Blog
Silence of the Lambs
December 3, 2020
When I walk out our front door in the morning, our border collie “Claay” races on ahead. She clears the path in front of me (I'm not entirely sure of what) and alerts the rest of the world that I am on the way (in case they need to know). Once she has succeed in whipping the pigs, the chickens and the sheep into
Thanksgiving
November 27, 2020
Thanksgiving, when my mom was growing up on this property, consisted of a very formal, very fancy, very traditional meal complete with the minister and his wife joining the family at the table. This was followed later in the day by an equally informal bonfire, with a bit of food and plenty to drink – and
No more escapin' bacon
November 20, 2020
We spent most of the week fencing, which is extremely satisfying. The pigs, who have been making a mockery of my temporary fencing for weeks, ran back and forth watching the effort, investigating, sniffing the fence, stealing the tools, monitoring the progress, and then suddenly to their complete dismay, they were penned in
A Small Army of Nephews
November 13, 2020
This week, Anne and I rebuilt the bridge that crosses Hill-Stead's farm road. We constructed the original bridge almost 20 years ago - and I swear (since I am certain that neither Anne nor I have aged in those 20 years) that the white oak timbers have gotten considerably heavier, the lag screws we used to hold it together
The Choices We Make.
November 6, 2020
This week we brought two lambs to the abattoir – which is by far and away, my least favorite part of farming. When I was a vegetarian, I was sanctimonious - and clueless about the damage my soy, corn and grain heavy diet was doing to the environment. Now as a dedicated omnivore, locavore, and believer in regenerative agriculture, I am still sanctimonious- but infinitely more knowledgeable. Not a day goes by that I don't think about, read about and evaluate how I live, how I eat, how I farm and
Fair Isle Love
October 30, 2020
We made our annual trek to Still River Mill this week. The spinnery is tucked away in Eastford, CT and is where we have, for years , had all of our wool processed into yarn. We make the voyage each spring to drop off the raw wool and then return several months later to pick up the finished yarn. The yarn, then, is either sold directly to knitters, or distributed to local fiber artists so they can, in turn, make us hats, scarves, shawls, gloves, socks, rugs, blankets and a myriad of other product
Samson and the Katydids
October 23, 2020
This week marked the true beginning of sheep breeding season as we delivered “Samson” to Hill-Stead. I am sure he thought the worst awaited him as we loaded him into the trailer, only to be thrilled to realize not only did the abattoir not await him at the end of this journey, but a pasture of 40 ewes did. That was one happy boy. The next time you drive down RT 4 please avert your gaze....
After one hard frost our katydids, the iconic troubadours of New England's summer nights, stopped
Pumpkin Season is upon us!
October 16, 2020
We've been busy collecting “rejected” (free) pumpkins from local farm stands to feed to our sheep. All of our animals love pumpkins, but this year we are giving the bulk of them to our sheep at Hill-Stead. This past summer's drought hit our sheep pasture at Hill-Stead the hardest, and even without that added stress, I like the ewes to go into the winter (and breeding season) with the best body condition possible. So starting a couple weeks before the arrival of the breeding ram, we feed them
Knitting with Sheep
October 9, 2020
Last November Clatter Ridge Farm set the world record for “The Most People Knitting In The Company of Sheep”. Since we were the ones who conceptualized the challenge - we were assured the title, as long as someone, anyone, showed up. We had a total of 15 knitters and 30 sheep.
It was a wonderful couple of hours, and everyone, especially the sheep, made new friends. We had no sooner earned our bragging rights, however, when a sheep farm in New York state announced they were planning to break our
The Chicken Cafe
October 2, 2020
We received our “replacement” chicks from the hatchery this week, and they are not only alive but thriving. It will be at least 6 months before they provide any significant contribution to our egg production, and the challenge, as always, is to keep them safe from predators, until they are big enough, fast enough, and smart enough to fend for themselves- at least a bit. They are growing fast but even so, it will be several weeks before they can safely join the rest of the flock in the coop.
