Sheep in the Valley

Busy, crazy week. Will we get moved out to the land? Will we get the office done? Will we get the fencing up? Will Fairy Dust have her kid/s?

Roof is going on and Earthbags are going in. 

We have been moving stuff, building, cleaning and taking down fence to put it up again on the land. This past week Richard got the roof started on the office, and I got the Earthbag foundation going. I have moved a lot of gravel. I'm sore and tired and we aren't there yet.

New home

We got the camper put back together (water tanks and hoses) and moved it out to the land.

Goat yard

Richard got the gate up for the goat yard, and most of the corner posts and H-braces done. We also got the posts in for the boy llama yard and plan on moving them and the chickens up there tomorrow. Yep, things are moving fast now. We are running out of time.

Pigs play ball

At home, with the return of Harley, we celebrated by getting them a new toy. Well, it's their only toy. And I ordered it when Harley was missing, hoping to keep Chloe from getting depressed. I'm not sure if they like the ball--certainly not as much as food, but it looks cute in their pig pen.

Sheep family

The Valley is alive and awake as the warm weather moves in. Things are happening...Ag sprinklers are running, ditches are flowing with water to irrigate the fields, and the sheep are out, free ranging the area. We have seen several real cowboys out herding sheep, and one training what looks to be a wild horse colt, although I'm not sure how that can happen. Yesterday as we drove out to our land, we saw so many sheep between Jaroso and San Luis. There were sheep in the road, sheep near the road, sheep among the sage brush, sheep everywhere. And the wild horses were grazing near the road too. We have seen several herds now. South of San Luis there appear to be two herds. One is all male, and the other is mostly female with their babies in tow. Interesting. I wonder why they are split up like that?

Sheep herd

We may not have any photos for a while as we transition computers, but I'll post them when I can.

Winter is coming

We had our first snow on the ground on October 15. Not much really, but enough to excite the kids. My daughter gathered up snow to make a nice sized snowball, which she then set on the windowsill on the north side of the house, so she could keep an eye on it. It took several days for it to melt. I think it finished melting just yesterday, October 18.

Snowball

Before the snow came, Richard picked a bunch of red cabbagges, which he took to the Taos Food Co-op Farmer's market (no website, but here's an article in the Taos News), which happens every Wednesday afternoon. We also have some catnip and a couple of huge pumpkins at the Co-op...available for sale. We still have carrots, onions and potatoes in the ground in the garden, plus, Richard is trying to nurse some kale and chard along with blankets and tarps to protect it from the nightly freezes.

Red Cabbages

On the way to Taos on Wednesday, we stopped by Farmer Daniel's to sell our eggs for his Wwoofers, who love them, and saw a flock of sheep wandering in the fields and in the road. They have a Great Pyr guarding the flock and maybe functioning as a shepherd as well. I love rural America. Or maybe it's just the magical air in NM that allows scenes like this to make me smile. I'm still pining away for a flock of Churro/Navajo sheep to keep at the farm.

Sheep

We have sold several goat shares this past week and some goat cheese too, which will supplement the cost of hay. A herd of eight goats, one alpaca, five llamas, plus two rabbits eats a whole lot of hay. We are now on the constant search for affordable hay.

Richard is still working on the goat/llama barn and also trying to build a house for the turkeys, ducks and rabbits, who we are going to put in together.

It sure feels like winter is closing in on us and there is still so much to do! The days are getting shorter and colder and sure seem to vanish in the flurry of fall farm activity. If only we had some housing, I'd love to sign up for some wwoofers to help on our farm. Perhaps another season.