Portable Sheep Shed Collapses

Based on the title, you might ask why should it matter that the portable sheep shed has collapsed since it is meant for summer grazing, it is winter, and I have been working on a permanent winter pen? Good question and the answer has to do with the fact that the permanent pen was nowhere near completion when the portable shed collapsed. In fact, the sheep were using the portable shed as their shelter during the winter weather we've been having... and as the locals know, it has been winter weather alright. The worst of it is not temperatures hovering at 0 to 10 degrees F (i.e. -18 to -12 degrees C), but the wind. For some bizarre reasons -- mmmm... global warming? Oh no that's a scare tactic, there's no such thing! (i.e. yes that's a joke) -- the wind has been strong and from the south this year, which means it has been whipping us and especially the top of the pasture where the sheep are. You see, we have a hill in the north so luckily we're sheltered from north winds (i.e. north winds are generally much colder than south winds), but in the past we have not really had much winds coming from the south, meaning we have not had to really deal with windy conditions. Well, this year it all changed. It has made the air feel even colder thanks to the now noticeable wind-chill factor, not to mention the fact that the winds have created havoc on my portable sheep shed just when the sheep need it the most -- they usually use shelters in high wind conditions, driving rain/snow, or extreme cold... yes essentially what we've had.

(at left: the portable sheep shed still standing)

I was able to resolve the wind beating of the portable shed, after first chasing the shed down the slope of the entire pasture and then after being thrown around the pasture while stubbornly holding onto the shed as it acted like a sail driven by the wind all over the pasture, into the fence, and over the fence -- it was like watching sail-boat or wind-surf in the San Fransisco Bay under the Golden Gate bridge (i.e. if you have been there, you know what I mean). In any case, the resolution was to take 6 large pieces of bedrock -- we have a lot of rocks and bedrock outcrops on the property -- and set them onto the wood/PVC frame of the portable shed: it worked... that was until the snow started to fall and pile high! One morning I go out to feed my woolen girls just to find the tarp cover of the portable shed detached at one of the grommets; I pull at it to reattach the string and snap... the grommet breaks! OK, I just need to pull gently at the other end, shed some snow, and I can make a new hole. I do that and snap... the PVC angle holding 1 of the 2 peaks of the frame shatters into several pieces of plastic thanks to what I can surmise to be: cold temperatures. OK, I can still fix this, since the PVC angle is at the top and away from the reach of the sheep, I can just use rope to attach the wood and PVC pipes making up the frame. So I readjusts the wood/PVC pipes and... snap another PVC angle shatters at 1 of the bottom corners, 1 of the wood breaks in half, and the entire tarp tent of the portable shed collapses under the weight of the snow. NOW I'm screwed! I would need a miracle to fix all this mess.

Stay tuned for how we managed to provide shelter for the sheep in less than 24-hrs, outside in 10 degree F weather...

(at right: a preview of the workshop for the winter pen)

Vanessa's Tattoo

Finally, Vanessa got her tattoo. Probably most don't know, but she has wanted one for a few years now. What has held her back is not really knowing what tattoo, although she has always known she wanted her own design. At first it was going to be a stambecco in Italian or an alpine ibex in English, a beautiful animal that lives in the Alps and is an excellent rock climber. The reason for the stambecco/alpine ibex is because I love mountains, I love to hike/climb, and I especially love to trail run through mountains with lots or rocks where you kind of have to leap around.

Then it was going to be a newt to catch the meaning of Nature and its potential fragility from our own human hands since amphibians are very susceptible to pollution and loss of habitat.

Years went by, but it was always going to be an animal because I love animals, I find them fascinating, special, almost (or totally) spiritual and able to provide humans with a connection back to Nature... where after all we come from -- even if accounting for God there is Nature between God and us.

Then for just over a year or so, I have been reading about the fact that my interests and feelings of a spiritual connection with Nature might be well founded (i.e. not just typical Vanessa's craziness) and are very ancient; this brought me to neolithic Celtic culture or older, another interest and spiritual connection of mine. This in turn and brought me again to more realizations: the ancient Celtic origins of where I come from (i.e. Gallia Cisalpina), which I actually studied in school and guess what... managed to forget with my powerful ability to remember – not!

