Sunday Dose of Cute: Weighing In

Auntie Rose's Big Newborn Boy (taken 3/20/07)

This picture cracks me up every time I see it. It's been moved from one 'to post' photo file to another for three and a half years, yet for some reason has never actually been posted until today.

We don't usually weigh our newborn lambs, but this one was so big when he popped out of Auntie Rose (who also cracks me up) that I was curious. We have a 200-pound hanging scale in the sheep barn for weighing buckets of feed, so I put him in a three gallon bucket and—very quickly because mama was already having a fit—hung him on it. He was a whopping 14 pounds. The only other baby lamb I've weighed was my sweet Cary's—the one who was stuck inside her and would have killed her if the vet hadn't made that late night visit out to the farm. He was 15 pounds. Big lambs are good, but that's just a little too big. (Don't know who Cary is? Meet her in A Tiny Tail for Mother's Day. She's doing great by the way.)

Speaking of weighing things, my wonderful 11-pound Oxo Good Grips digital kitchen scale, which I often use several times a day (and which lists for $55.50), is currently on sale at amazon.com for $37.44 with free shipping. I've raved about this scale before—most recently in this morning's In My Kitchen Garden post on six worthwhile kitchen investments for gardeners (or any foodie with access to a good farmers' market)—and I no doubt will again. The pull out display is awesome. If you've been thinking about buying a kitchen scale, I highly recommend this one. It would also make a great gift.

© FarmgirlFare.com, the accurate to an eighth of an ounce foodie farm blog where sheep breeding season is going to start in a couple of weeks (more about this soon), which means that lambing season 2011 will start in mid March. Thankfully for those who can't wait for all that upcoming cuteness, it's always lambing season online!

Saturday Farm Photos: Bye Bye Sheep Barn!

Wednesday, 8:30 am







9:30 am



10:15 am



11:05 am







11:45 am







11:57 am
















Auntie Rose isn't the only one around here who's surprised by the sudden change of scenery. One minute my hunky farmguy was saying we really need to rebuild the sheep barn before it falls apart even more, I said, "It's not that bad yet, is it?" then idly wondered aloud if maybe our Amish carpenter neighbors (whose front yard produce stand has been supplementing our kitchen garden bounty) would be interested in taking on the job, and the next thing I knew measuring was under way, dates had been set, a guy from the electric company arrived to disconnect the power down there and put a new breaker box on the pole, we ordered a whole bunch of rough cut siding from the nearby Amish sawmill, large piles of money were handed over to the lumberyard and metal roofing manufacturer, a horse and buggy pulled up, and our beloved little sheep barn had been flattened (except for the rock walled feed room which we're saving).

Now all they have to do is build it back up! More photos to come.

In the meantime, want to take a peek at past barn pictures?
10/2/05: Where Sheep Sleep
10/17/05: Fall Color by the Barn
10/27/05: Where Sheep Sleep, Take Two
11/10/05: Where Sheep Sleep, Take Three (the Frosted Edition)
12/3/05: Same Scene, New View Barn Shots
5/29/06: Sun Hits Morning Mist
11/12/06: Beyond This Door There Be Treats
12/2/06: Snowstorms & Snowfall (and Heart Rocks)
11/17/07: Random Barn Shot
3/19/08: Flood Watch
9/21/08: Last Day of Summer
12/3/08: The Notorious Scratching Post Gang

© Copyright 2009 FarmgirlFare.com, the demolished foodie farm blog where employers in cities may be encouraged to provide on site daycare, but out here you need to have buckets of fresh water and a spot for your workers' horses to hang out—preferably with some nice tasty grass growing in it (see the fourth photo above).

