Whew! That was exhausting.

Please forgive me for not posting for the past few days- I guess the last week caught up with me. 

For the most part the move went very, very well, although there were lots of unexpected complications. I guess they should be expected complications...

Some of the kids were really stressed by the move and haven't been looking too healthy since we arrived. We are keeping a very close watch on them but two in particular are really looking lowly. We brought them into the house where it's warm and I'm checking them every ten minutes of so. Keep your fingers crossed.

We've spent a couple of days getting the animals sorted into the proper pens, getting hay delivered, and generally settling in to the new farm before heading back up to Boston for my talk thing on Friday.

The plan was for Erin and I to get up early and feed the animals, then get right in the car and drive up to Boston so we'd have plenty of time to stop by and visit our friends and shareholders at America's Test Kitchen before heading over to MIT for the speech. Unfortunately things didn't work out that way.

It had been raining for the past three days and the dirt road at the farm was boot-sucking mud by Friday. I drove my truck down to water everyone and almost made it to the gate before I got stuck. The truck actually slid laterally until it was stopped by the fence posts. Thank God it didn't take out the new fence or I would have burst into tears!

Erin suggested we take try to wedge a piece of plywood under the back tires to give them some traction, but while we were carrying it over to the truck, I slipped in the mud and slid under the plywood. It would have been funny if it hadn't hurt so much. I was covered- I mean COVERED- in mud from head to toe. 

I was also ready to concede. I called a tow truck and had them come free the truck. It only took a few minutes to get it out but, of course, it cost a fortune. 

We were also late leaving for Boston and had to forgo the visit to America's Test Kitchen. We got to Boston with just enough time for me to go over my Powerpoint presentation and notes. 

The speech went really well (in spite of a technical glitch that left me without slides for about 20 minutes) and it was great to see so many shareholders and friends. Dinner afterwards was lots of fun, in spite of a very LOUD band that was approximately 3 and 1/2 inches from our table. Erin and I spent the night at Jenny's house and the three of us stayed up until nearly 2:30 a.m. talking and laughing. 

The plan was for Erin and I to pick up a giant U-Haul truck on Saturday. We each have a storage unit in Boston with stuff in it that we need in New York and we needed to go back to the Vineyard to pick up the shelters and other stuff that we need for the animals. This had to be scuttled because we couldn't find anyone to help us with the heavy lifting. I thought the economy was bad, but I could interest no one in 45 minutes heavy lifting for $75. We are going to try to get it all done next Saturday with Patrick.

I heard from the people doing our Tech Makeover and they will be coming here December 2nd to install our web cams and new computers. They will be filming a short video while they are here so ya'll will get to see the whole thing.

I have to admit that I've been a little down since the move. First of all, I hate change. I would probably wear the same clothes everyday if I could. But mostly I think I am just really, really tired. I have been so worried about the flock and about money that I can't sleep. And I do not do well without sleep. It's probably a good thing that I am going to Texas next week to spend 7 days relaxing with my mom and my sister.

Now, a bit of house keeping. I usually send out an email once a week when I put up the big farm update for the week. Of course I post almost every day, but I would never want to inundate you with that many emails. The problem is that every week, shareholders are opting out of receiving the emails.  I totally get that people are opting out because you are already checking the blog and don't need to receive the emails, but I need to be able to get in touch with all the shareholders in some instances, and I won't be able to do that if people opt out.

I guess the question is, would you all rather I just discontinued the "Blog Update" emails altogether and just check the website daily for new posts? Or should I keep up the emails up and just ask those of you who already know about the emails to ignore them? 

If we decide to keep up the emails I can be sure to always make sure the subject line says blog update, (unless it's some other business) so those if you who want to can just delete them without having to open them.

Sorry for the convoluted question, but I'd really like your input.

More tomorrow with pics.

XO

The Most Expensive Yarn I've Ever Bought

On October 17, my friend Colleen Kueter died from a rare from of liver cancer at the age of 40.  In addition to being a friend who would do anything for anyone, Colleen was the artist who hand painted all of our amazing sock yarn. Somehow I never managed to scored a skein of it for myself and when I realized it was all gone, I was a little sad.

So when I had the opportunity to bid on a skein of Colleen's sock yarn over at the Tiny Lady Cooperative's fundraiser for Colleen's kid, I was determined to win this. I'm not going to tell you what I paid for it but it was absolutely insane.

