Skip to main content

This is January?

Crazy weather. Our part of the world is known for snow and endless gloomy days at this time of the year. Yet today I have jeans and rugs drying on the line. And it is Day 9 (in a ROW) of sunshine.

The Farmer is taking advantage of the nice weather to do jobs that are much harder in the snow. (He's spurred on by the weather report of an impending snowstorm.) He moved three piles of skids around to the back of the sheep barn, so they won't be in the way on Shearing Day. We put skids (or pallets) under the hay stacked in the barn. Hay stored directly on a concrete floor molds from the excess moisture in the floor.

He moved load after load of compost from the compost building to the storage/finishing pad. He filled up all the feed barrels with oats and corn, to make daily feeding easier.

We really should be working on bookkeeping (in preparation for taxes). But we just can't bear to do unpleasant indoor jobs when the weather is so nice!
Labels:

Comments

  1. MulchandmoreJanuary 11, 2012 at 3:17 PM

    Read this then followed a link that led to your pictures of last feb. snows. Big difference, but it's Michigan. We'll have to enjoy our sun while it's here (and hope it doesn't snow in June:)
    Up North here we have snow cover but not enough to keep snowmobilers happy.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Bloggy Giveaway--Now Closed

**This bloggy giveaway is now closed** Thanks to all who participated and gave such great comments. Janette is the winner of the $15 gift certificate to our etsy store . I'm participating in the Bloggy Giveaways Quarterly Carnival . Click the link to go to the carnival where you can enter to win literally hundreds of things. The good news is that even if you have no time to play on the computer trying to win hundreds of things, you can still enter to win one thing right here. This week, I will be giving away a $15 gift certificate to be used toward the purchase of an item in my etsy shop . This contest is open to residents of the United States or Canada only. The winner will receive free shipping on whatever item they choose. Items in my etsy shop include handwoven rugs, wool yarns and roving from our farm, and the ever-popular cotton dishcloth! To be entered in this wonderful drawing, you must go to the etsy shop and look around a bit. Then come back here and type a comment that ...
132 comments
Read more

Haying 101

A few posts back, "deep end of the loom" (love that name!) asked me to tell a bit more about the haying process. If you want my version, read on. If you'd like to read the official wikipedia version, click here . Haying happens in three steps: cutting, raking and baling. This process takes several days, as the hay must be dry when baled. Moist hay molds and heats up and has even been known to spontaneously combust, burning down the barn. Gotta have dry hay. This first photo is of our haybine. The haybine not only cuts the hay, it also crimps each piece of long grass in several places, to allow for faster drying. We usually cut hay in the early afternoon, when the dew is gone. When we're done, long row of cut grass lie waiting. The hay is allowed to dry for two to three days, depending on wind and sun conditions. Obviously, the more wind and sun the days hold, the quicker the hay will dry. When we feel like the hay is nearly dry, we go out with the rake. There are diff...
1 comment
Read more

This Giveaway Is Now Closed!

Today starts a giveaway at Farming in the Shade! I am happy to contribute this complete hat kit (needles not included) to someone who has a knitting obsession and a small person in their life. Here are the rules (contest open to US or Canada residents only): Giveaway ends May 1 at 9 p.m. EST. Winner will be announced by Sunday, May 3. Enter by posting a comment on this blog post. Tell me something about your knitting--who taught you to knit, your favorite yarn, the coolest thing you ever knitted. Make sure you leave contact information! Earn extra entries by: 1) Following me on twitter. (If you don't know what twitter is, don't worry. It's another way to waste your time on the computer.)  Add a comment here so I will count it as one entry. 2) Tweeting this giveaway (no more than once daily). Add a comment here so I know you did it. 3) Blog about this giveaway. Add a comment (with link) here so I can go visit your blog. 4) Follow or subscribe to this blog (or tell me if have...
45 comments
Read more