 
 |
|||||||
Happy Pig Says "Welcome!"
|
During the winter, I had ordered 50 young Red Twig Dogwood trees to add an inner row to the windbreak, and also 25 new perennials for the flower beds, so I had plenty to keep me busy through early spring. If I had known what was to transpire later in the year, I might have thought twice about the perennials! 
I was extremely proud of an exceptionally big, handsome ram out of my best 4-year old Texel-cross ewe and already anticipated the nice progeny he would produce when paired with the crop of ewe lambs. On a mild day in early November, I set about getting the big ram out. 
Despite all the carefully laid plans made previously, events conspired to change them. Fortunately, the changes were mostly to my benefit! 
That was the plan, but as we all know, “There’s many a slip twixt the cup and the lip!” My mind went back to an earlier lambing in 1993, when things didn’t go so well. 
Lambing of the mature ewes began in early April, and they were just finishing up when the young ewes started, so it was an intense six weeks. By the end of lambing I was thankful to be done climbing in and out of lambing jugs doing tags, tails, testicles, and tattoos… Yes, tattoos! 
Frisco’s guarding surpassed my fondest hopes! One day the flock of 160 sheep and the llama were grazing the farthest pasture, next to the highway, when a passing dump truck suddenly backfired. Frisco instantly rounded up the entire flock, brought them in on the double, and herded them into a corner near the buildings where they would be safe. 
As the time to sell the feeder lambs neared, Sean and his friend Dennis approached me with the idea that they might buy the feeders this year. I really tried to dissuade them, as feeder prices were high at the time, and I feared that prices could drop by the time the lambs were ready for market. However, they wanted to try it. Dennis’ uncle had a nice lot near Eitzen with a covered shed for feeding and Sean could build a Hi-Tensile fence around the lot, so they bought the lambs and moved them down to the lot. 
Following the capture and return of Frisco, the llama, I was currently working daily on my plan to reconcile Frisco and Sheba to a working relationship. It took nearly a month, but it worked! 
Since Frisco could cross sheep guards with gay abandon, climb hog panel gates, jump high fences, and probably leap tall buildings with a singe bound, he left the premises repeatedly! When he went I usually found him in my neighbor’s pasture with the cattle. 
I had an excellent group of feeder lambs, and planned to sell them at the end of the month. They were on a lush fenced pasture next to the highway with plenty of forage to last through the month. I did not intend to bring them in until just before the sale. An early morning phone call from a neighbor caused me to change my plans! He was on his way to feed cattle on his parents’ farm, and as he passed our driveway he saw a female coyote, along with one pup, sitting just outside our sheep guard, waiting for the chance to grab a lamb. |
 The Voice of Eco-Agriculture North America’s premier publisher on production-scale organic and sustainable farming. Learn more here. Book of the MonthBeginning to End Hunger By M. Jahi Chappell 
Brazil is just one country battling big food and big ag on multiple fronts. In Beginning to End Hunger, M. Jahi Chappell establishes the importance of holistic approaches to food security in Brazil, suggests how to design successful policies to end hunger, and lays out strategies for enacting policy change. Read on... |
|||||
|
|||||||
