Farming in the shade

Every year like clockwork we take soil samples. And we have a soil consultant interpret and make suggestions as to what to add to the soil to make the whole system work better. It's one of those crazy expenses that we refuse to cut back on, no matter how tight things are. It's That Important. Both people and the soil can be lacking in certain minerals, or out of balance in some way. Just as you might take vitamins to  help with a nutritional deficiency, so also we add things to the soil. A few weeks ago, The Farmer spread some gypsum and other minerals on some hayfields. The gypsum is a dusty business, so he chose a day that was pretty quiet. The spreader mounts on the back of the tractor and just slings the product every which way. The product in the spreader looks a bit clumpy because it was purchased a year ago, and sat in the barn for lack of time.

We've been without the internet for a week or so (during which I did my best impression of a techy-type, and no one was fooled). And quite honestly, I've been unable to keep up the bloggy pace, even when we do have internet. Too busy "doing" to do much "documenting". About 3 weeks ago we decided to separate the lambs from their mothers. They were big enough to be weaned, and if the ewes are to be bred this fall (and they are), they need a bit of a break from nursing to get back into top condition.  We've learned over the years that it is easier to set up fence lanes when we move the sheep a long way. It's easier in the long run than chasing them when they go where we don't want them to. Notice the non-herding dog in the lower left side of the photo. We love her, but she's useless. Things went as planned, and soon everyone was in the sheep barn.  The sheep barn has great holding pens, and a chute that helps us handle the ...