Farming in the shade

In preparation for Shearing Day, we set the shop up to house all our products and 3-5 demonstrators. This year we had people demonstrating needle felting, spinning and sock knitting. Most of the 500 visitors who came also took the time to walk down the driveway to the shop to see the demonstrators and the wool (and other farm) products we have for sale.  This barn was the original chicken coop on the farm, and a few years ago we took the flat roof off and built a second story on top. You can read more about that process by clicking here for all the "barn renovation" posts.  We sell roving and combed top for needle felters and spinners. Many spinners have not had the opportunity to spin the wool from Polypay sheep. They are pleasantly surprised at the loft and sheen in our wool. Our unique wool socks are popular to give as gifts, and are a full-circle "Made in Michigan" product. We care for the sheep, send the wool to a Michigan mill to be ma...

This year's Shearing Day was warmer than usual. And, thanks to a dry spell, there was no MUD! What a gift. Just over 500 people attended our Shearing Day this year, and I think most of them had a good time.  Here are some of the ewes before shearing. Sometimes I ask the kids what it would feel like to wear the same clothes for a whole year without washing them. The outside of the fleece is fairly dirty, but the inside is very nice and clean! Our shearer worked alone this year, and did a great job. Timothy has a strong back and his own shearing equipment. We hire him to do our shearing, and he travels all over the state of Michigan to shear on a regular basis. He is an award-winning shearer (did you know there are sheep-shearing competitions in many places in the world?) and has traveled internationally to compete and to shear sheep. Want to see the world? Become a sheep shearer. Our capable skirting crew sorted off the wool that was extra dirty or full of h...

Mark your calendars for our Annual Shearing Day event. This is your chance to see sheep shearing on a working farm! It's an open house type event--come anytime between 9 and 3 and leave whenever you want. You will want to plan an hour or two to see it all. We are located at 13275 Blair Street, Holland, Michigan, 49424. Many of our friends and family help us to put on this event. We need help parking and greeting people, herding sheep, skirting wool (you'll find out what that means when you come), answering questions, and demonstrating what can be done with wool. We are so grateful for our team--many of whom have helped us out for years. Make sure you dress warmly and in old clothing. If it's a warmer day, there will be mud--boots are a good idea. You will smell like a sheep barn when you leave--but it's worth it! Even though this is a free event, we ask that you consider donating toward the work of the Critter Barn in Zeeland. Miss Mary will be at our event to ...

Why do we host an open house each year at sheep shearing time? It's important for us to show the process of farming. Many people will tell you things about farming that "ain't necessarily so." Unless you can see farming practices yourself, and meet the farmers who care for the land and the animals, you are at the mercy of what you see on social media. Farming is a messy, heartbreaking lifestyle. It's also an amazing, joy-filled lifestyle. When you come to visit us, you will smell what a barn smells like after it's had 100 sheep living in it for 2-3 months. You will see baby lambs and their mothers. You will watch sheep struggle to get away from the shearer, and then lay still while he works. Then you will see those same sheep jump up and run off to join the others. You will check out the inside of a fleece--snowy white--and the outside of a fleece with a year's worth of oils and dirt in it. Not so snowy white anymore. We encourage you to com...

Shearing Day 2016 dawned cold and with a fresh layer of snow. As we made the final preparations, we felt a misty rain begin. Not exactly what we'd hoped for--on Shearing Day we'd rather not have ice and we'd rather not have mud. But we don't get to choose the weather. The show must go on.  We had approximately 100 pregnant ewes to shear, and this is what they looked like while they waited for their turn.  Timothy sheared for us again this year. We hire this job out to people who are skilled at this task. He makes it look easy. Trust me. It's not. The ewes took their turns being queued up and waiting in the chute. We shear just before lambing for two main reasons: lamb survival and wool quality. When the lambs are born, it is cold yet in Michigan. If the ewe has her full coat on, the lamb can't benefit from the body heat of the ewe (and perhaps the ewe doesn't even think about that the lamb might be cold--she's fine!). In addition, ...

Shady Side Farm will host our Annual Shearing Day on Saturday, March 5th from 9 am - 3 pm (come and go as you wish.) Our farm is located at 13275 Blair Street, Holland, Michigan. We will be shearing our Polypay sheep that day, and our open house is geared toward folks who want to see shearing on a working farm and learn more about wool production. This event is free. Fiber artists will demonstrate their work, and wool products (roving, yarn, socks, etc.) will be available to purchase in our little on-farm shop.  The open house is suitable for families and folks of all ages, though very small children sometimes are bothered by the noise and smells of a sheep barn. Wear old clothing and dress warmly. We shear in a barn. :) For blog posts and photos about other years' shearing days, click here .

