December 31, 2021
Farmers may talk a cynical game, but the truth is, if we weren’t eternal optimists, we would have all given up years ago. As we happily show 2021 the door, I just know 2022 is destined to be “totally awesome”.
During the summer of 2020 we had an epic drought – the likes of which no one in New England had ever seen before, followed by the summer of 2021 which was the wettest on record. So, I figure how can 2022 be anything less than perfect? Right?
Because of the drought, and then the flooding, the price of hay for the sheep has been obscene, and the price of grain for the pigs is totally absurd - but we’ve done a lot of work improving and expanding our pastures, so we won’t need to buy in as much of either in 2022. It should all balance out in the end. Right?
We cut, split and stacked all the wood we need for our maple sugaring season. It’s all under cover and ready to go. The weather, though, has been so mild this winter, I wonder if the sap will even know when it’s time to start flowing. But it will - because it always has, and it just does. Right?
We dutifully sequestered our pigs into one breeding pair and two non-breeding groups. So, we know we will have one manageable litter of piglets in the spring, and another manageable litter of piglets in the fall. Not two at once in the middle of the winter. A very orderly plan indeed! What could possibly go wrong?
Our sheep are looking very content and healthy, so I am thinking we should have a productive and incident free lambing season, not too late in the spring and not too early either. It’ll be well timed and just plain perfect. Right?
In 2020 Hill-Stead planned a festival in honor of our spring shearing. It was going to be a “Sheep to Shawl” demonstration. The first fleece of the day to be shorn was to be skirted, carded, spun and woven into a shawl the same day. Local spinners, weavers, felters and knitters, were signed up to give demonstrations and sell their crafts. The plan included a food truck, hayrides, blue grass music, and a storyteller.
Unfortunately, the March 2020 event was postponed because of COVID but it’s now been rescheduled for March 2022. I’m sure Covid will be done by then and it’ll be better than ever… Right?
Happy New Year everyone, may all your dreams come true in 2022.