Psalm23Farm: July 2009

Saturday, July 25, 2009

Rainbows!

double rainbow and rain coming down

We did not get any more rain, but it was fun to see the rain coming down on farms east of us. The rainbows are so pretty-we even got a double rainbow!

Friday, July 24, 2009

This is field on the way home-it looked so cool because of the way the sun was shining.

I was at work, at Hidden Valley woolen mil, and there was thunder in the distance, but no rain. About half way home there were a few drops of rain. Then about 30 seconds later the road was soaked and there were big puddles. When I got home they said it rained for about an hr. , we got 2 in. ! 5 min. in the other direction didn't get any either. I guess we got it all! We have not had a good rain for a long time-some of my pasture is dry like hay so it was badly needed .

My little sister, Lydia, works on an organic dairy farm picking rocks and pulling weeds. The farmers had a cow give birth to TRIPLET heifer calves. (If they had been heifer and bull calves the heifers wouldn't have been able to breed. The male hormones interfere and the heifers are then infertile.) The last heifer calf was stillborn. These calves are so tiny-they are probably about 30-40# and the normal birth weight is about 90#. 1 cow in 105, 000 births will have triplets! (Twins are 1 in 200 cow births.)

*Edit-both calves are doing fine.

Thursday, July 16, 2009

Roving done

I dyed about 60# of Shetland wool and mohair

Then let it dry. After it was dry I took it to Hidden Valley woolen mill (where I work) and they carded it.

Here is some of the roving. More roving is on my wool sales blog: http://psalm23fibers.blogspot.com

Saturday, July 11, 2009

Weed control

Today I spent most of the day whacking and chopping weeds. Most were thistles,Canadian and Bull, but there were a few burrs, and other weeds. Then I noticed in one pasture by the road a whole bunch of knapweed (coming from the hillside ditch). Knapweed is very very hard to get rid of. It's seeds can last 7 years and spraying is not very effective. So I'm going to cut that before it goes to seed and hope it does not spread. Livestock don't like to eat it either (except when very young .) Click to "biggify" any picture.

Grass flowers and Alfalfa blossoms

Timothy grass "flowers"-they are kind of cool.

I love Alfalfa blossoms and the color variations they come in!

Wednesday, July 8, 2009

Ewe lambs

PS23 Felicity (F2 Skeld, F3 Jericho out of Emrald and Craigrothie). She is linebred on her dam's side going back to Holly Hills Onyx-the finest double coated ewe I've ever seen or had. Onyx was also a very milky ewe. Felicity has a super lustrous fleece-it is like kid mohair.

PS23 Finch (out of Dove who is an F2 Skeld/Jericho) I don't know who her sire is so I can't Register her (unless I do DNA testing), but I think her sire is Justinian. She is a nice big ewe and has an intermediate fleece that is very silky.

PS23 Fanny (F2 Skeld out of Eastwind) she was born 5/18 and is very small. Her fleece is very soft.

PS23 Flourance (F2 Skeld, F3 Brent) she is 50% UK and is very soft. She is small though, but was born late.

PS23 Forsythia (F2 Greyling, F3 Skeld out of Easterlilly) She looks similar to Longshadow Orphan Annie her granddam (one of the ewes who died from grain over load) so she is special to me. She is turning out nicely too.

PS23 Funzie (F1 Jings, F3 Holly/Greyling out of SabbathFarm Fonteyn) I'm really pleased with this girl. She has a very fine and dense fleece as well as great conformation.

PS23 Ferndale (F1 Gordon, F3 Jericho out of Daysong) She has great conformation and growth rate, but I'm very disappointed in her fleece. It is crimpy, but very coarse to feel. I'm not sure if I'll keep her overwinter to see if she improves. Her half sister out of her dam (and Lil'Country Damascus) has a very nice fleece.

PS23 Fairlie (F1 Orion out of UnderTheSon Claremori) I really like her growth rate! She has a longer intermediate fleece that is not super fine, but still nice.

PS23 Fiona (F2 Greyling, F3 Jericho out of Essex and WalnutRise Trevor) I really like her fleece as it is silky soft and very lustrous with the "white" characteristics.

Frisbee a Shetland/NCC. She is the only Shetland/NCC cross ewe this year. I'm not sure if I'll keep her or not. It depends on how she grows (and how her fleece is) by Oct.-If I don't keep her she'll be a market lamb!

Febee and

Fronzie Shetland/Merinos. Both have very soft dense fleeces. I'll breed both (and all crossbred ewes) to a terminal sire.

Fuzz a Shetland/Corriedale-Dorset with a very soft dense fleece as well.