We live fairly near alpaca farmers, and they are kind enough to let us bring our llamas to their alpaca shearing day. We need to borrow a trailer (despite the amount of animals on the farm, we still don't own our own livestock trailer), and load them up. Here's a shot of what they look like before their haircut, pedicure, and tooth check. Note: this is a full-service shearing day! Not just a trim for these ladies...  Here they are after their visit to the alpaca farm: They are ready for summer now! We have llamas because they help protect the sheep while they are out on pasture. They are naturally very curious, and can be a bit aggressive towards dogs and other canine types that would tend to want to hurt the sheep. In other news, we've been too busy working to blog. It's funny how when your hands are busy with fences or animals or tractor steering wheels, you forget to take photos. And when you come in at dusk, all you want is a large glass of water ...

In all the years we've been hosting shearing day, we've never had a live birth. The ewes are rather shy about giving birth in front of people, especially strangers. But (as anyone who has given birth can attest) sometimes there's nothing the mama can do. Those babies will come when they will. Timothy had just quit shearing to go in the house to get some lunch. Many visitors headed over to the shop, but some hung around in the back of the barn, in the lamb area. The Suffolk sheep had been shorn in January in preparation for their lambing. And we had plenty of lambs for people to look at, laugh at, and hold. So it was a popular area. But we couldn't have planned this any better if we'd tried. We had a baby! I'll spare you the pictures of the actual birthing. But as soon as the lamb was out, the ewe instinctively licked it all over. This gets rid of the placenta, and the vigorous licking stimulates the lamb so that it wants to stand up and eat. It is ve...

Those who came to Shearing Day on March 1 (and there were about 180 visitors) were able to watch the shearing process. Here are some of the ladies before they were shorn. And here is Timothy, at the beginning of the day. He sheared over 80 sheep, taking his time and talking, from 9 am - 4 pm, with a short break for lunch. He gently holds each ewe in position as he uses his electric clippers. After the fleece is off, and the shorn ewe runs off to join her friends, we skirt the fleece. We lay the fleece cut side down on a skirting table (wire panel on the top of a hay feeder) and pick out the extremely hay-filled part by the neck, and any dreadlocks or manure. We had a great skirting crew this year, which allowed me to do a bit more talking than usual. The fleece is put into a large bag suspended on a stand. Here the guys are replacing the full bag with an empty one. Thanks to Sherry for this picture! (For more of Sherry's photos, check out her facebook page .) ...

A few weeks ago, we hosted our annual Shearing Day event. It was a perfect day. Cold, but not too cold. Snow on the ground, but very little falling from the sky. A couple of days before Shearing Day, a friend and I set up the shop and demonstration area. (Thank you, Pat!) This was the maiden voyage of the shop--the first time it had been set up since last summer, when we took the roof off the whole building, and added a second floor. It's still rough--no paint, no insulation, no heat. But the wares looked nice, and I don't think most people cared that they were in an unfinished barn. We displayed our coned yarns in a lovely old cupboard. Barbara, our needlefelting demonstrator, was back again this year. (What?! No photos! Oops!) And Chris showed how to spin wool into yarn. Sometimes she let people help. I'm always busy in the main barn, helping with skirting the fleeces. (More about that later.) But if I had my way, I'd be in the demo/shop are...

Last Saturday was our Shearing Day Event. Photos are in process and we should have some posted within the next week or two. Please be patient. One of the things we do almost every year is a prize giveaway. Last year, with 400 attendees, we gave away two prizes. This year, we had about 180 people visit, and very very few of them elected to enter the prize drawing. So this year we are giving away one prize. We used a very high-tech process to determine our winner. We put all the entries into a cardboard box, and shook it vigorously. Then we picked (without looking) one of the entries out at random. And the winner is... Isabel G! I am emailing you with details as to how to claim your prize.

UPDATE: Another blast from Old Man Winter... We always get questions about whether or not we might cancel shearing day. The short answer is, we have never (yet) cancelled a shearing day. The longer answer is, if our shearer can get here from Hart, MI, the show will go on! Please check the facebook page and blog for a cancellation notice Saturday morning. I will ONLY post if we are cancelling--no news is good news. We will not have time to answer the phone, so please don't call. :) We will host our Annual Shearing Day on Saturday, March 1st from 9 am - 3 pm (come and go as you wish.) We will be shearing our Polypay sheep that day, and our open house is geared toward folks who want to see shearing on a working farm and learn more about wool production. Fiber artists will demonstrate their work, and wool products (roving, yarn, etc.) will be available to purchase in our little on-farm shop. The open house is suitable for families and folks of all ages, thoug...

Shearing Day last Saturday dawned clear and cold. We hurried about, getting ready for the 9:00 opening. The workshop was set up as a store and demo area. We had our beans out for sale this year. In addition to the beans and wool, we had four artists demonstrating their work. So grateful for the ladies who come back year after year to help us teach people about wool. Soon after 9:00, the visitors started arriving. People of all ages came. Some come every year. Some had never been here before.  They were welcomed by our friendly parking attendants. (Thanks, guys, I know it was cold!) Most of the day, Tim worked by himself. Sara clipped a few, but she's just learning. Even The Farmer got in on the action. He did pretty well! We tried to answer questions as best we could, but things were busy. Thanks to those who spent all day answering questions and telling what was happening, until they were nearly hoarse. Kids were able to pet...