The sheep know to follow their shepherdess who always leads them to greener pastures...
Sheep Wrangling
Sheep handling at Stark Hollow Farm is an adventure. First the sheep must be rounded up and then each sheep caught to be body condition scored, tagged, tattooed, hoof trimmed or provided preventative care. Vanessa has become quite good at wrangling these beautiful icelandic sheep....Laura remains the (hand wringing) stalwart assistant...
Milkweed
Never was there a meaner plant than the milkweed. Like the tiny hair on your chinny-chin-chin, you fear to pluck it lest 5 more grow in its place. Its milky sap is poisonous and causes the flesh to pucker and itch. The odor hangs on your clothes like a veil of mortal corruption...its pungent stench resistant to the strongest detergent. Were it not for its subtly scented flower so loved by the butterfly and the delicate, feathery milkweed spoors that float like snow on the fall breeze to be used by birds and rodents to feather their nests, I would wish the obstinate milkweed gone from this world.
Örn - Resident Ram
Our handsome ram Örn is really coming into his own. His horn conformation is beautiful. He is looking forward to the upcoming breeding season at Stark Hollow Farm. I just love this Icelandic breed.
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.
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