Farm notes...........

Happy holidays everyone ~ I hope you are enjoying the festivities of the season as we are here at Tylerfarm.  The temp outside feels like winter but our ground is bare of snow.  We are hoping Sunday nights storm brings us a little white stuff to add to the feeling of Christmas :)  Below is a photo of our lovely tree.  We enjoyed a great family evening on this Wednesday past decorating it and reminiscing about our ornaments, especially those when the boys were back in kindergarten!  Such fond memories :)

No matter what time of year it is or what's going in any of our lives, new life springs forth here at the farm when the time is right.  On December 7, one of our first time heifers, Hope, gave birth to our sweet new addition, Harriett.  Harriett is a black angus/red angus and will spend her days on the farm, hopefully producing beautiful little replicas of herself.  Hope delivered her while I was at work and all was well when I arrived home.  I was thrilled and relieved to see all was well!

On another happy note, I have been fortunate to land a job at a local health care organization.  I have been there for a few weeks now.  I enjoy the commute, the people I work with are great, the organization treats their employees exceptionally well and the job security is fantastic.  I am enjoying being part of the public work force again.  The security is a great feeling but it also allows me to continue to plan for the farm and the farm shop which will both continue to grow and flourish.

That's my newsy update for now.  I wish you all the happiest of holiday seasons.  I hope to catch up more often now that life is settling into more of a routine.  I hope you are all well and happy!

Thanks for still checking in on us here at Tylerfarm.

Deb and the gang ~  

In honor of all our Veterans..........my sincere thanks ~

Heroes

By Jared Jenkins

In war, there are lives risked and lives taken

Men and women giving their best to defend what they love

They defend their country

Their honor

Their people

Some call them soldiers

Others call them heroes

Our veterans have risked their lives for us

They have lived through hell and fought with honor

Many have killed

And regret doing so

For every life, there is a soul

For every soul, there is a life

For those who have died, we show great appreciation and remembrance

For those who live, along with them live the horrific memories of battle

Some, memories of defeat

Some, memories of victory

Our veterans were more than soldiers

They were, and still are heroes

A new season, a new start..........

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Fall has arrived here in the Northeast.  The leaves went from green to beautiful reds, oranges and yellows and have now turned brown and are covering our fields and forests.  The sky was very ominous today, Mother nature not being able to decide if it wanted to rain or just make us wonder.  The winds have been gusty and it smells like winter isn't far behind.  I love the changing of the seasons and this year it's especially poignant for me.
Personally, I'm at the beginning of a new season as well.  Suffice to say, my 19 year marriage did not survive a long distance work relationship and I find myself single again.  It's been a very strange, emotional few months but the healing has begun and I have so many new and wonderful things to look forward to as well as so many things to be thankful for and believe me, I am!

(We have a new farm sign!  My friend Luke, handcrafted the letters out of used work horse shoes for me.  Thank you Luke - it's awesome!!)

I have given my long range plans a lot of thought regarding the farm and though I have downsized and turned things around somewhat, Tylerfarm is still going strong and will continue as long as I stay healthy and enjoy it. Our sheep flock has gone from 60 to 10 with a new ram on his way here.  Sometimes businesses grow so fast that it spins out of control and becomes so much work, it's not a joy anymore.  That's where I was at.  Now I am back to where a few lambies in the spring will be as exciting as it used to be, not a worrisome burden as it can be  when you have 40 babies in a matter of a few days.  Our fiber, roving and yarns will be better because sometimes doing less and doing it better really makes a huge difference.

(My pumpkin eating sheep :)

In other farm news, the 9 piglets that we raised have all gone to the butcher and then to the customers who ordered them.  I like to raise them and having piglets for the first time was awesome but I'm always glad when they are gone.  When they weigh 250 lbs, they are a little unnerving!  I did keep one of the sow piglets, Daisy, and we will raise her and breed her to have a litter of piglets in the spring.  I won't raise 9 again at one time but will do a few for special customers that I have.

I have also been interviewing for a full time off the farm job.  I have worked with a vocational councilor on my resume and I have to say 30 years of working and life experience looks great on two sheets of paper!  I interviewed last Thursday and have another at our local hospital on Tuesday.  I am looking forward to going back to work, being in a social environment during the day and having the farm and my wonderful family to come home to everyday.
I have  been teaching classes for our local Adult Ed program and will do more during the winter semester.  I have been approached to teach at another school as well.  It's terrific that people are becoming so conscious regarding their food and wanting to learn to produce more of it for themselves and I love being able to help them do that.    I feel so blessed to be able to share what I have learned in my life with others.

(I never tire of driving down our driveway - I leave my troubles at the end of the road)

I'm going to keep my shop open on Saturdays.  We will continue to have beef and lamb as well as eggs and roving, yarns, sheep skins and hand crafted gifts for sale.  I'm adding new kits and other items as time permits.  A HUGE thank you to all of my customers who have continued to shop with us during the last few months of chaos.  I appreciate all of you!

