Major milestones
I have a legit farm employee this year!
Please help me welcome Elena to the Homestead.
Elena is a senior at Whitman College - an Environmental Studies & Sociology major with a personal interest in slow fashion.
She attended our annual Open Barn in 2022 and found the farm inspiring and interesting - so much so, that she reached out and inquired about working here.
Fast forward several months, lots of paperwork, and Elena had secured the job as a formal internship with a grant from Whitman College.
Elena started right after Memorial Day and works an incredible 4 hours a day, 5 days a week…and will be here for a total of 10 glorious, busy summer weeks.
It’s hard to put into words how pivotal her presence has been here these past 4 weeks. As you’ve undoubtedly heard me mention, the farm primarily consumes two things — time and money.
Elena’s effort already this summer has shown me that the path to sustainability is lined with just as much help as it is money. And that good help is well worth the investment.
She’s getting the full farm experience, too! She was on hand for the birth of both Roxy and Winnie. She actually suggested the name Winnie.
She’s run irrigation pipe in every single pasture…a couple times already. She’s harvesting dye flowers, prepping yarn and knits, scooping poop, refilling water troughs, cutting flowers for bouquets, watering all the things … and just about everything in between!
I’m not sure how I did it all mostly on my own for so long. And because of Elena, I’m no longer willing to do it alone again. Welcome to the herd, Elena!
And on that note, there’s another welcome is bestow …
As I mentioned in my January post, one of the hopes I had for this year was to add Valais Blacknose sheep to the farm. I’ve been pining for these black and white ‘curly cuties’ for several years after seeing them online one day. It took some doing, but I was able to snag a couple of these babies.
They’re wethers (castrated males) - thus there are no plans for breeding them.
Without further ado, please meet Wyatt (with the horns) & Walter!
Both of these pasture puppies are 75% Valais Blacknose lambs.
Wyatt was born on April 2, 2023 and he’s a really inquisitive feller with a frizzy top knot and a set of horns.
Walter was born on April 23, 2023 and is definitely smaller and a bit of a follower. The breeder offered to shear Walter before we departed but I wanted to enjoy his curly locks for a few days.
Here they are getting settled in, you can see the alpaca boys are super interested!
Bringing them home was a lot of fun, too. My 20 year old trusty minivan made it the best road trip of the year!
After enjoying Walter’s fleece for a few days, and with summer temps in the forecast, we had to figure out how to shear him. I figured it wouldn’t be too hard because they’re small and can be immobilized when you set them on their rumps.
Ha! It’s quite a workout still — especially when you don’t have official sheep shears.
It took us a couple of days to get him sheared mainly because bending over and crouching down takes a lot out of your legs. And I’ll say, he definitely looked like he got a DIY haircut!
We’re housing them in the small pasture in front of the house.
They’ll eventually join the boy herd, after they finish quarantining.
Since they’re still lambs, they get a really sweet feed.
The breeder said giving them two meals a day will make us fast friends, and she wasn’t lying! I’ve repurposed an old dog food feeder and gotta say — meal times are my favorite part of the day!
You’re probably wondering — what are my plans for these guys since they’re not breeders?
Well…ENJOYMENT!
And when you see them in person, you’ll know why. They’re just so darn cute. So they’re mostly just here for decoration and to add to the country charm.
That said, they do produce an abundance of beautiful wool — they require twice a year shearing in spring and late fall. It’s coarse, when compared to our alpaca fiber, but it grows in tight ringlet curls. I’ll probably do some sort of fiber arts project with it. Stay tuned for that.
WANT TO SEE THEM?
Come to our next meet & greet on July 23!
I do want to note that they’ll be hanging around and “on display” but at this time they will not be joining the hand feeding part of the Meet & Greet experience.
I want them to have plenty of time to get settled in but I also need to figure out logistics. Unlike our alpacas, Walter & Wyatt’s favorite game to play is “escape”… so there’s that to manage around.
But the main reason is that they have different dietary needs. In particular, they have a sensitivity to copper, which is in the pelleted mineral/vitamin snack that guests feed the alpacas. Once they’re settled and I’m able to figure out a safe communal feeding routine, they’ll definitely be in the mix.
But they’re just so darn cute that simply watching them is a day-making experience. You’ll have to trust me on that!
What an incredible year it’s been. A farm intern and two of the cutest sheep on the planet!