The Very Happy Monkey Sheep make wool. Wool becomes yarn. And sometimes shepherds knit the yarn made from their sheep’s wool.It’s weird, but I’ve become one of those shepherds….and I’ve become hooked on socks. Nothing fancy. Just plain socks.But the other day I thought I should perhaps try something a little more challenging, so I […]
A Farmer’s Walker Farmers like to trick out their equipment. Melissa’s four-wheeler has a front basket loaded with holders for clippers, a hammer, screwdrivers, and alligator clips for the electric fence. She has rolls of marking tape and a bottle of water and a spot for her chain saw. So when she came home from […]
Walking in the Winter Wonderland It’s official. This is Minnesota’s snowiest December on record… and it’s the December I’m doing chores by myself while Melissa heals from neck surgery. WHINE ALERT! (Melissa’s doing great, except for a serious case of cabin fever.) We had the Dec. 11 blizzard, then at least two more snowfalls of […]
Sheep Lost in Blizzard! We’re having a good, old-fashioned blizzard today. I have no idea how many inches have fallen (12? 22?) because it’s been blowing and blowing. Winds of over 30 mph. All sorts of winter nastiness. This morning I screwed up my courage and did the chores, which put me outside in the blizzard […]
Laughing with Goats Two weeks ago Melissa had three vertebrae in her neck fused. She was in great pain the first week, but did much better the second week. (Yea, Percoset! Yea, Valium!) And this week she’s taking fewer of the pain meds. She has at least six weeks of not lifting more than 20 […]
It’s a Sign The last few posts on this blog have been about how three pieces of machinery have failed us. Previous blog entries have talked about the male sheep on our farm, and how they’ve caused trouble a few times by breeding our ewes when they felt like it, not when we wanted them […]
Look, Ma, No Wheels…. So our tractor is broken. The front end, which holds the two front wheels and allows Melissa to perform certain critical tasks, like steering, collapsed. Our neighbor Craig found a guy with a refurbished front end, and it’s the right size for the tractor. So with his trailer in tow and […]
The God of Farm Equipment Hates Us I know this title makes me sound paranoid, but it’s the only possible conclusion one can draw from the events of the last few weeks. Melissa was mowing the lawn with our riding lawn mower (Usually my job, but I was inside cleaning the house to prepare for […]
A Very Freaky Deal We have a pair of Golden Pheasants. Here’s Pharoah, the male, in all his glorious plumage. The photo doesn’t capture the brilliant yellows and glowing greens. He’s a quiet guy, saying nothing, and running for the nearest clump of grass whenever I show up. Here’s Trixie, his mate, in her tastefully […]
Checking In Acck. Life. It goes too fast. Where have I been for two months? That’s like two years in blogging time. …In Colorado recording an audio book of Hit By a Farm, which will be out next spring from DogEar Audio. …Dealing with a wonky heart thing that turned out to be non-life-threatening premature […]