Wednesday Daily Dose of Cute:The Notorious Scratching Post Gang

Hard At Work Scratching



And Off To Find Some Trouble

Need a lot more cute in your life?
Lambing Season 2006 Photos & Reports
Lambing Season 2007 Photos & Reports
Lambing Season 2008 Part 1
Lambing Season 2008 Part 2
The First Daily Doses of Cute
Daily Doses of Cute Part 2
Daily Doses of Cute Part 3
Daily Doses of Cute Part 4
Daily Doses of Cute Part 5
Daily Doses of Cute Part 6

© Copyright 2008 FarmgirlFare.com, the award-winning blog where we've been sorting through old photos (thousands!) and finding all sorts of fun ones that somehow never got posted, like these two that were taken back on September 28th.

Sunday Farm Photo: Last Day of Summer

And A Hint of Fall Color to Come

A year of Farm Photos ago:
9/18/07: A Peaceful Slice of Life
9/23/07: Hello, Autumn!

Two years ago:
9/20/06: Heart Rocks, Morning Sun
9/21/06: Clip Clop Swish, Clip Clop Swish
9/22/06: Morning Calm Before the Storm Rumbling Overhead
9/23/06: Last Night of Summer Spectacular Show
9/23/06: Autumn Is Here

Three years ago:
9/20/05: Green, Green, Green—But Not for Much Longer
9/21/05: Donkey Doodle Dandy Loves to Hang Out in Corners
9/22/05: Happy First Day of Fall

And out of the kitchen came:
What To Do with Green Tomatoes? Make Salsa-Like Relish!
Kissing Summer Goodbye with the Easiest Greek Salad Ever

© Copyright 2008 FarmgirlFare.com, the award-winning blog where, now that it's no longer sweltering outside, my trusty stock dog Lucky Buddy Bear and I are trying to get back into our routine of daily walks on the ridge above the farm. For years we went four miles a day nearly every single day, but for various reasons we slacked off. Way off. We're starting up again with just two miles, though it is the steepest two miles, and this photo was taken on our way back. Speed is not a factor, especially considering that this afternoon (which was beautiful) we must have stopped at least six different times to admire and take pictures of wild mushrooms. Unfortunately they weren't chanterelles. Who knew there were mushrooms that are blue?

Farm Photo 3/19/08: Flood Watch

No Crossing Zone

Many of you know about our wet weather creek that starts meandering through the farm after a heavy rain or big snow melt. Well yesterday that pleasant little stream quickly became a raging, unpassable torrent. The rain, which continued throughout the night, has finally let up (and now there's light snow predicted), but the creek won't crest and begin to recede for several more hours. The fields are flooding, and the barnyard is pretty much under water.

After driving a truck full of hay over to the barn while we could still get across yesterday, we worked in the pouring rain doing what we could to divert some of the several mini rivers that were rushing down the hillside and into the barnyard. Joe managed to dig out a drainage runoff trench that was already overflowing, and in lieu of sandbags we packed handfuls of wet leaves around a large tree limb in one spot, but the water simply went around it.

At one time there were 40 homes down here in our little valley, and over the years all of them flooded except for The Shack. The new building we plan to move into is located just across the farmyard on one of the only other spots that hasn't been under water at some point in the last 70 years.

So we're safe and dry, but we haven't been able to get over to the barn - which is full of two dozen extremely pregnant sheep - since 4:00 yesterday afternoon. The donkey peddling cowboy will be here soon to check on the girls and feed everyone hay. Cell phones don't work down here, so we'll have to shout to each other across and over the sound of the rushing water. Until then there's nothing to do but wait, wonder, watch, and worry.

Want to see what the creek normally looks like?
3/18/06: Meandering By The House Exactly Two Years Ago
3/26/06: The Bigger The Water Dish, The Happier The Dog
5/15/06: Sheep Crossing
1/15/07: Running Water, Rubber Boots, & Mud (This is looking across the water toward where I was standing when I took today's photo; that's the same little clump of cedar trees, and those bare trees on the rocky beach are the ones now midstream.)
1/19/07: Merrily, Merrily, Merrily, Merrily, Life Is But A Stream
2/25/08: A Rare Winter Sight - And Geese!

© Copyright 2008 FarmgirlFare.com, the award-winning blog where some days it's more obvious than others that Mother Nature is the one in control around here - and the donkeys are safe but soggy.

