I know I have not posted in a while. Spring time sure brings on a lot of work. Lately, at the end of the day, I have been more focused on getting to bed than getting on line.
Everyone is doing well. The horses are finally out on pasture full time and the lambs are all thriving. Here is a picture of that lamb that was born in March. She is doing really well. I am very impressed with her growth. She is a singe so she is getting all the milk she wants, it is said that 60% of the lambs growth is based on the amount of milk they get. I imagine this is giving her a big boost. I have decided to keep her and put her with the ewes this fall. She is a healthy ewe lamb and I do not have a lot of ewes to breed that are of the type I want to keep. Normally I would only keep ewe lambs that are twins but since my numbers are down and this lamb was born by herself at 20ºF (tough) I am making an exception. One of the criteria I am working toward is a 100% independent lambing flock. I have said it before, I want tough animals that require minimal input from me and that thrive in the environment I give them. This little girl is just that, tough, she is from a ewe that is doing a great job taking care of her, and by the looks of her she is going to mature at least as large as her mother.
The grass is growing. The weather has been pretty dry so it has been growing very slow. Most of the growth looks to be native species, not the timothy and clover I planted. I was afraid this would happen. Since I did not till the soil the seed bank --native seeds sitting in the soil waiting for sunlight – were ready to sprout and are doing much better than the seed I broadcasted. The seed I spread is not staying moist enough to sprout. All is not lost but I will have to try something different to get some better grasses growing.
I started digging a well for the animals, “man” those old timers most have either been worn out or muscled like steel. I am about ¼ of the way down and then I will have to start stoning up the sides. I am not sure how to set the stones so I will have to do some research.
I guess that is it for now. I really love this spot. It is so nice up there. I can not wait until we start building a house up there.
Everyone is doing well. The horses are finally out on pasture full time and the lambs are all thriving. Here is a picture of that lamb that was born in March. She is doing really well. I am very impressed with her growth. She is a singe so she is getting all the milk she wants, it is said that 60% of the lambs growth is based on the amount of milk they get. I imagine this is giving her a big boost. I have decided to keep her and put her with the ewes this fall. She is a healthy ewe lamb and I do not have a lot of ewes to breed that are of the type I want to keep. Normally I would only keep ewe lambs that are twins but since my numbers are down and this lamb was born by herself at 20ºF (tough) I am making an exception. One of the criteria I am working toward is a 100% independent lambing flock. I have said it before, I want tough animals that require minimal input from me and that thrive in the environment I give them. This little girl is just that, tough, she is from a ewe that is doing a great job taking care of her, and by the looks of her she is going to mature at least as large as her mother.
The grass is growing. The weather has been pretty dry so it has been growing very slow. Most of the growth looks to be native species, not the timothy and clover I planted. I was afraid this would happen. Since I did not till the soil the seed bank --native seeds sitting in the soil waiting for sunlight – were ready to sprout and are doing much better than the seed I broadcasted. The seed I spread is not staying moist enough to sprout. All is not lost but I will have to try something different to get some better grasses growing.
I started digging a well for the animals, “man” those old timers most have either been worn out or muscled like steel. I am about ¼ of the way down and then I will have to start stoning up the sides. I am not sure how to set the stones so I will have to do some research.
I guess that is it for now. I really love this spot. It is so nice up there. I can not wait until we start building a house up there.
No comments:
Post a Comment