Februrary Already?

Wow, it’s already the middle of February!  How did that happen?

Winter has come back to the farm.  The temps have been steadily dropping for the past 2 weeks.  Our 50 to almost 60 degree January days are gone.  They were a great break and made things much easier around here. Especially after going thru the second mini ice age.  It was so nice to have windows open, the furnace off, and no fire burning.  The flip side is that it was also very dry and that is going to make the coming warmer months pretty sketchy.  Our drought is getting worse and I fear for the coming fire season and what that will bring.  I did wake up to 2” of snow this morning, and it’s already melting.  I’m not seeing it run off down the driveway, which gives me hope it’s actually sinking into the ground. 

One of our spring, summer and fall jobs is going to be thinning the trees on the place. Near as I can figure, the last time the place was logged was over 30 years ago.  This will serve several goals for us here.  One, it will open up more grazeable pasture space for the sheep.  Two, give us firewood for probably several years. Three, since trying to re-fence this place is very much out of the budget, the saplings will be laid up against the existing fence to keep the naughty’s from leaving.  Fourth, it will remove the fuels and, hopefully, drastically reduce the fire danger. All good things!

Michael and I already started on the south side of the pasture.  I was able to find a really nice 6” battery powered chain saw that has allowed us to already start felling some of the saplings that have sprung up in big bunches.  Once we get them cleared out, it will be easier to go after the bigger trees with the regular chain saw and that will be the basis for the firewood.  This will be by necessity a multi-year project I am sure to get the whole property cleared out to a more manageable level. 

I’ve been eyeballing the cedar trees on here and there are a bunch that would make good fencing posts, and I might be able to find a market for them.  They would bring in some decent income for me.

All the sheep are doing good, putting on a bunch of wool, and every weekend has turned into coat changes for them, along with hoof trims.  I’m not changing the whole flock at once, but we do 3-4 on a Saturday before my back is hurting too much to keep bending over to trim them.  Getting old and full of arthritis sucks!

Miss Lucy is still going strong, even though her arthritis is making her hurt this week with the storms coming in.  I do so feel her pain in more joints than one.

The predators have been moving around again.  So far, I’ve seen a bobcat, coyotes, a fox which I’ve not seen here before this year, and a neighbor down the road found mountain lion tracks in their yard.  It’s good for their lives that they are leaving the sheep alone.  We have a bunch of rabbits around and I’m sure they are snacking on them instead.  This new snowfall will let me know what, if any, are moving across the pasture that are avoiding the game cams.  No new tracks this morning, and we have more snow coming in tomorrow also.

Action shots from the great beyond

Our monthly fiber play day is coming up on the 24^th.  It looks like it will be a pretty full house.  A new to the group lady is bringing an antique spinning wheel for us to see and help her get back into working order.  The local FFA/ag teacher contacted me about a few of her students wanting to learn the fiber process.  And another lady who is raising Valaise Black Nose sheep is looking to learn so she can use her fiber also.  My tiny house is going to be full to overflowing!

I’ll be making one of my favorite 18^th Century recipes to share with everyone and I’ll be sure to make a post about the recipe, so stay tuned for that one!!  No I’m not going to spill the beans about what it is beforehand. 

The flu went thru the house over the past week.  I got it first and now Michael is dealing with it.  I haven’t had the flu in about 20 years.  It was not fun then and it’s not fun now.  I am feeling better finally.  It’s tough when all you want to do is sleep, and still have to go out and do chores several times a day.  They are not kidding when they tell you that ranchers don’t get a day off!!  It’s also why I didn’t write last week.  I just didn’t have the energy or gumption to do it. 

It is also going thru the store I work at, and I was called in over the weekend to cover for others that were sicker than me.  Basically most of my town has it at the moment. 

Well my friends, it’s time for me to venture outside and do a sheep check, and try to figure out something to make for dinner.  I hope you all have a wonderful and blessed week!

Blessed Be!