Isn't it lovely? One of the women at Tiny Lady offer to knit it up into socks for me on her antique sock machine and I just can't wait to get them. Every time I wear these socks I will think of my friend Colleen and be happy I had the chance to know her.

I also got two skeins of this sock yarn, hand painted by Jenny of the Bare Sheep Yarn Company in a colorway named for Colleen. These were her favorite colors and this yarn was just too beautiful to pass up. Yes, it too was insanely expensive, but the money is going to Colleen's children's college funds, so I could totally justify spending the money.
Here's the thing though. I am not a sock knitter. And, even if I was, I don't have any time at all to knit right now and won't until the book is finished and turned in to the publisher.  So I am looking for a sock knitter who is willing to knit up one skein of this yarn into a pair of socks for me and in exchange, I will give you the other skein to knit up for yourself.

Interested? Shoot me an email at susangibbs1 AT mac DOT com.

Only cause you asked!

So a couple people have asked where you can buy shares in the Hudson Valley Fiber Farm. Here you go-

www.hudsonvalleyfiber.etsy.com

Our brand-spanking new website complete with online store is completed in a couple of weeks but until then it's good ole etsy!

BTW- the new website will also have a way for you to upload your own photos of MVFF/HVFF finished objects, which I am dying to see.

So much to blog about...

I don't even know where to begin! Okay, first the BIG ANNOUNCEMENT!

Patrick and I are very excited to announce that we are starting a second flock and a second yarn and fiber CSA on Patrick's family farm in New York's Hudson Valley.

There are many, many reasons for this decision. The first is that we are always looking for ways to make our business more sustainable without over-crowding or diminishing the quality of life for the flock. We realized a while ago that we could pretty easily sell twice as many shares but having twice as many animals on the Vineyard would make our lives immeasurably more complicated. Why? Because we don't own the land we are farming on the Vineyard. We have a five year lease on our farm at Tisbury Meadows, but the leaseholder- Martha's Vineyard Land Bank- has the right to make a lot of decision about the number of animals and time we can graze them on the property. They also have the right to terminate our lease if they choose to at anytime, although I don't think that is really a concern. 

The majority of our flock on the Vineyard resides at Felix Neck, a Mass Audabon wildlife sanctuary, and that had been a really good fit for us for a year. But, the Executive Director made the decision not long ago that she no longer wanted our dogs to be on the property. She would very much like the sheep and goats to stay, but without the dogs. She feels that they are too disruptive when they bark, which, of course, is their raison d'etre. 

As many of you remember, less than a month ago, one of our ewes (Salina, Truman's mom) was viciously attacked by a dog at Felix Neck. There is no doubt in my mind that, if Biscotti and Fettucini hadn't been there, Salina and many more would have been killed. 

All of this is to say that we will no longer be able to pasture the flock at Felix Neck. It would be beyond irresponsible of me to leave sheep and goats there without any defenses whatsoever. I am heartbroken about the move, but there really is no other option.

I do want to say that I totally respect the ED's decision- she has to do what's right for her property and we have to do what's right for our animals. We are sad to be leaving but grateful for the time we spent at Felix Neck.

So, as you can see, Patrick and I were eager to have greater control over the land our animals are pastured on, and the only way to do that is to have them on land we own or have a lease on. Since three acres of farm land on the Vineyard is priced at about $13 million right now, starting a second flock on our own farm seems to be the way to go.

So here's the plan. In a couple of weeks we will be temporarily moving ALL of the animals down to New York for the winter. This is so that I can be down there to get the new farm up and running without feeling like I need to go back and forth every week to check on things up here. In the Spring, the nanny goats and ewes will be moved back up to the Vineyard before kidding and lambing. The rams and buck will remain in New York where we have better fencing.

We are purchasing more cormo ewes and angora nannies to start the flock in New York for the NY CSA shareholders. The amount of fiber current shareholders will receive will not be effected at all by the move. Animals that belong to MVFF will continue to belong to MVFF no matter where they are pastured. The new animals will belong to Hudson Valley Fiber Farm, as will some of the kids born to the MVFF nanny goats in the spring. The most important thing is for everyone to know that their will be plenty of fiber to go around!

