Winter prep for Summer
Winter tends to be a slower season for many homesteaders. Its when the garden is sleeping under (hopefully!) snow or covers of leaves and other mulches. Honeybees are sleeping in their snug hives. The meat has been harvested and tucked away and canning is done.
In the past its been a time when I read, knit, spin, catch up with family and friends.
While there has definitely been some of that this winter, there has also been a lot of behind the scenes prep work for the coming warm season months. Finding and applying to vend and speak at various festivals celebrating the amazing back to the land movement we are part of takes quite a bit of time. While I don’t want events or speaking to be a full time job, it definitely needs to be a part of things as I try to make more people aware of the joys of dairy sheep.
Soapmaking takes a good deal of time as I need to let it cure for at least a month before I can sell it to folks wanting to try sheep milk soap on their skin sensitivities. Yarn is being spun… but selling about as fast as I can make it!
The sheep are also beginning lambing, which takes quite a bit of time… because of course those dear sweet new lambs need snuggled and taught who their shepherds are!
As dairy sheep grow in interest nation wide, I have received more and more inquiries about starter stock from our farm. This is one area I struggle in as I am still deciding which genetics work best on our farm. We are still trying to build our own flock and so don’t always know ahead of time what we will have available to sell. Its a conundrum because I want to enable and equip new enthusiastic dairy shepherds… but I also need to keep my own flock cohesive and sustainable, breeding for better milk genes or hardiness or volume based off minimum inputs.
Meat isn’t even really a possibility for us to raise with all the interest in our sheep! Its a wonderful problem to have, but we are still working on how to manage it. We only have 8 1/2 acres and it is only Kyle and I - and mainly Kyle! - working to maintain our homestead.
None of this is said to complain, simply shed some light on the things that occupy my thoughts and lead to delays in answering inquiries as to what we will be selling.
Sadly there is currently no centralized location for new shepherds to find starter flocks other than forums on platforms such as Facebook, which have regulations making it challenging for sellers and buyers to get clear easy access to information about livestock purchases.
I have dreams of making a website or adding to this one and connecting sellers and buyers, but its still a work in progress.
So many ideas, so little nap time to get the ideas done in! The creative, curious baby fingers reach out and try to help mama type and as a result make office work almost impossible to accomplish when he is awake.
One day it will get done, just not as quickly as it used to before Mamahood became a large part of my life. Which I don’t mind at all.
