Moving Week

for the blog that is. Our new farm website has a Wordpress blog option which I have decided to use. That is if I can figure the thing out. The thought and plan is that I will blog a bit more since I work on and check the website daily. I hope to have all files, photos and info moved by weeks end. So my dear blog friends and followers please come on over. www.southardfarm.com/

I hope everyone is doing well. I see I have lots of reading to catch up on.

Life is busy good here on the farm. We just had our annual big, fat, Irish family get together for the Southwest Missouri Celtic Heritage Festival (Sept. 10 & 11) Had a good time with family, saw old friends, met new friends and enjoyed the festival. Sales were enough to cover expenses (gas, food, plus a little bit extra). Peacock feathers as norm were the top seller. I had made a few small bars of goat milk soap and felted wool balls, both sold out. A new item we added this year were our custom designed T's shirts, sold a few of those too.

The highlight of the weekend came when a visitor to our booth (we had a booth in the beastie barn with 2 of our Shetlands boys on display) ask to speak to owner of the sheep. Everyone pointed at me. Low and behold she was an event PR person for the Warrensburg, MO Celtic Festival. She invited the Shetland boys to participate at their 2011 festival. Woot! Looks like we may be traveling with the Shetlands!

We took Jasper our little 6 month old ram lamb and Angus a two yr. old wether. Jasper was the crowd favorite and a little ham. Angus was very selective of when or whom he would allow to touch ... no one in a crowd, nor if they wore brightly colored clothing, especially not if they were hyper children. I can't blame him there, I can't handle hyper children either. The boys were also able to visit with Tammy from Fairlight Farm (their previous human mom). Tammy had a booth and two of her beautiful wethers at the festival also. We were hoping to be able to combine efforts and set the booths up side by side. Didn't work as we had planned, the festival powers that be set the sheep stalls in the middle and our booth areas on opposite sides. We still managed a visit here and there when the foot traffic slowed.

I don't know about you, but I am so ready for Fall, my favorite time of the year. Things begin to slow down, cooler weather arrives and the holidays approach. I don't feel so rushed. Sure there are still the daily chores, milking, feeding, etc. Still lots of house work, yard work and clean up though it just seems to come at a slower pace. I am so ready for slow.

Shearing the Angoras is penciled in for the last weekend of the month. I started working on the breeding groups. Waiting to breed the sheep and Angoras til a bit later, don't want babies in the dead of winter. I did decide to breed Barb and Maybelle (2 dairy does) a bit earlier than planned. We put the buck in with them last week and will take him out on the 26th. That puts us at kidding in Feb. which is OK due to our bringing the bottle babies in the house.

Til next time, have a good one!

In The Good Ole Summer Time

All in all it has been a good summer despite the heat. We did a few family things, a few fiber things and a few farm things. Though where ever we went, whom ever we saw, the heat was the topic of many conversations.

It has been a real scorcher here at the farm. Everyone outside is miserable. The heat is taking it's toll on all of us. Milk production is down, chickens backed off laying, sheep, goats, dogs, cats...all panting and hiding in whatever shady, dark, cool spot they can find. I have been getting up at daybreak to do the milking, feeding and other chores. Go back out 2 or 3 times a day to refill and cool down water troughs, plus take a head count to make sure all are surviving. At sunset I go back out, refill troughs and check on everyone once again.

The garden basically burnt up. A few veggies here and there were all we could manage to keep alive this year, even though I watered. The blackberries and wild plums barely made it past the blooming stage, what did fruit burnt up if the birds didn't get to them first. Then there was the issue with a wild animal of some sort, the lettuce, spinach, kale, arugala... all the summer greens were wiped out in one evening. Oh and how could I forget... the tomato-sheep incident due to my total absent-mindedness. We sold this year's wether ramling for a pet to a very nice family. The day he was to be picked up I brought him, his mom and sister into the front yard. So they could see his family as well as not have to walk a mile down to and up from the pasture to load when they were ready to leave. Three of the other ewes wanted to join in the adventure so I let them in also. Oh yeah, not even giving a thought to the few tomato plants we had planted in those upside down tomato planters or the variety of peppers plants I planted in decorative pots. The sheep basically left the plants alone though ate all the veggies. The roses however did not fair as well. Have hopes for the pumpkin they seem to be hanging on.

I just couldn't tolerate the heat to accomplish many summer projects. I managed to paint one out building before the 100 degree temps set in. Oh, can't forget managed to paint half the propane tank. You do not know how annoying it is to me for it to be setting there half painted. I plan on finishing it first, as soon as the heat breaks. Did work outside a couple of hours each morning mowing, weeding, cleaning feed troughs, sweeping out milk room and stalls, trimming a hoof here and there, etc. until I could no longer bear the heat of the day. Have to say it was not a productive farm work summer.

The weekends the better half was home we ventured out in the mornings to the nearby farmers markets, produce stands and feed stores. At the Lebanon Farmers Market ran across a very nice farmer who had the most reasonable prices we had found all summer. Plus like us he uses no pesticides on his produce. Win, win in my opinion. We bought some of all his produce he had available. Will definitely be returning.

Speaking of the better half he has been sending a few photos of sunsets...he has been driving mainly at night lately. The first is in Texas, the second Kansas.

Happy to report the "Lamb Warmers" are finished and listed on the new website. Have it up and running though no online store for the moment. It maybe a few weeks.

Models and photos courtesy of Robin from Buffalo Creek Farm

I did say Lamb Warmers :-) though they also work well on kids too. For lambs & kids 15 lbs and under. Will have lambs modeling the warmers soon. www.southardfarm.com

Hope everyone enjoys the remainder of the summer, stay cool!