....) Even as we speak a nearby fiber mill is making roving from #75-101's fleece, and yarn from the fleece of three lambs.


So, for you fiber fanatics, we’re open for business.

We’re selling the fleeces for $6/pound (they’ll weigh in at 6-7 pounds each). A bunch of us skirted the fleeces on shearing day, but didn’t have a clue what we were doing, so you’ll want to re-skirt. At least we knew to get all the poop out. There is some vm (that’s vegetable matter for you non-fiber folks), but it isn’t too bad.

We’re selling the white roving. How much? Acckk! Don’t know. You tell me.

We’re selling the yarn, which will be light gray or light fawn, and packaged in skeins of 200 yards. How much? Acckk! Don’t know. You tell me.

Good thing my writing skills are better than my marketing skills, huh?

(Let me know what you think either by commenting here, or emailing me through www.risingmoonfarm.com)


(Photos taken by Don Pitlik, www.d-charles.com)