The sheep moving out onto spring grass
Happy New Year Friends from Leyden Glen Farm!
Wow - 2019 went fast - didn't it? Mark, Julia and I want to thank you for your continued support of our farm and family. As all local customers know, the last few years have been tough for Farmer Mark with his 62 year old hips not being as agile as they once were. Two hip replacement surgeries over the past two years have helped him immensely. He's ready for the lambs that will be arriving over the next couple months.
We had a lovely holiday season and now life is back to our normal. Look what arrived on New Year's Eve Day! Two bright and beautiful lambs. That is one happy looking farmer, isn't it?
After a quick visit to see Kristin's family for Christmas, Mark was home again. He never is really at ease when he is away from the farm - especially when lambs are expected. He made it home and a couple days later, the first lambs of Lambing Season 2020 were born in 2019. You can see them in the photo below.
Once the lambs have bonded with their mother for a day, they are marked with washable spray paint. Mothers are numbered in order of delivery. A green number means she had twins; a blue number means she had a single. Then a stripe gets painted down her back indicating which 2 week period she lambed. This same process is repeated on each lamb. In the photo you can see the markings. This system helps to keep a semblance of order and the lambs can be matched up with their mamas. After a couple of days, the lambs and mama are let out of their pen and they roam with the rest of the sheep. All of this seems so orderly but check back with us in a couple weeks and see how we are getting on once more babies arrive.
In November, the sheep were sheared. Kevin Ford of Charlemont is our longtime shearer. He shears completely by hand with blades and leaves a nice amount of wool on the ewes. We settled on the November shearing schedule a couple years ago because Kevin suggested that the lambs would easier find their mama's teats. It is also much easier to see who is close to lambing and if the mamas are getting enough (or too much) feed.
We want to thank all of you who came out to our 5th Annual Open House in the beginning of December. It was awesome to see all our local customers here at our home base. We hope you enjoyed the lamb you purchased for your holiday meals. You can see photos from the event HERE on my blog.
We wish you all a happy and healthy 2020. We thank you for your continued support and friendship as we go through this thing we call life. As I think back on the year that was, I feel so fortunate to have the opportunity to share our delicious lamb and my creative textiles and ceramics each Saturday at the Amherst Saturday Market. It has been a delight to have met so many interesting people to talk to and share with. Both Mark and I are relishing our Saturdays off but are also looking forward to late April when we will see you all again. Now if we can just get through the next few months of lambs, snow, ice and mud! It's all good - as they say.
Follow along with lambing on my Instagram account HERE or on our Facebook page HERE.
Happy 2020 from your shepherds,
Mark, Kristin and Julia
Phone 413-774-6514
email: kristinnicholas@gmail.com
A preview of our colorful home and farm including drone footage of the sheep, The Farmer and his dog.