(A festive gift from a friend - Thank you Anita! )

........and thanks to all of you who continue to read the blog, even though I have been in hiding lately.  I hope to find the time to be here more often and share what's going on around the farm.

~Happy Autumn to you all ~

It's been awhile ~

It's been so long since I've had a chance to post, we have gone from summer to autumn!  Our foliage season here in the Northeast has already passed it's peak and it's starting to look drab.  Certainly looks and feels like October.  I am enjoying the cooler temps and we are having our fall rains.  We really needed them.  
Life has been changing in leaps and bounds at the farm. Good changes are coming around, including this surprise litter of bunnies.  11 little hoppers showed up unexpectedly.  Even though I'm supposed to be cutting back on animals, I brought home two rabbits for Sarah.  One of them had five babies with her, about 5 weeks old.  I had no idea the doe was re-bred!! Oh well, it was a happy surprise and they are well loved.  We will find good homes for them when they are old enough to leave their Mom.  Anyone want a bunny?

I hope all is well where you are.  I do read all your blogs when time permits.  Hopefully I can get back here more often.   Have a nice day everyone!!

Where to start?

This blog post has been a long time coming...........just haven't known where to jump in and begin.  I really don't believe in endings - simply new beginnings.   My life and life on the farm is changing in some big ways.  Good ways....exciting things to come for our entire family.

I've spent the last 14 months with my husband working on  an island off the coast of Maine renovating an old stone mansion school.  He was home on weekends, sometimes not even that.   While this was an interesting, once in a lifetime opportunity, it was extremely difficult for our family.  With the help of our two sons and family, we survived it although not unscathed by any means.  Separation is difficult no matter how prepared you think you are.  I've worked more hours per week than I care to count and have been doing that for a very long time.  The sacrifice was worth it......for my family but.........I'm tired. Plain and simple.  I overwintered 60 sheep last year along with a dozen head of cattle and a multitude of other farm animals. While I loved all the animals  and cherished all the joy they gave me,  I certainly do not want to spend another Maine winter like that.   This farm and what we have created here is amazing but we have come to realize it is simply too much work for one person and not only that, it's simply not necessary any more.

Our boys are busy - growing up and moving on.  The demand for fresh meats, milk & produce has diminished greatly here at home and certainly the demand is not there to warrant milking even one cow or having three gardens.  I had just one garden this year and while the harvest has been good, without rain for over a month now, it hasn't been fabulous and we STILL have more produce that we can eat, can, feed to the pigs, etc.  

So.........I am now down to just 12 sheep.  All of our pygora goats have gone to loving, new homes.  We are down to three head of cattle and a manageable amount of poultry.  Of course, the donkey is here :)  I plan to keep a half dozen finn ewes and one ram and allow them to cycle, breed and lamb on a natural schedule.  I plan to continue selling lovely finn roving and hand dyed yarns through an on-line Etsy shop along with my weaving, jewelry, etc.  We still have fresh meats in the shop as well as the above mentioned items but the shop will be closed by the end of September.  Unfortunately money is always a deciding factor in every situation.  Insurance prices keep rising and just to run the shop and liability on the farm, not animals or equipment, pricing is astronomical.  We are afraid to run the farm without it so....it's a catch 22 situation.

The changes will make the farm  manageable for me  and also give me time to pursue a different part time career off the farm.  I've been on the farm for 20 years now and feel like I'd like a little "social" time doing something interesting and making a steady pay check other than my adult ed teaching.    Not sure what direction that will take me in but it's fun and exciting just thinking about it :)  It will also give me more time to  truly enjoy the animals that do live here and enjoy the things I love to do ie., gardening, spinning, knitting, reading., etc.

School is about to start, Hubby is home and starting a new project close to home and hopefully our life will settle into a comfortable routine.  I hope the blog will resume with new and interesting topics, farming and gardening included.  Tomorrow - the tomato harvest has begins.

For those of you that still come to visit, Thank You..........I look forward to catching up with all of you  :)

It's a date!

............for this evening to go to the movies with a very special 15 year old.  He's taking time out of his busy schedule to hang with his Mom!  He's been really looking forward to seeing this movie and it's showing at the new Cinemagic theatre.  I know I'll enjoy it, just because I'm going with one of my boys.  I'll post a review tomorrow :)

A glorious summer day~

Mornings just can't get any better than this one in my book.  A beautiful sunrise, 50 degrees and no humidity!  My kind of weather.
 I started the day with an early cup of coffee, listening to the sounds of peace on the farm.  No one stirring - everyone still nestled in their places of comfort, waiting for dawn to break.  Once the sun does rise, look out.  Things change quickly!!

Most of our little goaties have gone to their new homes. As you can see, they are very friendly and love attention!   Two little wethers remain for now until their new family is ready to take them home.  It's very rewarding when our babies go to loving homes, especially with children.  These children are adorable and these goat kids are extremely lucky!  

Time to get busy......hope you all have a great day!