The sheep have taken over the farm! People have heard me say this a lot, and it’s true. We started out with a handful of “pet” sheep, re-homed from a retiring cheesemaker, and now we have a grade A dairy and creamery. We have transitioned out of wholesale vegetables, but we are still growing a…
Market Season!
Farmer’s market season is in full swing! If you can’t make it to one of our on-farm cheese shops, find us at a Saturday market! We will have our cheese, yarn, and herbs available. We have been in Bellingham a few Saturdays already and this will be our first season in Anacortes. I have loved…
Eat More Cheese!
That is my motto, mantra, main dietary guideline! A lot of folks have been asking about how they can buy our cheese. We are slowly, but surely, getting it out into the world and doing a few farmer’s markets. We are also having some pop-up, cheese shops on the farm. This is a chance to…
Know Thy Farmer Census Data
The USDA 2017 Census of Agriculture data was released last week. You can read a synopsis from the Washington Post here or look at the original document here. As the WP writes, “This census comes out every five years and is the most accurate and detailed look at America’s vast, complicated and shrinking agricultural sector.”…
Patiently Waiting
Our lamb due date was March 17th. Well, that was the first possible date that lambs could arrive. Lambing then usually lasts for a least two to three weeks. So, now I am eagerly checking the barn several times a day. This week there is a full moon that also coincides with the spring equinox.…
Memory Lane
Dean and I are celebrating our fifth wedding anniversary this week. It has also been eight years since moving to this farm. Before settling here I moved every few years or sometimes even months in my young, adult life. Now, these eight years seem like nothing. A blink. Time has flown by and in many…
Snow Day!
We woke up to a few inches of snow, which is a lot for northwestern Washington. Most things scheduled for today were cancelled, including our annual flock check with the vet. There isn’t a ton of snow on the road, but enough to make you slip and slide into one of our enormous, rural ditches.…
So…you are interested in milking sheep?
I remember reading this bulletin almost ten years ago. At the time I had a strong feeling that I wanted to start a farm. I had a strong inclination towards growing herbs and produce, but I also loved sheep. I had helped raise sheep at a bed and breakfast in Vermont, assisted with lambing at…
Heart of Summer!
Hello August! I am not quite sure where July went, but here we are in the heart of the summer! We have had a nice mixture of weather (hot, cold, wet, dry) in the Skagit Valley, so I can’t complain. And the evening skies have been incredible! Our second cheese, Fleecemaker, is OUT and we…
Here We Go!
We have arrived in summer! The year has been busy so far with new farm projects underway and the ongoing adjustment to being a family of four. I won’t lie to you–I am tired. And, I am also severely disturbed by the news these days. However, I want to use the time I have right…