Spinning Class!

I took my first spinning class at the 2010 Vermont Sheep & Wool Festival in Tunbridge, VT. It was way harder than it looks, but I did manage to spin up some fleece and put it onto my niddy noddy. I am hoping to get a double treadle spinning wheel soon and practice my fledgling skill.


Setting up the wheel for spinning...


A lesson in hand action...


On my own...


Gettin' niddy noddy with it!

Orn Heads to Alaska

Stark Hollow Farm's 2.5 year old resident Icelandic ram heads off to the Kenai Peninsula in Alaska to become the new breeding ram for a small farm up there. We will miss him, but we are so happy that he is going. He flies out this morning on Delta Air Freight. Thank you Orn for all the beautiful lambs!

New Icelandic Ram Arrives at Stark Hollow Farm

Our newest addition to the farm arrived Thursday in the back of Vanessa's Subaru Forester. Believe it or not, this 200 lb beast traveled from NY 2.5 hours north to our little farm in Vermont. According to Vanessa, he was quite calm on the journey, spending most of it on his feet swaying with the road. When she got him home, he laid down and refused to get back up. The two of us pulled him out and led him to his new paddock for quarantine.

He is a gorgeous black mouflon Icelandic ram, with award winning fleece. He is a proven yearling and we are very excited to see what he will do for the flock (no doubt he is too!).

Nick & Lamb

Nick, my nephew, visits the farm this week. Our surprise addition to the farm is named Birch. He was born last week to one of our yearlings who apparently got together with the ram. He is a handsome spotted lamb, who as a single, gets lots of mother's milk. He has plumped up considerably in the last week.

Gardens at HOWL

Our gardens at HOWL - A Vermont Women's Land Trust, pictured below about 2 weeks ago, are in full swing. I have canned 8 pints of green beans. Numerous meals have been accompanied by this wonderful legume, which is so rich in vitamin C, iron, potassium & fiber. The piggies have had their fair share as well.



Summer squashes abound and a few tomatoes are finally ripening. Swiss chard, beets, turnips and of course lots and lots of basil. About 10 servings of pesto are now in the freeze. Soon the tomatillos will be turned into salsa verde and more pesto will be made. Potatoes survived an early tussle with the Colorado potato beetle. With some vigilant hand picking of those pesky larva, I managed to eliminate them. The early blight and I are having a time of it...so far I am winning. I heard the late blight was here in Vermont, but I am hopeful that I won't get it.

The piggies have been given the remains of the spinach, arugula and broccoli, and I chop up the really large zucchinis for a nice side dish at dinner time.

Wiggers move to new paddock!

There is nothing more entertaining to see than a piggy on pasture. They run, they play. When we move them to a new pasture, they explore the boundaries of the paddock, immediately rooting around for the new, tasty tidbits. They'll leave your wild berries alone, but all else is fair game.

This is one of the Tamworth pigs coming through the thickest part of the new paddock.

Clearing the pastures

Slowly clearing and improving pasture is a lot of work. With our new mower, we can mow down all the weeds that the sheep don't eat...but only after we cut out all the saplings. Look at this pile!! Icelandic sheep eat most all weeds...even some that are toxic! Icelandic sheep are perfect for Vermont climates and conditions and are really helping to bring these fields back.