Beware the White Hen This white hen is on a mission, a determined chicken, a chicken who knows what she wants, where it is, and who will give it to her. This chicken hangs out in our garage/shed, waiting for me. When I appear, she follows so closely on my heels that if I stopped […]
Keep Your Desk Job Here’s how pastures work. Rain falls. Grass grows. Sheep eat grass. Rain falls. Grass regrows. Sheep eat grass. Except this year, not enough rain, so the grass stopped growing. There is nothing left for them to eat. We have no choice but to feed hay to 100 sheep in the middle […]
The July Interview Ms. Friend, now that your new memoir has launched successfully, and you’ve survived yet another lambing season, how are you coping with the stress? —-See photo above. Ms. Friend, we’re sure it’s hot in Minnesota in July, and yet you must continue to do farmwork and write and edit, all without air […]
Wounded in Action Melissa has been working so hard this spring that she needed a break. However, she doesn’t leave the farm willingly, so it took two of us to get her off the farm—her brother pulling her toward Wisconsin with tales of the fish they’d catch, and me pushing her out the door. So […]
Lamb Hospital Now that lambing is over, our front porch sometimes becomes the Rising Moon Farm Lamb Hospital. This little tyke is making her second visit to the Emergency Room, getting some work done on her tail. She and her sister were in three days ago to be treated for flystrike. (Please note: If you […]
Animals at Play I used to think farm animals pretty much stood still all the time, since that’s what they were doing when I’d drive by them on the highway. Farm animals were just part of the lovely rural scene spreading out before me, so I never really considered they might have personalities or an […]
Remember, We’re Laughing With You Here’s a photo of our four-wheeler, the most critical component on our farm, after Melissa. Take note of the two slender rods which run from the front basket down under the four-wheeler and out the back end. (Note the pink tape on the rods.) These rods play a critical role […]
Two Cuties So, once again, it’s begun: lambing on our farm. The black cutie in the photo is #6003. He was born on May 14, the third lamb born in 2006 on Rising Moon Farm. On May 13 twins came, signaling the start to Melissa’s favorite time of year (and my most stressful.) The white […]
True Confessions
True Confessions Some memoirists make things up. Others omit critical or damning information. While I don’t believe I’ve committed either of these offenses, I am wracked with guilt over one offense I did commit. So before someone finds out my secret and spreads the word via some scorching blog, I hereby confess to my Failure […]
The New Guy It seems we acquired a calf this last weekend. He’s a Jersey, which means he sports huge, liquid black eyes with long lashes. His nose is broad, and his tongue is busy. This calf can easily slide his tongue up inside one nostril, then the other, a skill that makes me both […]