Monday, August 13, 2012

Planning for Winter!


In more than one way- and I cannot even believe the sheep are thinking of winter already? Their fleeces are growing longer and soon it will be time to feed hay and put their coats on. Wow. 

This week's update is almost ready to go live. When you visit the website you may notice we have had to raise our prices just a little bit. The sheep were very hesitant to do so but the severe drought has included us too. Sigh. We got a very nice first crop of hay in the spring but none since off our own field. We did get a little rain so the pastures are better in spots. We will not have to feed hay as long as the grass can hold up. (note that the sheep are very easy keepers so that is lucky too- my shearer calls some of them bubble butts- shame on him!)

While we expect to have one more much smaller crop of hay from our own fields, we have reserved most of our hay from our wonderful Hay Man Stan. We buy hay from him when ours runs out in the winter, usually not til February but this year we will be buying most of our hay from him. The drought has driven hay prices through the roof so while we are grateful to have our hay reserved, it will cost us over twice what it did last year. 

Thus the reason for reluctantly raising our prices. The sheep kept our prices very mid-range though, as we always try to do. If you have any questions please let us know ok? Thank you so much for your understanding! 

SO, onward with the fun! 
Tonight's update includes some really fun 'stuff'. This is Marshall, our 'got milk' sheep. He is a Corriedale fellow who is one of the most laid back, happy sheep I have ever seen. He literally just ambles through life, nothing bothers him much and he loves just about anyone. His best friend is his brother Theo- a white Corriedale. Did you know you can read more about them in our 'meet the sheep pages'? 

Marshall's wool could easily be mistaken for Merino wool. It is a pretty chocolate gray with cinnamon tips from the sun. He has both coated and uncoated wool offered on the site here. It is baby soft and easy to work with... a bit of bounce and lots of karma!

The sheep are also rolling out their winter/fall fashion line. We posted new scarves and this pretty scarflette/cowl. There will be a LOT more warm items available each week. Mom and Barbara are way ahead of me on the knitting. They use my hand spun yarn and have some really pretty items waiting a photo session. 

SO, from the sheep's crazy quilt style to traditional, we have plenty to choose from. Hope you will keep an eye on the website and email us any time ok? Have a happy week and the sheep send you many smooches!