Fudge a Shetland/BFL mule. She is the only mule ewe this year. I'm not sure if I'll keep her or not. It depends on how she grows by Oct.-If I don't keep her she'll be a market lamb!

PS23 France a white color carrier doe kid. I'm really happy that she is a she as her dam has had buck kids for two years and then had her!

OK he is not a doe, but he is cute! This is one of the two black wethers. They will be for sale in Oct. after shearing.

Adult rams and bucks

PS23 Campbell(F1 Jericho out of Longshadow Orphan Annie) Campbell is a smaller ram, but he has a very nice fleece and nice horns. Campbell could be leased out.

PS23 Craigrothie (F1 Skeld out of Holly Hills Onxy) Craigrothie has excellent conformation and a very nice fleece. Craigrothie carries solid moorit . Craigrothie has abberant horns and has sired several scurred/polled ram lambs. I'm not using him this fall though as I have some new rams to use. He could be leased out.

PS23 Drummond (F1 Brent out of Longshadow Amber) Drummond has a very long intermediate type fleece and lots of luster. Drummond does carrie solid moorit so I'm hoping to get some dk. moorit lambs. I only have one lamb out of him and I love her. I am using Drummond this fall.

SheltringPines Justinian (F1 Dillon) Justinian is a big ram and has a fine fleece, but not as much luster as I like so I'm going to breed him to ewes with more luster.

North Country Cheviot ram. He is used as a crossing/terminal sire as he is very "meaty".

Danbury the white Texas buck. I'm using him on all my does both the colored and whites so I expect all white kids next spring, but that is fine as I don't want too many colored goats. I think about 2/3 white and 1/3 colored will be good.

Caspian my faded red buck. He could possibly be leased out since I'm not using him this fall.

Welcome to Psalm 23 Farm

I'm breeding my NASSA registered Shetland sheep for fine and med. fine lustrous single coated fleeces in both the crimpy and the locky, wavy fleece styles. I have a wide range of colors and makings as well as the bright pure whites. I'm emphasizing on production, mothering ability and sound conformation. I have both horned and naturally polled Shetland rams and a few horned Shetland ewes.

I also produce fast growing grass-fed market lambs and commercial ewes with excellent fleece. (Shetland x Coopworth and Shetland x Australian Corriedale.) These F1 (first generation cross) ewes are great maternal ewes to put under a terminal sire for the ultimate grass fed market lamb.

Angora goats are my other love. I'm selecting for fine yearling grade mohair in adult animals. All of my goats are CAGBA (colored) or AAGBA (white) registered. I'm also selecting for sound healthy goats.

Posts will be about the Shetlands and Angoras with an occasional post about the other animals on the farm. Posts will also be about wool, spinning and a variety of other topics.

Psalm 23 Farm sells raw "jacketed" wool and mohair fleeces, mohair locks, dyed and natural Shetland and Shetland/mohair roving. Also sheepskins, quilt batts, handspun yarn, mohair lock yarn, and mill spun yarn.

From the Shetland Sheep Society

"Shetland sheep have for generations been noted for their very soft and well crimped fleece. The wool is the finest of all native breeds and shows an amazing variety of colours and patterns. There are 11 main whole colours and 30 recognized markings.

By selecting from coloured fleeces a range of naturally coloured yarn can be produced. This eliminates the need for dyeing and therefore retains the soft feel of the natural fibre and is favoured by those who prefer a totally natural approach.

Shetland wool fibres are of a simple construction witha central cortex covered by a thin scaly cuticle, and have an average diameter of about 23 microns. However there is a range from 10-20 microns for neck and shoulder wool to 25 to 35 microns for britch wool. the average staple length is 3.5 inches. The amount of crimp varies, and is most important in providing the 'bounce' required for knitwear. There is a positive correlation between fineness and crimp, with wool of the finest quality being crimped at between 8 and 12 to the inch. Wool from Shetland sheep is used to produce gossamer lace, the famous 'Fair Isle' knitwear, and fine tweeds. Pure bred Shetland sheep tend to shed their fleece in spring. The growth of new fleece can cause a rise or weak point and where this is present the fleece can sometimes be plucked or 'rooed' by hand. The timing of this can be different in each sheep, however, it is worth taking the care to get it right as rooed fleece can be amongst the softest because the fibers have no harsh cut ends as occurs with a sheared fleece.

Shetland fleece can be handspun straight from the fleece or made into rolags and then woollen spun. It can also be worsted spun by hand, used on a peg loom or handwoven. It also felts well using either dry or wet methods. When processed commercially the wool can be made into the finest lightweight worsted cloth or heavier weight, harder wearing fabrics and tweeds."

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