Where we stand

December has closed in, and brought a relatively mild Winter.

We had a few days of hard freezing, but always followed by a thaw so far.  The pacific oscillation is in a neutral phase (known as La Nada) which generally means mild conditions and this season that has been true for us.  We only had one lamb needing a little time under shelter, but after a week on the porch, eating good food and enjoying an infrared lamp he was ready to face the other bachelors in our ram flock again.

The USDA came and inspected our sheep, giving them a clean bill of health once more.  The vet (an epidemiological specialist) remarked that they're in good flesh.  He had never met with Soay sheep before, and was quite interested in inspecting them.

Bolivar's son, Bolero, is still in the pure british flock with his sire, dam, and a few other ewes.  Bolivar keeps his son well in line, but even so Bolero is growing handsome and strong.

We have been feeding our sheep ample hay as well as rolled barley and alfalfa pellets to keep them in good condition and it appears to be working.  They trundle along, rather than bounding like deer, which bodes well for the coming breeding season.

Those of our lambs we decided not to keep (seven, including a couple of hoggets who weren't doing well) we slaughtered.  We had a guest on the farm for the butchering - an apprentice butcher whose wife took pictures of the whole process so as to do a presentation for his butchery class.  We are given to understand that the presentation was a hit, and we all learned from each other as well.

Some of the fencing we had done by third parties a couple of years ago is not standing the test of time, so a farmer had to set out with sledge, pickaxe, chisel and digging tools to get the old, broken concrete and post out and reset the post in a fresh batch of concrete before mending the wires.

Our cats are being kept indoors, in the lap of luxury.  The chief reason for this is to temper their murderous urges, as well as keep them safe from the great owls which inhabit our trees at night.

Peter has not registered any objections to this treatment, although the others periodically stare wistfully from the window at all the beasts they could be eating.

One of our successes this year has been the choice of bantam chickens.  They were obtained with the intention of having chickens with strong brooding and mothering instincts, and that has been fruitful.  Feathery, but fruitful.  The bantam cocks have taken over and keep the maran cock under their control.  The dominant bantam cock, a little grey fellow, will even chase the maran cock around from time to time, just to reinforce his position.

Our wine making is continuing and we are purchasing machinery to automate the process.  We have a slicer which neatly bisects apples, we have motorised our crusher, and the next step will be to have a pneumatic press fabricated.  As it is, we have several score more gallons of juice fermenting from this season, and will soon be able to accelerate our production.

Winter isn't quite as dull as one might imagine.  While the plants are dormant and the animals seek shelter, there is still work to be done.  Our fruit trees are starting to show signs of forming canopies, and it will be time to prune some of the more aggressive ones soon.  We may even have some of our first cider apples this coming year, and then we shall know what manner of product we shall have.