If you currently own a share in Martha's Vineyard Fiber Farm but live in New York, you are more than welcome to come visit the NY flock anytime. In fact, all shareholder's are welcome at either farm anytime. The new farm will have an on-site yarn shop housed in an old church that Patrick and I own and it will be stocked with lots of handspun, local farmstead yarns and spinning fibers and indie dyed yarns. 

Erin and I have a lot of cleaning to do to get it ready to open and we are having a wood stove put in to make it ultra-cozy, but our goal is to have an open house/holiday party at the end of November/early December and hope that lots of you will be able to come. 

[For those of you from NYC, the farm is located right off the Taconic Parkway, near the Beacon train stop on Metro North.]

Weather permitting, the shearing is on for this weekend on the Vineyard. This will be a pretty low-key event compared with the one in April because it is being held at Felix Neck Wildlife Sanctuary. Please dress warmly- and if you want to help- in clothes you don't mind getting goaty. There will not be food for sale at the even but I am trying to get some box lunches made up by a caterer, so I will need to know how many people are coming ASAP. Please email me at susangibbs1 AT mac DOT com if you will be coming.

Last weekend was Rhinebeck, the big New York Sheep and Wool show, and it was so lovely to get to meet so many new shareholders. It was also great to catch up with so many old friends.  We had a small, shivering meet-up for cookies at 3:30 on Saturday and ooohed and aaahed over each others purchases.  (Mine were a bit disappointing- I bought 4 new panels (fencing) and a large bottle of Dr. Naylors' Hoof and Heal. Very exciting.)

As usual, I spent the majority of the day recording the results of the Angora Goat show, so my photos from the festival are nearly identical to the ones I took last year. This year's judge was Dr. Fred Speck, the formost authority on Angora goats in the U.S., if not the world, so I learned a good bit about goats that I didn't know, which was great.

Patrick and Logan sitting at the Emcee's table.

I did sneak away from the show for about an hour to nap in the truck and saw this tree on the way back. I love the kids rolling down the hill.

This is the line for food.

And this is the line for the bathroom.

The ravelry party was a lot of fun but COLD! There must have been 700 people there and one of the people representing the Elks Club told Sara that if they had know how many people were going to show up for it they never would have rented the place! 

One very exciting thing that happened at the party was we met our very first Hudson Valley Shareholder! He was sitting at our table and asked me lots of questions, then signed up on the spot. I LOVE that our first shareholder in New York is a man! He has already joined the MVFF group on rav and I'd love it if ya'll would make him feel welcome. His rav name is AGuyKnitsinCT if you want to friend him.

We have sold five more shares on etsy since the weekend so expect to see some new faces in the group.

I have been asked to speak at the second meeting of the new Boston knitting guild- Common Cod Fiber Guild- on Friday, November 14th. Now, I am TERRIFIED of public speaking, so if any of you could make it to the event it would be awesome. I'd love to see some friendly faces. Should I survive, we can all go out for drinks after. I will post the location of the event here as soon as I get the details.

We haven't heard anything about who won the Tech Makeover contest but I really appreciate all of you who voted and left comments. I'll let you know as soon as I hear something, but keep your fingers crossed!

UPDATE: On the contest website it now says that they will be announcing the winners today!

I just found out that the calendar printer's made an error when calculating our bill which will allow us to lower the price of the remaining calendars to $18! Five of them were given as door prizes at the Ravelry Rhinebeck party and everyone loved them. They will make great holiday gifts for the knitters on your list, so order a couple before they are gone. 

To celebrate the launch of the new Hudson Valley CSA I am giving away 5 MVFF calendars! All you have to do is leave a comment on this post and the random number generator will choose the winners. Just to keep things interesting, tell us in you comment how many of your holidays gifts you will be knitting or creating this year. The contest will end on Sunday night at 7 p.m. and winner's will be posted shortly thereafter. Be sure and leave some kind of name (real, rav, whatever) so we can identify the winners.

More soon!

XO

Farm Update 9/30

Guess what I saw today?!?

Yup. That's Fall right there. Right in my own backyard.

I love Fall. I love the crispness in the air and colors and the anticipation of it all. Fall is just lovely.

This is also the season when we start getting the ewes and nanny goats ready for breeding, starting by making sure that all of this year's lambs and kids are weaned. Usually the mamas take care of this on their own because they have had enough of nursing babies for one year. 

