The Ewes have arrived! And the Rams and Lambs, too!

Recently I was having a conversation with a customer who raises sheep, a small crossbreed that they keep mainly for fun and to keep their field short and tidy.  They had three adorable lambs born this spring and I was infatuated with their tiny cuteness.  My husband and I have talked about keeping sheep for meat and to keep our fields trimmed and to keep the underbrush down.  As I was talking with her about this, she asked if we might be interested in fostering their flock of sheep for a month or so, in order to give their field a chance to regenerate.  Their sheep have been on the same field for about 10 years and sheep eat the grass down very close to the ground, to get the tender new growth.  In consequence, the grass hasn’t had a chance to come in lush and thick.

I, excitedly, came home and discussed this with my husband.  ( I love the chance to get new animals!!)  We both decided it would be a great way to do a trial run on grazing animals.  We have two, lush fields directly to the south of our yard and about an acre each.  We have always kept them mowed which has been  time-consuming and something we would gladly give up if we could keep them from getting overgrown via a grazing flock.   One field is partially fenced, but it would be an investment of time, money and sweat to make this foster happen.   The sheep owners offered their sons’ help and we began fencing in the two fields.

After a few weekends of hard work, by my husband, the “Upper Field” was finished and the sheep were ready to arrive.  The “Lower Field” could be finished once the flock was here, and the two teenage boys were finished with school and were available to help.

When the sheep arrived they were very skittish and bounced around the field like deer! Three Rams, four ewes and three lambs, brown and white, all huddled near the trailer, that we are using as their temporary, mobile home.  Blah, blah, blah!!  The first few days the flock stayed close to the trailer and seemed terrified every time we came near them.  But as the days went on and they got used to us, their surroundings and my dogs’ barking, they started to move around more.  Eating the grass, grapevine, poison ivy, sumac and brush along the edges of the stone walls.  They even snipped off all the ends of my sugar snap peas that were growing along the edge of my vegetable garden fence!

I like to wake up in the morning and hear “Blah! Blah! Blah!” I like to look out my bedroom or kitchen window and see those white and brown animals grazing peacefully.  I even like the smell.  Amazing how in just a few days, the smell of sheep seems to surround the yard.  My son, on the third morning after their arrival, said, “Mom, it smells like a ‘real’ farm! I like it!”

Early summer is such a busy time! Between the fencing and sheep arrival, we have been busy planting and tending our vegetable garden, awaiting the arrival of piglets (fingers crossed), raising meat birds (poultry chickens),  vending at the local farmer’s market and training for the Tough Mudder in August.  Not to mention the 5K running races we have been participating in!

Our baby chicks we received in May are now big enough to go outside in the small, temporary coop that abuts the large henhouse.  This way, the flock can see and hear the babies, get used to them a bit, before we integrate them into the large flock.  I like the baby chicks, but I hate having them in my basement.  They are smelly and messy and a lot of work!  I’m thinking that an outside brooder may be in our future!

This May we also received 54 meat birds.  Meat birds are a hybrid chicken that are used specifically for meat.  They do not lay eggs and grow much quicker than laying hens, reaching slaughter size in 8 to 10 weeks.  We did two different kinds of meat birds this year.  The traditional Cornish Rock Cross, a large white bird, and a Freedom Ranger, a red bird that is known to forage well.  We made a “chicken tractor”, a portable coop, out of an old trampoline frame.  This way, we can move the birds to a fresh piece of grass every day.  They can forage and have a nice clean area constantly.  We are planning on slaughtering our chickens ourselves in August.

We have never slaughtered our own birds before, so I am anxious about the process and whether or not I will be able to do it.  However, I think it is more cost-effective to do your own, and less stressful to the birds as they won’t have to be removed from their homes and trucked to a slaughterhouse.  I also think it’s important to know how your food is processed, to have a first-hand experience will only make me appreciate where the meat came from.  Humbling and respectful.

I recently made a strawberry rhubarb pie with the abundant berries and rhubarb that are available now.  The crust is a new recipe for me as I now have lard to use.  I was very happy with the crust and the pie! Enjoy!!

(2 Crust) PIE CRUST

2/3C lard

2C unbleached white flour

1tsp salt

4 to 5 tbsp. cold water

1.  The key to an easy to handle pie crust is to keep all your ingredients very cold!

2.Cut lard into flour using a pastry blender or crisscrossing two knives, until it resembles coarse crumbs.

3.Sprinkle with cold water, 1 tbsp. at a time, mix with a fork until it starts to leave the side of the bowl.

4. Gather pastry into a ball, divide equally in half.

5. Using only 1 half, flatten on a floured, cloth-covered board (or parchment paper), roll out into a circle large enough to fill your pie plate (about 2 inches larger than the plate)

6. Carefully roll the round dough onto the rolling pin.  Carefully unroll into the bottom of the pie plate.

7. Repeat with remaining dough to top pie.

Strawberry Rhubarb Pie

1 3/4C raw sugar

2/3C unbleached flour

1tsp grated orange peel

3C cut rhubarb (1/2 inch pieces)

3C sliced strawberries

1tbsp butter

1.Mix sugar, flour and orange peel in a large bowl.  Stir in rhubarb and berries.

2. Pour into pastry lined pie plate.  Dot with butter.

3. Cover with top crust.  Seal and flute edges.  Sprinkle with raw sugar.

4. Bake 55 minutes at 425 degree oven.  Cover edges of crust with aluminum foil or crust guard if it gets too brown during baking.

5.  Cool and Enjoy warm or cold!