Happier than a pig in...

This really fits the saying, doesn't it? Except the saying really should be "Happier than a pig in mud", because pigs are actually quite clean....doing their business in only one designated area of their run...contrary to popular belief, they do not roll around in their own sh*t, unless they have not been provided with enough room to live comfortably.

Summer Pasture @ HOWL

Stark Hollow Farm and HOWL (Huntington Open Women's Land) have entered into an arrangement to graze sheep on the land trust land in Huntington, Vermont. HOWL was established in the mid 1980's and is a 50 acre women's land trust devoted to providing a sanctuary to women in transition, loving stewardship of the land, and to ensure that all women may have access to the healing energy that comes from the earth. Once an old Vermont dairy farm nestled onto the side of Crouching Lion Mountain, the land includes a house and barn with two studios. HOWL is run by a collective of women and decision making is handled by consensus. We will spend about 75% of our time at HOWL during the summer months with our sheep, pigs & chickens.

Oink Oink...Piglets Arrive!

Piglets arrived today at Stark Hollow Farm. We had to stuff them into gunny sacks with small nose holes for them to stick their little snouts out. Though they tried to struggle, they are so porky, they barely fit into the bags...

Two 8 week old piglets will follow along behind the sheep on pasture. The put up quite a struggle as we transported them from a farm in So. Starksboro to our summer pasture at HOWL. They are huge for their age and should flesh out nicely. These are Gloucester Old Spot/Duroc/Landrace cross and a Pure Bred Hampshire Boar bred via artificial insemination. Their pink skin is quite delicate when exposed to intense sun, which shouldn't be too much problem here in Vermont as we mostly have seen rain and clouds this summer. We've been hard at work on a pig pen and Vanessa's design has turned out to be quite deluxe. Oakley is a little jealous...

Icelandic Sheep Workshop @ HOWL

Stark Hollow Farm conducted its first ever workshop on the Icelandic Sheep breed. Vanessa led the workshop for about 15 women at HOWL's annual solstice celebration. Vanessa delivered a brief talk about the Icelandic breed's origins & characteristics followed by a lengthy question and answer period. Laura brought two of the lambs over so that workshop attendees got to touch their fleece and look into their eyes. The ram, with his impressive horns, was also coaxed over for some up close and personal viewing.

























Poet Cora Brooks, who attended the celebration and workshop, added her artistic talent...


Her words speak volumes,

Hooray for birds peeping
and sheeps bleating
and eating and trees leafing
and women meeting
Cora Brooks

Thank you Cora.

New Layer Chickens

In order to expand our flock, this year we purchased 25 day old chicks. We choose Plymouth Barred Rocks for their wonderful egg laying abilities and their beautiful feathers markings. The flock now consists of Buff Orpingtons, Australorp, and these new Plymouth Barred Rocks. We also received one "exotic" bird from the hatchery which we have tentatively identified as a Silver Laced Wyandotte. Eight will be added to our flock for a total of 16 (including the exotic) with the balance to be sold as pullets. Vanessa built an awesome brooder for the chicks which kept them warm during May and June. Now they are free ranging and happy. 16 have been sold to local, small farms who plan on using the eggs for their own consumption. They make a wonderful addition to Stark Hollow Farm.

Ugali & Ada join the flock

Ugali and her ewe lamb join Stark Hollow Farm from Knoll Farm in Waitsfield. This beautiful ewe has lovely black fleece and her lamb is a black grey as evidenced by her grey cheeks in this photo. Vanessa's mom asked that we name her Ada after herself and to keep with our naming convention (all lambs in year one begin with the letter A).

Spring Shearing

Removing the winter coats of icelandic sheep is not an easy task. Jim McCrea, an experienced shearer and his assistant took charge of our sheep. Poor Mara had a particularly matted undercoat... after he removed her fleece and handed it to us, he comment "throw a couple of buttons on this and you'll have a coat!" With the heat and humidity here in Vermont, however, these sheep will be happy campers as they head off to summer pasture at HOWL (Huntington Open Women's Land...more to come).