Solstice Kidding

     Solstice Weekend at Hillspring was filled with Drama, Delightful guests and Delicious food. Let's start with the "Drama"--

    Our very pregnant yearling doe, Bella,  did not return to the barn on Friday night with the other goats.... which meant only one thing.... she had kidded in the woods. Instinct would keep her there because newborns would not be ready for the long walk to the barn. Husband Mark, weekend guests Katie & Alisha, and I each spent various segments of the weekend calling and searching for Bella on Saturday and Sunday.... all to no result. There was much thunder, lighting and rain during this time.... and we worried about whether kids could survive it or if coyotes had gotten them.... Or worse...did Bella die in "kid birth"?  Or was mother nature taking care of them in a protected thicket?

Proud Mama, Bella and little Bebop

      Late Sunday evening, Mark went to the barn to shut up the milk does for morning milking and there was Bella laying on the hay with her healthy beautiful boy kid beside her, 2 days old.  In keeping with our music theme, we settled on the name "Bebop".  He is a "looker".... a spotting pattern we have never had in our 5 years of raising goats. He is the first offspring of Ruben, a young Spanish/Nubian buck we got late last fall... so we are very pleased and looking forward to more of Ruben's "kids".

Papa, Ruben

Bebop, 2 days old

     On to the Delightful guests.... Alisha and Katie from Chicago overnighted on the hay in the barn and reported that the "accommodations were great". They both tried their hand at goat milking and took home 3 qts. of milk to make cheese. Also wonderful to have their hands in the garden where our abundant rains produce weeds as fast as they can be plucked. Weeding strawberries is a bit tedious, but the reward is obvious.... luscious mouthwatering berries.... from plant to mouth in seconds !



 
     Guests, Peter and Sarah, from Appleton joined us just in time for an evening garden tour, followed by  a Saturday night outdoor picnic with Hillspring lamb/beef sausages in tomato sauce, Chicago cold bean salad, sourdough bread with raw goat milk cheese and Rhubarb-Strawberry Pie. Delicious !

  
    

New Calf

   A weekend visitor friend spotted a new calf in our pasture. We only have 3 cows, so any calf is a big deal. With camera in hand, I trekked up to our high pasture where I could see the cattle grazing.
 
   They are the shaggy haired, long horned breed known as Scottish Highlands, whose origin is obvious from the name. The calves are teddy bear cute and I couldn't wait to see the new one.  I was quickly rewarded as the little red tyke had just gotten up from a nap. It saw me and started mooing for mom. At this point, I didn't know who the new mother was, but Helena revealed herself when she lifted her head in response to the mooing and started walking toward her new babe.

   While some mothers are dangerously protective of their newborns our Highland mothers are very gentle, especially Helena who loves to be petted and pampered.

   Sometimes it's diffcult to distinguish the sex of a newborn calf with all that fuzziness, but this little one showed off his "man thing" when he trotted over to mom. No question, "it's a boy" and his name is BUGLE.

Goat & Sheep "Chores"

   I've been thinking about the word "chore" which sounds like an onerous task. We talk about morning chores or evening chores, when in fact, these activities are a joyful part of farm life. My morning "chore" is spending time with my milk does as I "extract" delicious, healthy milk. This is a welcome meditation time. It gives me a chance to be focused and "in the moment". If I "flake off" and start thinking about something else... they remind me (a slight nudge or foot dance perhaps).... to bring me back to the present.... where the milking process is "the center of the universe".

   Champagne (in photo) is a first time mom and her milk is the favorite in our house because it is so creamy. Her twin daughters, Polka and Piano are nearly identical.
   

   Then there is the night "chore".... putting the kids way from the moms in a pen in the barn, so the moms will be ready for milking in the morning. The little kids know the routine and don't complain. I put a leash on them and they trot along and go into their sleeping pen... enjoying the comeradarie of each other. The moms seem relieved to have some time to themselves.

Kids, from left: Minor, Major, Baritone, Baroque
  

   When goat "chores" are done, I walk around and talk to the sheep, petting them and practicing their names, especially the 57 lambs. Having a theme helps me... I know most of them. Several usually want petting... Piccolo, Percussion, Alto, Organ, Solo, Soprano and Calypso are the friendliest. Calypso and Piccolo paw at my leg if I don't notice them right away. Tuba and Didgerdoo (see photo) watch shyly from a distance. Some adults--Wusong, Lutitium, Juniper, Loretta, and Whoopi  also get in line for special attention. And before I know it... an hour has passed... these dreadful "chores" are taking a long time ! Sigh.... guess I have to leave... dishes and laundry are waiting--these are the real chores ! On my way to the house, with sun going down, I finish "chores" by closing the chicken coop for the night and gathering eggs ....mmm ..... future omelets.

Knitted Baby Afghan & Puppet

Spring brings so much new life to my world, and for 2011 that includes a new grandbaby, "Elias Jose" (named for his Nicaraguan grandfathers)--due later this month. I just finished knitting him a crib afghan, using my Jacob (gray) and Tunis (white) millspun yarn. For additional colors, I dyed some of the white yarn with indigo for blue and marigold flowers for the earthy yellow.