This is also the time that we separate the buck kids and ram lambs from the mamas and doe kids and ewe lambs because they are now fully functioning males and we don't want to risk letting them impregnate the little ones. The day we separate them is one of my least favorite of the year. The little boys are all freaked out and scared and I worry about the reception they will receive from the big bucks and rams in the boys pasture. The big guys can be bullies. 

We moved the biggest boys- Sweet William, Basil, Bay Leaf, Cumin, Cilantro, Oregano, and the lambs. They are all doing just fine with the big guys. 

Since the angora goat kids need grain and the older guys don't we are feeding them separately in a small catch pen. Truman has decided that he's a big ram now and prefers to spend his time with Lincoln and FDR- his father and brother- and with Buster and Cosmo, our Babydoll Southdowns. 

We left the tiny little peewees like Ancho and Chipotle (pictured below with their mama Beatrice) with their mamas for a bit longer. They are just too small for my comfort level at this point.

Salina is almost back to 100%. We are only keeping her isolated at this point to allow her milk to dry up. She has finally put some weight back on and I don't want her getting thin again by feeding every kid and lamb in the flock.

We will be having the rescheduled Fall Shearing the weekend of October 24-26th. I'm still waiting to hear from the location if it will be Saturday or Sunday. I'll let you know ASAP. Thanks for being so understanding about the need to reschedule!

We have entered the farm in a contest to win a tech makeover from intel. The makeover would allow us to install webcams in the lambing and kidding barns so that when the new babies are born ya'll will be able to watch. But we need your help to win. Please click this link- 

http://www.needatechmakeover.com/2008/09/mvfiberfarm-needs-a-tech-makeover-because/
and vote for us. You can also leave comments about why you think we should win. So vote, comment and keep your fingers crossed!

XO

Busy, Busy, Busy

Ah summertime on the Vineyard...so many beaches, so many parties. At least I've heard there are beaches and parties around here.  The Farmer's Markets on Wednesdays and Saturdays, farm tours on Tuesdays and Thursdays, yarn dyeing and sheep and goat care are keeping me busy, busy, busy. 

We have also had more than our share of visits from the vet in the last couple of weeks. First with Rosemary's broken leg (her cast has to be changed once a week), the Cini was diagnosed with Lyme disease and another tick born illness last week and has to take five antibiotic pills a day, and the Salina, one of our Cormo ewes, seemed, well, a little off.

[Yes, Cini and Biscotti get the Lyme Disease vaccination. It is only 70% effective. And they both get Frontline every three weeks. And we check them for ticks regularly. Thank you for asking.]

Salina suddenly began looking really, really thin and she had no spark. I don't know how else to describe it- she just looked...off. Most telling of all, she let me walk  right up to her and stood still while I checked her over for any obvious clues as to what was going on with her. Dr. Tuminaro came to check her out and, after taking a fecal sample, figured out that Salina and the rest of the flock, were infected with the dreaded Haemonchus contortis parasite.

Haemonchus, also known as barber pole worm, is a nasty parasite that has been developing resistance to many commonly used wormers on the East Coast for the past five years. This worm is the worst nightmare of anyone who runs sheep and goats. 

Patrick and I got busy worming the entire flock (and delousing the goats and trimming hooves at the same time) and I am happy to report that Salina is 100% again. My mom had come up to the Vineyard from Texas to try to help me dig my way out of all of the work I need to do (she is the best mom EVER! I almost hid her plane ticket to keep her here) and she took all these pictures of the Patrick and I doing the glamourous work that is shepherding.

Our arsenal of weapons.

As you can see, the sheep and goats LOVE getting wormed and deloused and are ever so grateful to us! (Yes, that is sarcasm.) It took us about five hours to get both flocks done and we will follow up with round two in three weeks.

[We mark each of the animals with a livestock marking crayon when we're done to avoid confusion. Don't worry, it wears off.]

Rosemary is healing beautifully according to Dr. Atwood. She is one her third cast and the vet thinks that when he removes the current one she won't need another. 

Cast Number One just before it was removed.

Cast Number Two

Cast Number Three

Rosemary lost about three pounds since the night we brought her into Dr. Atwood's office the night she broke her leg which is vexing. She is still nursing on her mom a bit and her appetite is good. I'm really hoping getting the cast off turns this around but we will have to carefully watch her in the coming weeks.

