Farm Life

Farm life and loss

October 1, 2018 by amanda Leave a Comment

In our 4 years at the farm, we’ve definitely experienced loss, but today we’re experiencing something a little different. I just sold one of our animals for the first time, and I’m surprised by how similar the emotions are.

When we moved to the farm, we knew there would be losses. We inherited a flock of 15 chickens with the house, and they had dealt with recent deaths due to predators and poor health. On top of that, they had too many roosters for the flock size, so one of the first things that I googled was “what to do with extra roosters”. When I scrolled down and saw an article about a “killing cone”, Joe and looked at each other, wide-eyed, like “OMG. What are we getting ourselves into?!”

Once we moved in, we greatly reinforced the existing coop, bought a new (far more secure) coop, and then eventually built the giant coop/run that we now have. We managed to give away the spare rooster to the neighbors, so no killing cone was needed. Still, there have been deaths. Most were due to old age, but we’ve had a few losses due to predators too, and each one has been very sad.

Since we’ve dealt with these kinds of losses, I didn’t expect such sad feelings when I sold one of our llamas today. The reality is that we only wanted 1 llama for guarding, but we ended up with 2 because the llama that we loved also had a nursling, and it seemed wrong to separate them. Now that nursling is bigger than her mama, 3 years old, and ready to move to a flock of her own. Still, it’s hard!

I’m a member of a Shetland sheep Facebook group, and the topic recently came up about selling your sheep. I felt a bit relieved to see so many responses about feeling really sad when they go, even when it’s the right decision. One member said that they just try to remember how happy they were when they first brought home their sheep, and they remind themselves that they’re giving that feeling to someone else.

And on that note, the silver lining…. With one less (GIANT) grass eater, we’re starting to make room for lambing again next Spring. We have a few sheep to sell (that’s going to be even more sad!) but then we’ll be ready to welcome new life as well. (Bouncing baby lambs!) I guess this is just how the world works, isn’t it? There is death and loss… and there is new life and fresh beginnings. <3

Late summer days

September 7, 2018 by amanda Leave a Comment

As summer comes to a close, I thought I’d share a few scenes from our recent days. We’ve been canning, harvesting, spinning, bread making, and just trying to soak up the final bits of summer. I’m running another 50K race at the end of the month so I’ve been getting lots of time on the trails. I’ve made up big batches of bread and butter pickles, dilly beans (the ones above were just settling before I took the lids off) and tomato sauce. I’m working hard to get through this year’s wool and knitting up a storm.

This time of year is always bittersweet for me as the days get shorter and the leaves start to turn. Each year seems to pass faster than the one before it. Still, I’m loving all of the bounty and how green everything is. I’m enjoying every single run where I don’t have to be bundled up, knowing that soon I’ll be wearing 3 mittens on each hand. 😉

I hope that these harvest days are treating you well and you’re soaking up the sun! <3

Spring on the farm

February 10, 2017 by amanda Leave a Comment

I know, I know… It is still winter, but it is almost feeling like Spring around here. 🙂 Colorado has a weird way of teasing you. Today it is 80 degrees out, but tomorrow we’re expecting snow.

fullsizeoutput_15e5 — PeanutButter and Laurel

Still, here on the farm, we’re in full “Spring” mode. We’re clearing the garden and getting it ready, growing veggie and dye plants under lights in our sunroom, our sheep are pregnant(!), and plans have been made for incubating our Spring chicks.

Our rented ram, PeanutButter, just went back to his home after 2 months here on the farm. He is less than a year old, but he approached his job as a stud with MUCH enthusiasm. For the first few weeks, he hardly ate or slept because he was so focused on his task. Once his work was done, PeanutButter calmed down and spent lots of time in the pasture snuggling with the ewes and hanging out with our guard llamas. He learned that he really loves to be scratched, and the kids were so sad to have to send him home.

Some of my finished objects and WIPs for this year

Now that PeanutButter is gone, things are a little quieter around here. I’ve been working on decluttering a bit. As I organized my craft supplies, I realized that I had an embarrassing number of knitting WIPs on my needles. Now I am trying to clear at least one project off of my needles each week. So far I’m keeping up with my goal, which feels awesome. I’ve also cast on a bunch of new stuff, but we won’t talk about that for now. 😉

Finally, I’m getting back into the swing of training for my races this year. After finishing a 50-miler in December, I lost my running mojo for a while. Although I felt better than expected after the race, I just needed a mental break. The long hours of training in the months leading up to the race had left me a bit burnt out, and I needed to rediscover my love of running.

Now that it has been 2 months, I’m ready to get back into the groove of training. I signed up to run Leadville again, and my official workouts started on the 1st of February. My training runs have felt awesome, and it is so nice to have a fresh start.

In everything, I’m really enjoying the shift of seasons. The quiet that came in the darkest months, and the new growth that is starting as Spring draws nearer.