As I sit here, the temperature outside is 16 degrees (downright balmy compared to the -30 we had a short time ago) and I am praying that none of my ewes goes into labor until this bitter cold has passed. I always feel as if I should have more time than I do to get caught up on blog posts, newsletters and social media posts, but alas…the farm is about ready to explode with activity once again, and I will be right in the middle of it. I will try my best, however, to fill in the gaps of 2021!

Last Spring we welcomed our lambs as usual…except every single one of them, save one, was a ram. We’ve never had that happen before, and are still quite positive that we could not make it happen again if we tried. Kidding season followed, with some ridiculously cute babies being born from both our Angoras and Cora’s Dairy goats crossed with one of our Angora bucks.

Lots of other babies were born too…bunnies, chicks and ducklings to name a few!

We held a few workshops and classes, which were wonderful and successful. This summer was the first time I participated in a local farmer’s market, selling lamb, fiber, flowers, duck and chicken eggs, and a few vegetables. I am excited to return to market this summer with expanded flower options and more lamb and eggs!

And, in the midst of all the summer business; incredible harvests, the addition of a sap house and an outhouse, children close by our side, dyeing yarn from our flock with the plants we grow and forage, and trying our best to embrace every minute of a fleeting season by slipping away for occasional hikes or dips in our secret swimming holes.

We lost a dear friend, Crusoe…the big black dog many of you have been greeted by when you arrive here on the farm. The loss of his presence has left an enormous hole in our hearts.

The loss of the Common Ground Fair this past fall brought to light the importance of our community of friends, supporters, fellow farmers and family. After our “Harvest Moon Festival” we set to work putting the farm to bed; which was much delayed after a very late frost!

This year, we had the honor of our yarn being featured in many new knitting patterns! We introduced two new yarn bases, “Haven” and “Kindred”, both of which contain fiber from our animals here on the farm with the addition of a little something extra from other local fiber producers! “Kindred” is a Cormo yarn with Angora bunny added to give the finished product the most exquisite feel…squishy, oh-so-soft and a little bit fuzzy. It gives you all the feels!! My very good friend Alicia designed a stunning cabled hat with matching mittens specifically for this yarn. These patterns can be found at the above link.

“Haven” is a blend of Cormo from our lovely brown girl ‘Fly’, and a bit of local Alpaca to tame the squish and lighten the colour a bit. Alicia also designed a hat and mittens for this yarn base! These patterns can be found on her Ravelry page here.

And, Alicia also presented a re-release of a very successful pattern using some of our straight brown Cormo! That pattern can be found here!

And, my dear friend Beatrice at Thread & Ladle very generously designed the perfect cowl to show off any hand-dyed yarn! Our very first yarn base we ever created, ‘Phinela’ is featured in this wonderful, quick knit. That pattern can be found on Bea’s Ravelry page here!