I have been really lucky to have some really great shareholder visits in the pas few weeks. Shareholder Stephanie and her family tied with Maggie (last week's guest blogger) for the "Traveled Furthest" Award. Both of them came all the way from San Diego. Which just goes to show you that no matter how far away you live you should get your butt on a plane and come see your flock. And that could be you holding Ike in that picture.

If you are planning to be on the Vineyard anytime soon you might be interested in taking one of our yarn dyeing workshops, especially those of you with Spring 08 shares that will be coming undyed. Shareholders Jane and Rebecca came were my guinea pigs this week while I worked out exactly how to teach the workshop and we had an amazing time. We are going to be holding the workshops on Tuesdays through the summer and on weekends in the Fall, so if you're thinking of making a day trip and you'd like more details, let me know.

****In Spring 2008 Shareholder news, the latest update from the mill in Canada is that the fleeces have been washed and blended and are in line for spinning. I limit myself to calling to get status updates once a week (I don't want to be annoying and slow things down) and I try to call on Wednesdays but today I got their voice mail. I left a message and didn't hear back, so I will give another call tomorrow. I think we are about a month away from getting our yarn back but don't quote me.****

This whole mill experience has been such a nightmare that we are seriously looking into investing in our own mill, either on the Vineyard or on our farm in New York. When we go up to Prince Edward Island to pick up the Spring 09 yarn we will be visiting Belfast Mini Mills, manufacturers of the mini mills equipment that several of the mills we've used in the past use. 

Some of you have asked about the status of the MVFF Calendar. We got a sample back from the printer that was going to do it and it was just ...terrible. The printing was just appallingly bad- clearly no one checked the colors before it was printed. And that was on the proof! 

I really don't want to put the MVFF logo on a product that sucks, so the calendar is on hold until things settle down a little bit. 

This weekend is going to be hugely, insanely busy- even by our standards. Patrick's BIG fundraiser of the year is Friday- Sunday. It includes a three-day telethon on Plum TV and a big party Saturday night. And, in addition to the Farmer's Market, I have two shareholders coming for a visit on Saturday. 

I feel like there is more to tell you but- YOWZA- I just realized it's midnight! More soon.

XOXO

Susan

When it rains it pours...

Well the suck week from hell continues. 

Saturday morning while Patrick and I were getting ready for the Farmer's Market we got a call from a volunteer at Felix Neck. All the sheep and goats were out. Out of their new fence. The one I had just paid $1500 for.

We rushed up to there and found that he was right, they were out. Patrick used grain to lure them back to the pen but when we got there we found Nanny McPhee all tangled up in the new fence. It was wrapped around her neck multiple times and it was a miracle that she hadn't choked to death in the night. It took about 20 minutes to free her from the fence (a section of which was all but destroyed BTW) and the whole time I kept thinking that something wasn't right. Nanny McPhee had been trained to the fence for more than a year. Sometimes a new animal will challenge the fence but it just seemed really odd that an animal familiar with it would. 

We got her loose and she was fine. And then I noticed that all the clips that run from the electric fence charger to the fence were uncliped. All four of them

There wasn't much time to think because by then we were running massively late for the Farmer's Market. But on the way out we ran into Suzan Bellicampi, Sanctuary Director at Felix Neck.  Long story short, it turns out that someone, probably kids, broke into Felix Neck the night before, did doughnuts in the parking lot, chased our flock and left. 

I can't begin to tell you how angry this makes me. Just writing about it makes me see red.  Okay, I get it, they were probably teenagers and didn't think they were hurting anyone. But Nanny McPhee easily could have died, either by having her air cut off by the fence or from the stress.  

So the gate at Felix Neck is now locked at night.  I am comfortable that my flock is safe. But I really didn't need the added stress...

The next couple of days were blessedly uneventful. We moved the sheep and goats to a new area to eat. They are in a very brushy, overgrown area right now, which makes moving the fence a big project. It took Patrick and I almost two hours to set up the new fence, trim all the vines and branches around the fenceline and get the flock in, but it was totally worth it. 

Patrick  pretending to  be annoyed about all the work.

He goes first, crushing down the brush with his giant feet and dropping a fence post every 8 feet. I follow behind setting the posts and making sure there are no gaps for the escape-minded goats to sneak though.