In any case, after an iteration of personal/spiritual growth/search, I have arrived to making my own design! The design does capture what I wanted: animals, specifically deers, for which I have always had even more special awe, the number 3, which carries many important meanings in ancient and Celtic cultures as well as in my life, and the circle or wheel, which again is a spiritual symbol throughout many ancient cultures.

So here's what I came up with... yes that is my leg or calf to be more precise.

I must explain the reason for the location: at first, at the time of the stambecco/alpine ibex I actually wanted to tattoo on my leg, but it was going to be the thigh; then at the time of the newt it was going to be exactly the same, the calf; then while creating my latest design it was going to be my lower arm. What changed you might ask? I guess you can call it something not very spiritual, but purely practical and related to today's world: work. Yes like everybody else I got to eat and have a roof over my head... so I got to work and make money and since the path I have chosen does not usually allow for tattoos to be visible the arm was not going to work; no way I am wearing long sleeves throughout the summer!

A Little Pictorial Catch-Up

Well, i had tis grand idea that each week i would create a new blog with a "catch-up" topic to summarize what has been happing at Stark Hollow Farm. But too much keeps happening and/or there is never enough time... or i am just lazy and/or cannot look at a computer in my "free" time off the paying job! In any case, i have given-in and that grand idea is not going to work. So below are a few photos to summarize the major highlights of what has been going on in the last few months.

PORTABLE SHEEP SHED (built by me w/ fallen wood from our land, left over PVC, and a tarp)


THE SHEEP HAY FEEDER (built by me w/ fallen wood from our land and scrap plywood/sheet metal)

with lid opened

BRINGING & STORING IN HAY


CHICKEN COOP PROGRESS
(not 100%, but good enough to use for now)



Please note that i am leaving for future posts my Mom's visit and the winter sheep shed.

Doggie Sitting

During the Thanksgiving holiday we have welcome again in our home Gorgeous, the brindle dog we looked after last year for a nice month or so. Gorgeous is approximately the same age as Oakley and as Oakley she's of the "Heinz 57 sauce" breed... a.k.a. a pure mutt. The best kind of domesticated wolf! Gorgeous and Oakley seem to like each other, they eat, play, eat, sleep, eat, snooze, eat, run around, eat, beg for human food, eat, play, and -- almost forgot -- eat together nicely. At first there is always a little jealousy on the part of Oakley, but it last less than 24-hrs and then it's all good... best partners in crime.

Gorgeous is well behaved like Oakley; she may venture around through the woods and hills, but does not usually strays far and comes right away when called. The other day as i was cleaning up around the sheep quarters in the wooded top pasture (i.e. it will become pasture), i called onto Gorgeous as i usually do when she's not under my eyesight, but this time she did not come back. Then i called again, then again, then again. Then i moved to the barn area and called onto Gorgeous again, then again, and again.... nothing still. Darn dog where could she have possibly gone!?! She's such a good beast... doesn't make sense, back to calling and calling.... nothing. Try howling, then howling more, then again howling... nothing. I almost lost my voice, but gave it another change calling the dog again and again... nothing. Then i gave up. Then right before the vet came by to check up on the sheep (they're all well and healthy) Gorgeous miraculously shows up; it's all good. I see Gorgeous in the distance playing with something, possibly a stick of wood or something like that. But the vet has just arrived and Gorgeous seem to be doing fine. The vet and i go to the sheep and the dogs remain outside the fence doing their own thing. When done with the sheep as the vet and I discuss billing, we both notice that Gorgeous' toy consists of some bone-like object with dangling pieces of meat and tendons -- i noted that we do not have bones kicking around on the homestead and she must have found something around. But looking at the fun Gorgeous was having trashing around bones, tendons, and meat, we couldn't resist and had to go take a look. Sure enough it was a deer leg... or whatever remained of it, which actually was a nice remainder sample with 3 full bones, meat, tendons, skin, hairs, and hoof even. Poor deer... at the very least it was already dead thanks to a hunter as we're in the thick of hunting season. In any case here's a photo taken after Gorgeous had already decimated half of the booty!

