I wanted to let you in on what the last month has been like for our family on the farm.
“The farm is going to be so great for the kids! They’ll learn so much!” People have encouraged me with these words tons over the last 3 1/2 years, and these past few months, they’ve proven to be true in both beautiful and hard ways.
Two weeks ago, Jon and I sold off the entire flock of sheep. This was a tough decision. We had all grown attached to them (especially during lambing season). At the end of the day though, we did it to help keep us farming for the long haul.
When we first started farming, we kept hearing that 98% of new farms close in the first 5 years. So, every Winter, we carefully assess what we need to change to keep on doing this work the next year. This assessment may be some of the most important work we do all year!
Our son with big sis and his buddy, “Rambo.”
This winter, we knew we were too diversified with our animals, pulling us in too many directions… and we didn’t want to burn out. — 98%, remember?? (Add to it three precious kiddos who deserve lots of love and attention, and we knew something needed to change!)
Why the sheep? The sheep have been an endless adventure. We haven’t installed permanent fencing, but set up portable fencing as we move them throughout the farm every 3 days… This was both tedious and not quite enough to keep the boldest sheep from sneaking away if they spotted a greener grass – usually at the most inconvenient times. 😉
Despite the challenges, this has also been our favorite Winter with the sheep. Our girls ended up bottle feeding 2 lambs as their mother recovered from an injury; we worked to nurse a few back to health, Jon and I delivered a lamb whose mother was not progressing in labor, and we watched the highest number of babies born on the farm.
Bottle feeding babies in our “hospital.”
The mother ewe stands by while her babies are fed.
It was just so cool to see our 8- and 6-year-old girls happily pull up their snow pants even on the chilliest mornings to feed and play with these lambs. – An incredible lesson in compassion and diligence.
Lamb Snuggles and Games
While Momma Ewe looks on from our special shelter for animals who need a little TLC.
They also learned how say a really tough good-bye to something they cared for. Of course, this was painful to watch, but also a beautiful thing to be able to walk through with them.
The flock of sheep moved happily to a farm in the mountains where they will be grazing under solar panels. They settled quickly, and all the moms and lambs stayed together. Even the bottle-fed babies seemed to have resumed nursing from momma as soon as they arrived at their new place – a huge relief for all of us!
Of course, it broke my momma heart to see our kiddos so sad – even the three-year old sobbed, saying that the ram (named Rambo) was “his buddy.” It certainly wasn’t the prettiest day on the farm, but we are so thankful to be doing this work alongside our children and watching them rise to the occasion and learn to do many wonderful—and hard—things.
One last farewell before Jon pulled away with the sheep.
Happy to tell you that the kids are doing well now, and oh, hey— we’re hoping to get a dog for them: a pet they can keep! Hooray!
I know many of you will be disappointed not to have that rockin’ ground lamb anymore – us too! But we are excited to be able to keep providing you with awesome chicken, turkey, and pork… hopefully for many years to come.
Warmest Wishes,
Stephanie