The bittersweet vines make great eating for the flock but making fencing a pain.

Ta Da! Here is our beautiful, virgin fenced area. All we need to do now is add sheep and goats.

Remember that scene in Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory when the kids get their first look at the room with the chocolate river running through it? I'm talking about the old school Willy Wonka, the Gene Wilder version.  Everything in the giant room is eatable- the trees, the giant mushrooms, everything, and all the kids spread out and start eating. That's exactly what it's like when we let the flock into a new fence.

No matter how long a day it's been or how late it is, Patrick and I always stay for a while and watch them eat. They are just so happy. 

The day after a major move is really easy. All we have to do in the evening is feed the dogs, feed the bottle babies and give the flock a little hay to keep their rumens functioning properly. Last night when we gave them hay everybody came running over to the hay feeder and were quietly munching away when I heard a baby goat crying. I figured one of the kids had gotten left behind when their mama came to get hay. I went looking for her and found Rosemary laying on her side with a broken leg. 

We called our vet but his answering  service said he was off Island and had the on-call vet meet us at the animal hospital. We brought Bay Leaf along for companionship. Goats get very stressed when they are away from the rest of the flock and we wanted to minimize her discomfort.  

Dr. Atwood was great. He took x-rays and confirmed that Rosemary did indeed have a broken leg. The break was clean through just below the growth plate.

Dr. Atwood decided that the best course of action was to keep Rosemary and Bay Leaf overnight and set the leg in the morning when he has a vet tech on hand to help him with the anesthesia . 

Rosemary came through the ordeal just fine. Because she is growing so quickly I will have to bring her in to get a new cast once  week until it heals, but Dr Atwood thinks she will recover completely. But she can't rejoin the flock until her cast is off in six weeks since it will dissolve if it gets wet. "What you have here," Dr. Atwood said, "is a house pet." 

Rosemary seems to agree. She is sleeping on Gulliver's dog bed as I type and she has taken to a bottle like she's been doing it since the day she was born. You'll notice that in addition to a cast Rosemary is sporting a diaper. That is my concession to Patrick, who doesn't really like having a dog in the house, let alone a farm animal. 

Dr. Atwood thinks Rosemary got her leg stuck in a hole or a tangle of vines and panicked, breaking her leg in the process. Their bones apparently aren't that strong because they are still growing. He is a great vet and even helped us by keeping the bill under $500. Still, most farms probably wouldn't spend that kind of money on a kid, so I keep reminding myself how lucky we truly are. If it weren't for the shareholders we would have had to make a very tough decision last night. 

I hope you all know how grateful I am to you for investing in our farm. Sincerely and deeply grateful.

If you are a current shareholder and haven't yet emailed me about purchasing a Spring 2009 share (and you want one) please let me know ASAP. There is supposed to be a big magazine article coming out about the farm this weekend and I am listing some of the remaining Spring 09 shares on etsy. I've saved a few for shareholders but I need to know who you are.

Also, I'm told that the video that was shot when Salina gave birth to Truman will be posted on etsy a week from Friday. I'll post a link as soon as it's up.

In other news, I am going to be holding a raffle this weekend to raise money for a super-worthy cause. The grand prize winner will be receiving my entire stash of non-MVFF yarn. Yup, the whole kit and caboodle. I'll explain all  in my next post but I promise you won't want to miss this one.

Keep your fingers crossed that the rest of the week is uninteresting please!

And we're back...

Sorry for the long delay between posts, everybody. I had no idea that is was possible to get busier than I have been but I was so very wrong. Between farm visits, the farmer's market, shipping internet orders and caring for the flock, I haven't had time to think this week.

I am completely and totally grateful that so many people want to meet the flock and buy some of their yarn and I am working really hard to remember that busy = good.  Besides, it won't last forever. I'll nap in October.

This week started off really badly. One Monday the sheep and goats pastured at Felix Neck got out of their fence three times. THREE TIMES! We couldn't figure out what was going on but we narrowed the problem down to two possible factors. 1.) The electric fence might not have been grounded enough and 2.) West Chop, one of our wethers still pastured at Felix Neck who has always been an escape artist, was inspiring the others to challenge the fence. Or possibly both.

I had placed an order for some new fencing that I thought would solve all our problems but it was backordered and supposed to ship mid-week.