Friend of mine said, "Babies like blankets with texture and little holes to put their fingers into". This afghan does both, so I hope Elias will like it. I used #9 circular needles, 126 stitches, and a 4 row pattern repeat called Old Shale Stitch, also known as Old Shell, or Feather and Fan which I found in the winter 1993 issue of Spin-Off magazine. If you would like the pattern specifics, email me.

Also knit a kitty puppet for Elias' six year old sister, Cuba Linda, who loves to play with our cat, Boots. Used the gray and white yarn to make a Boots puppet for her. Meow,  Linda Dee

Midnight Lamb Rescue

On the midnight shift, I was doing "rounds", and found Beryllium in a corner of the barn licking her freshly born Jacob ewe lamb. I moved her and the lamb into a jug. Decided to name the lamb, "Balalaika" and waited to see if mom would birth another one.

As I waited, I thought heard a distant lamb cry. So I went outside with my flashlight to check on the pregnant ewes. Most were quietly snoring. A few were munching on hay. I turned to leave and then heard a loud, wail, “Maaah ! Maaah ! Baaah, Baaah !”  

Momma BERYLLIUM

BALALAIKA

Turning my flashlight toward the pitiful sound, I saw a little lamb stuck in a pasture crevice behind a fence where it couldn't get out. I crawled on hands and knees under the fence and grabbed it--a sturdy boy with lots of pretty black spots. He was dripping wet and shivering. I took him over to the ewes and set him down. He wobbled towards them, looking for milk, but none of them claimed .

BANJO

SInce I had a new mother inside the barn, I scooped the babe up and took him in to see if it might be hers, or at least maybe I could convince her to accept him, so I wouldn't end up having a bottle lamb.  This must be done cautiously. If it isn't hers, she will know by smell and will butt him away.

I held the little ram lamb up to Beryllium’s nose and watched hopefully. She took one sniff and started licking him... Yes ! Balalaika has a twin brother.  Apparently Momma Beryllium left him outside, went to the barn to have her 2nd lamb and then forgot about him. But she's accepts him like he's never been missing and and lets him nurse, which he does eagerly--his little tail wagging with happiness to be where he belongs. I named him "Banjo".  Linda Dee

News from the Barn

Just in from the barn where I snapped this photo of a lamb being born. Laying under mom on the hay is her sister, born just 15 minutes before. Here's the scene... I arrive for an afternoon "barn check" and find mom, Rose (Rozay, like the wine) licking her first black babe, a big bouncy girl. I pick up the newborn and use it to lead Rose into a "jug" which is a birthing pen we set up for new mothers to have private space and bond with their lambs. I'm aware that Rose is still in labor and soon, this 2nd lamb, also a girl (ewe) pops out. I'm surprised & delighted to see both of these girls are black as their parentage is 75% Tunis. It remains to be seen if they will keep their black color or if it will change, like the red coats of purebred Tunis lambs.

In the next photo, Rose is eating the afterbirth while lamb is hunting for milk.

What shall we name these lambs? Naming is both serious and fun for us... Serious because the names give us instant data about the animal, including age and parentage. And fun because each year has a theme which must be broad enough to allow for choices for 60-90 names. Our oldest ewes are YinChen and WuSong from 2000 when the theme was Chinese. Other themes have included Trees, Rivers, State Capitols, Singers, Elements, Beverages, Movie Stars and for 2011: Music.
I'm naming these black girls: "Reggae" (rhymes with mother's name, Rose) and "Rhumba".

Here's a photo of our first lambs of 2011, another set of twins from a breed called Jacob. This is also a rare heritage breed... known for their black and white spotted fleeces, and 2-4 horns on both ewes and rams. "Piccolo" (girl) is in the lead, followed by her twin brother, "Percussion". They don't stand still for photos, so this is the best I could do.

And that's todays Barn News,  Baa Baa









 

Here goes... first post from Hillspring Farm.... we just started Lambing time here. These 4 Tunis cuties were actually born 3 years ago, but it's not every day I take a camera to the barn. You're looking at 3 girls and a boy... can you tell which one he is?  Wrong !  The little boy (Lead) has darker face and his twin sister Lutitium is "on top".

These lambs are born with the red coloring all over. Their fleece turns creamy white as they age, while their faces and legs remain red, giving the Tunis breed, it's nickname, "the Red Heads".

Here's one of our Tunis ewe lambs in September after her fleece changed color. First time I laid eyes on a Tunis, I fell in love with their large ears. Tunis are mellow, sweet sheep... easy to handle, a medium size with many traits that organic farmers, like us appreciate such as being good thrifty grazers. They are also prized by chefs and "slow food folks", being on the Ark of Taste. They are the oldest American land race of sheep, dating from the first "couple" to arrive from Tunisia in 1799.

Hillspring sheep not only provide quality meat, but also lovely wool for spinning and knitting.

Lambing is not all that's happening at Hillspring Farm... seed packets are arriving and garden log books from previous years are being consulted... when to start the first bedding plants ? Last year, I started celery & thyme on April 7th and noted that it was perfect... so for all you folks who start seeds in February... good luck with keeping them from getting leggy. I've done this and always regretted it. I like sturdy, fat plants, rather on the small side to eliminate transplant shock. Early April starting for the slower germinating, slower growing plants works best for me... and not until mid-April for peppers, tomatoes, brassicas and flowers. And that's my gardening tip for today. May all your seeds be blessed and abundant,  Linda Dee