I worried all winter. Worried that I wouldn't make it back in time from Arrowmont to fully enjoy sugaring season. This may seem like a small concern, but for me, it's the one ray of hope that gets me through those last long months of winter. Luckily, I came home right on time. I won't be making as much as last year, but I'll stock Sue and I for the year. The photo is of my pal Andrew manning the rig. He came up from the city to brave the dawn cold and watch the sunrise over the boiling pans.
As the day wore on, it warmed up nicely, giving Lily a chance to lay in the sun and dream of chickens.
With spring so heavy in the air, we decided to expand our little enterprise to include goats. Below you see the chairnotes covergirl and interspecies peacemaker introducing our new additions to our dogs. We were lucky to find a wonderful local goat farmer who bottle feeds his goats to make them very human friendly. They like nothing more that to hang out and walk around with you, while tending to the lawn. I hope Mark from Jericho Farms is reading this. It was under his tutelage (and he thought he was taking a class from me!) that I started to understand the concept of living with the land, not just on top of it.
We hope to breed the female this winter for some spring kids and milk for yogurt and cheese. I guess I have another reason to look forward to spring.
6 comments:
Good onya mate!
Goats are a great choice for the homesteader. Just remember they are browsers more than grazers.
You are on your way to homeland security! Say Hi to Sue.
Mark
www.jerichosettlersfarm.com
Thanks Mark!
We are still working towards the sheep, but the paddock for the goats is a good start. I think it may take a bit more for Sue to get over the "eating your lawnmower" hurdle. Thanks for the inspiration,
Pete
Oh no, not goats! They're way too smart! They'll eat your favorite vegitation first, then escape to wreak havoc on the neighborhood.
They were always a bit more than I wanted to contend with. Sheep, on the other hand, are not even slightly intelligent.
I was having concerns that my kids would have issues eating the first home grown lamb, but the concerns were eased when my son Aaron said to his plate: "Gee, Wooly-Wooly, you sure do taste good!"
Greg,
believe me, they've already shown me that tendency! I had to completely revamp my idea of fencing. But they make up for their mischievous ways in charm.
Hello Pete,
I was wondering if you ever built the perch at the height of a barstool? And if so, could you give the the angles to bore for the legs.
I haven't built a perch that high. Generally, the perch should be sized to the person that will be using it the most so that they can sit upright with the least effort. At bar height, you might want to raise the undercarraige so that the sitter can put their feet on it. I would assume that the angles that I've given would work pretty well with the increased height, figuring that you'd want a larger footprint. Let me know what you find!
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