So I added another 9 feet of ground rod to our current setup and put West Chop in the back seat of my truck and drove him over to Tisbury Meadows to join the rest of the boys. Unfortunately, as soon as I open the door of the truck, West Chop jumped out and took off in the direction of the woods. After chasing sheep and goats all day I had finally had enough and burst into tears.

I called Patrick at work and he dropped everything at the office to come help me track down the runaway. We searched for a couple of hours without seeing hide nor hair of him before giving up for the day. The thing is, sheep and goats are flock animals and won't willingly go off on their own. We were pretty sure that West Chop would return on his own by the time we came back to feed a couple hours later.

But he didn't.  By then it was getting dark and I was frantic. We spent another hour searching for him with flashlights. No luck.

As you can imagine, I didn't sleep much that night. Knowing that a member of my flock was lost in the dark and all alone was agonizing and I spent the whole night running worst case scenarios. Maybe he was hurt and couldn't walk. Attacked by dogs. Had fallen in a deep hole and broke a leg. You get the idea.

So it was a huge relief when we got a phone call from a lovely couple asking if the goat they found on their front porch snuggled up with their dog in the morning belonged to us. West Chop had walked over two miles!

I hardly had time to be relieved about his return because when I went to drop  him at  the pasture all the goats we out. All of them! We had been troubleshooting some problems with the electric fence and thought the problem was solved but clearly we were wrong. 

Luckily, Mark Defeo, our dear friend and go-to guy, was able to rearrange his day to work on the fence. He solved the problem and got the fence up to 3000 volts, a shock that will discourage a goat from making a break for it. We haven't had any escapes since, knock wood.

I had, by actual count, 58 visitors to the farm this week. It's great fun introducing shareholders and friends of the farm to sheep and goats, especially kids between 4 and 10. I've discovered that children much younger than 4 don't really understand want the big deal is because they can't tell the difference between a baby goat and a dog anyway. 

Patrick and I had a couple of very exciting meetings this week that could mean some pretty big things for our little farm. I can't reveal any details just yet but keep your fingers crossed!

One thing I can reveal is that the first Martha's Vineyard Fiber Farm calendar will be available soon. This is an idea that can be completely attributed to shareholders' suggestions so I  really hope you like it. I'll be getting a proof in a couple of days and if everything is okay I will let you know where you can get them. A portion of the proceeds from our calendar sales will be donated to a farm animal sanctuary. I will let you know which one as soon as we settle on one, but I would welcome your suggestions.

Due to a disagreement with our landlord, we will no longer be able to operate farm stand at Tisbury Meadows. It's disappointing but not the end of the world. We are looking for another location and I'll let you know as soon as I have some news. In the meantime you can find our yarns and rovings at the West Tisbury Farmer's Market on Wednesdays and Saturdays. I'm hoping that by next summer we will have a proper knitting shop but in the meantime the farmer's market is lovely.

And now for the winner's of the alpaca yarn giveaway. I'm so sorry it took me so long to get to this- I promise to be more responsible in the future. The winners are:

knitgirl64- salmon
Megan/Short Megan- blue
muoriska- blue green
jsample- sage green

Congratulations to the winners. Please shoot me an email at susangibbs1 at mac dot com with your mailing address.

Now for your weekly dose of cute.

I am going to spend tomorrow catching up on my emails so if I owe you one a reply don't worry- I'm catching up!

I'll write more tomorrow. Off to bed now.

The Week in Pictures

Truman nurses from behind his mom. We haven't ever seen this before!

See that? That is Fall '08 shareholder's yarn growing.

I am so proud when I see Cumin (pictured above) and Bay Leaf eating grass and hay. Usually babies graze along side their mamas who show them what to eat. My boys have to figure it out for themselves. They are wicked smart.

Maybe my favorite picture of the week is this one of Truman napping.

You can clearly see the "grazing line" in this shot.

I am almost positive that Salina and Sicily are cross nursing their lambs.

Bay Leaf

Ike

I know it's hard to believe but this giant kid is Basil with  his mama Anna.

Here he is nursing. He is barely a third smaller than his mom!

Miss Hannah

There was a lot of basking in the sun going on this week.

Linda and Cayenne

Bay Leaf has the greatest...

ears ever.

Truman and Salina.