More lambs arrived this week and they are keeping us VERY busy. We let the moms and lambs out on pasture for a bit and it was fun to watch them sprint around in packs, finding their own legs. We enjoyed the “pink” full (super) moon on Tuesday. It was huge and popped up over the mountains just as I finished the evening chores. As a family we tromped around the back field and watched the moon rise to the sky. We made a fire and roasted marshmallows and threw all our bedtime rituals aside. It was a magical evening, and we all needed it.
Serendipitously, one of my musical heroes died that same day. Sadly, he died from COVID-19-related complications. The full moon was a fitting time to sing some of his songs! Rest in Peace John Prine..you will be missed and you left this world too soon!
Today is Good Friday and we will be celebrating Easter on the farm on Sunday. We usually host a large family gathering on this holiday, so this year will feel very different. Just the four of us and all our animal family, too. As a homeschool project I experimented with some plant dyes from the farm for our duck eggs. I got the idea from Valerie Segrest who generously shared her activity handout on social media. The flow of ideas and creativity is so beautiful right now. Maybe all this sharing is one of the hidden blessing of this strange time?
Anyway, I used nettle, red onion skins, dandelion flowers, and rhubarb stem.
Hmm.. we had moderate success. A lot of rich browns (onion skins for the win!) and a faint yellow (lots of dandelion flowers picked out of our front yard by the girls). I also loved the pottery-like patterns that came up on the eggs.
These are the last few weeks to sign-up for the Summer Sheep Cheese CSA that begins in June. We are really excited about the group we have so far and we will be making deliveries to Seattle. We have a little more work to do to figure out the precise drop-off point, but we are considering spots in Ballard/Wallingford and South Seattle. Please email us with any other questions.
We begin milking this week and will be in full cheese production by the end of the week. I’ll be sending out a spring newsletter with info on our CSA, farmstand, and other places where our cheese will be available–sign-up on our website. Thank you for your support!
I hope you are enjoying these beautiful, spring days!