Pooty Tat Claws

Micio (pronounced meecho) joined Stark Hollow Farm as the resident barn cat employed to keep the mouse population at bay. So far he is doing a cat fabulous job. Unfortunately, the song bird population is suffering too!

He is gorgeous and very friendly. He hangs out around the house and woods and barn all day. He comes in the house sometimes for a short visit, but likes to be outdoors. He and Oakley chase each other around and play together...we think Oakley thinks he is a dog! She growls at him if he gets too close to her bowl.

Catching Up: July, August, and September 2008

Well, let's see where to start... it is November 1st and i got to keep my readers, if any*, informed. So let's start, we got chickens again, after the winter tragedy, or the way i prefer to look at it, natural food chain series of events. We got them in the middle/late summer, 8 full grown-up layers that already lay eggs, which is nice (i.e. not sure if all of you know, but it takes a bit, a few months really, for chickens to start laying eggs). So the day we got them, can't believe i actually remember this, was threatening rain all day and then, about 30 min to an hour after we got home, it poured hard and all night. Now i must update anyone of you that does not leave near us: this summer we apparently reached historical records for most precipitation since data have been taken, which is not super long, but i believe it at least goes back to the 1800s. In any case, this summer just kept raining, raining, and raining; soils were soaked, driveway was soaked, i was soaked, i think only the plants loved it! Although, i loved the fact that my pasture loved the rain because it sure showed :-). So anyway, the chickens... we got home and placed them in the electric poultry net i had set-up for them just prior to picking them up. Birds seemed happy checking out the new grass, or lack there of, and their new surroundings. We gave them water, pellets, and a bit of scratch; they put their heads and beaks down and began doing their thing: pecking and scratching.


So that was all good, but i had to put finishing touches on the portable coop, which after the food chain natural series of events last winter i had decided to rebuild -- this time they get 2 coops: a small portable one (but secured w/ no holes >0.25") and a permanent one behind the barn for the colder/non-grazing season. So i put my head down and began doing my thing: building stuff for the farm. Laura had to go to meet some friends and thought she might be back late, but i just had the roof to finish so no worries there... all was good. Then it began poring, but the birds seemed not to mind, i was working under the barn roof and all was still good. Then i found out i had less roofing material then needed, it got dark, but i had extra very small pieces, i had a head-lamp, and the bird seemed ok; it was still all somewhat good. Then it was thundering, i was having hell with the very small pieces of roofing material, the birds were all huddled-up together in the pouring rain; but i brought down the large card-board box and 2 old windows to create a small tent for them while i was finishing the coop; all was not good, but not too bad either. Then, i found out i ran out of good screws and rubber washers to secure the darn roof, Laura was missing in action (or chatting more likely), and the windows had collapsed onto the now soaked cardboard box that was supposed to protect the chickens; all was now not good. Then i gave in and decided that i would just temporarily close off the roof in some fashion and the next day go to the store and buy supplies so that i could build a normal/secure roof, Laura came back, and the birds seemed ok and happy for the coop, although a bit sleepy; all was good again.


[[* Hopefully there are still readers out there that have not gotten completely annoyed after checking and re-checking for new posts that never seem to occur.]]

Well that was a long story. At least i do not seem to have such hart-pounding adventures for the sheep; for some reason they seem well and happy with no drama. Must be thanks to my better preparation with gates, feeders, and portable housing.

But the good news is that the chickens are getting and mansion for a cold/non-grazing season coop, which i have begun building... it's so well structured i could relocate my office in there!

Before & After

This is a short entry, as the photos really do speak a thousands words.

We have rotated the sheep through the so called power line pasture -- additional free pasture land that because of the power line we must keep free of brush and trees; or in other words and from a shepard's perspective... looking like a pasture. The area was actually quite overgrown and the sheep had a ball... or a leaf or too! They would get quite excited every time they were about to enter a new paddock, baaing away and making a lot of baaa noise.

In any case the photos below really do show what i mean and how much they loved it!

Overgrown Pasture At Start of Rotation


Overgrown (well Formerly Overgrown) Pasture about 36 Hours Later