It is GREAT to have green grass in October!

I moved the flock out to a portion of our "hayfield." We were able to get one cutting this year. It is such a joy to watch the animals when they move to fresh pasture. The llamas start humming in anticipation as they watch me set up fence. They get the sheep going and that's when the baa's start to get insistent. When I let them in, they all romp in the new grass. We feel fortunate to still have grass for them!

This is a picture of Nessarose, one of our
Argentine Llamas. She and several ewes are running out of the old pasture into the new. For all you fiber fans, Nessa's wool won the first place ribbon at Llama Magic in Lake Elmo last May! She and her half-sister are both bred for spring. So Roundabout Acres will have lambs and
crias next spring!













And finally, this picture is of Nessarose in the background and Karma in the foreground. Rudy, our gelding has his head in the grass in the back. I call these two girls my "fancy-pants" llamas. They do think they are something special.








Stay tuned for more pictures of our sheep, including our Shetland Mules and our Cheviots.

Where to begin?

Where to begin? How to sum up the last two years? So many changes have happened since we moved to this little farm. In May of 2006, we were on our house hunt. We wanted a farm but hadn't been able to find anything with more than a few acres. As we drove up the driveway, the rusty windmill was in our line of sight. I think my husband and I were hooked at that point. While walking the property, we saw a tired, overgrown farm. The well was bad, fields weed-choked, barnyard overgrown, fencing non-existent. The charming, leaning, 100-year old barn had a leaky roof and dry rot. But the house was newer, surrounded by the fields and the wide open sky above. We knew that with hard work we could transform this farm.

We came from a postage stamp sized lot in the city -- on a very busy street, near a noisy intersection, under a flight path for the Twin Cities airport. The City of Richfield wanted our house for a roadway project. They planned to put in a roundabout intersection. We had planned on moving to the country at some point...the City just changed our timetable. So, two years later, we don't miss the City at all! Every day, we truly feel blessed to be here.

I will just start with where we are at today. Details can be filled in over time. Today, we have a new well, the barn roof is patched, we have several acres of pasture fenced and some of the weeds cleared out. And we have a wonderful flock of sheep and llamas!

Baaaaa'd Blogger

Well, I have to be the world's worst blogger. Thanks, Michelle, for pointing out my absence from my own site! And thanks to Becky Utecht at River Oaks Farm who keeps prodding me to update the blog and pictures of my sheepies online...

Yes, we DO have sheep...we had 10 Shetland lambs this spring. We have six boys and four girls. I have pictures to upload yet so stay tuned! So far I am very happy with three of the six boys as well as all the girls. Since we are building our own farm flock, we will keep the girls; I will have several of the boys for sale as breeding stock. Pictured above is Little Red Oak Lyra with her 2008 twin ewe lambs. In January, Lyra and her 2007 ram and ewe lamb arrived at our farm as a result of a divorce. Lyra was housed with her 2007 ram lamb before coming to our farm, so these girls are likely the result of line breeding. They have lovely black fiber and nice structure but will not be registered.

And this cute little ram lamb was born to Little Red Oak Lily. He has fine, crimpy white fleece with a moorit colored spot. Or moorit with a white spot? His horns are coming in nicely, too.

I promise I will post more sheep pictures soon!!

The sheep got out today. Well - not exactly completely out...

As is the usual morning routine lately, I went into the barnyard to let the llamas into the pasture. As I opened the gate, two little lambs stared at me, standing next to the barn. It took me several seconds to realize that they were not supposed to be there. The early morning fog in my brain was dispersed by a loud baaaa. It was Nugget, my seasoned ewe who was calling for the lambs. Next thing I knew, they all came running around the corner. They had all gotten out of their temporary confinement. I thought the gaps under the fence were small enough that they couldn't get through. I guess not.

Meanwhile, the llamas looked thoroughly confused. They have been bewildered by these wooly-devils...

Work in progress

We are just getting started on this weblog. I hope to chronicle our adventures on our little farm as new farmers and shepherds. This blog is a work in progress and our little farm will be a HUGE WIP. Today's plan is harvesting veggies from the garden, patching the barn roof, and fixing barnyard gates... Please check back frequently for updates on our latest adventure!