Farm Photo 11/17/07: Random Barn Shot

For Those Who Wanted More Fall Color (Taken 10/26)

A year of Farm Photos ago:
11/15/06: Autumn Oriental Greens
11/16/06: Yep, Bear's A Leaf Roller
11/17/06: Sometimes Everything Else Is Just Background

And two years ago:
11/15/05: And They're Off!
11/16/05: Same Scene, New View
11/17/05: We're Having A Bit Of A Cold Snap (I love this photo)

And out of the kitchen came:
Oatmeal Toasting Bread (Today is Homemade Bread Day!)
Beer Bread Recipe Update: The Whole Wheat Version

© 2007 FarmgirlFare.com, the award-winning blog where Farmgirl Susan shares stories & photos of her crazy country life on 240 remote acres.

Daily Farm Photo 12/2/06: Snowstorms & Snowfall

Hello, December

So we got a little snow. But first we had enough rain in just one day to start the wet weather creek flowing, then an inch or two of some frozen substance that made it look and feel as if the farm had turned into a giant snowcone. There was lots of howling wind, too--the kind that makes you want to dive under a heavy quilt when you hear it--along with temperatures that dipped into the single digits. And somewhere in the midst of it all the power blinked off--and it didn't blink back on for 21 hours.

Twenty-one hours without lights in the house or lights in the barn. No oven, no radio, no computer, no fans to circulate the warmth from the ancient woodstove (our main source of heat) through the frigid house—and no running water, because no power means no way to pump the water up from the well. Then the phone line went dead. Twenty-one hours to think about just how much I heart electricity.

The important thing is that all of the critters are fine. Not exactly happy with the ice and mud and slush and freezing cold, but fine. (And no, Cary didn't get to sleep in the house curled up by the woodstove--but Robin did.) The sun is shining brightly today, and the sheep and their guard donkey are roaming the fields, hungrily pawing at the snow to reach the grass they know is underneath. It's supposed to get even colder tonight, but we're ready for it.

There are strategically placed electric heaters and heat lamps to keep the pipes from freezing, the firewood is piled high on the porch, and the oven is is sending the scent of freshly baked butter cookies wafting through the house as it heats up the kitchen. And there are buckets and bottles and glasses and pitchers of fresh water everywhere just in case.

Autumn was so very, very nice, but it is quickly becoming a distant, defrosted memory. The calendar may say it lasts another three weeks, but the temperatures and the landscape have declared that winter on the farm has officially begun.

A year of Daily Photos ago: Baa Baa Babsie
A year and a day of Daily Photos ago: Warm Wash, Cool Dry
And out of the kitchen came: Onion Flakes & Things For Cakes

© Copyright FarmgirlFare.com, the foodie farm blog where Farmgirl Susan shares recipes, stories, and photos from her crazy—and mostly electrified—life on 240 remote Missouri acres.

Daily Farm Photo: 11/12/06

Beyond This Door There Be Treats
Open. Open. Open.

A year of Daily Photos ago: Same Scene, New View
And a special Weekend Cat Blogging: Be Well, Clare

Daily Farm Photo: 5/29/06

Sun Hits Morning Mist

Daily Farm Photo: 12/3/05

Same Scene, New View: This was the 10/6/05 Daily Farm Photo



This was the 10/17/05 Daily Farm Photo



And This Is What It Looks Like Now

Daily Farm Photo: 11/10/05

Where Sheep Sleep, Take Three (The Frosted Edition)

Click here to see Takes One & Two.

Daily Farm Photo: 10/27/05

Where Sheep Sleep, Take Two

Click here to see Take One.

Daily Farm Photo 10/17/05: Fall Color By The Barn

Not Everything Happens Slowly In The Country

Click here to see this same view just ten days ago.

Daily Farm Photo: 10/2/05

Where Sheep Sleep

Note: Farmgirl has left the farm. Back on Thursday!
Have you Named That Sheep yet?