Hittin' the Ground Running!

Matt got the feed bin to its destination after going up on one
tire and sliding down a hill side ways, it was a lot heavier
than he thought...

 Well Spring is definitely here at the farm! We are in full swing with animal movement. Everyday we are moving a set of animals. But it's really good to see the animals fully expressing what they were made to do. These couple of weeks were defined by one thing:

The lambs playing king of the hill.

 Animals getting out. Rachel and I have learned about a months worth of animal handling and movement skills in one week! Because Spring is here the grass is always greener on the the other side of the fence. We have had the police call us and tell us our cows were out and about.

Using the lights on the ATV on one of our
late cow chasing nights.

 Later finding out that a deer broke the electric fencing. The ducks also broke loose a couple of times. But what really defines our animal wrangling experience is our journey with the sheep. It was decided that we were going to try a new method of sheep grazing. Instead of square temporary paddocks which would be moved every other day there would be a permanent paddock and the sheep would be allowed to graze freely. Sheep are deathly afraid of crossing water, 

Sheep are not supposed to be here...

 this is good because the farm is surrounded by 2 creeks. After the sheep got used to going back to the permanent paddock every night, all was thought to be going well... until the sheep discovered that they could cross water. We had sheep everywhere. We got a call on a Sunday afternoon while

Can barely see the ducks the grass is so thick in their new
paddock.

 taking a much needed nap. It was Mark our manager telling us that the sheep were a couple miles away at an abandoned chicken house farm. We drove off in the truck had a very pleasant conversation with the neighbor (no really he was very nice, country hospitality never

 ceases to amaze me, he even offered us his ATV to get to the sheep faster!) Rachel and I, by ourselves, herded the sheep through the woods back to their paddock and locked them in. While doing so Matt heard a noise behind him, a boar was standing there looking right at him. A sow set of pigs were out... We trekked back through the woods got into the truck and drove all the way back to the main part of the farm in hopes of getting a bucket of corn to lure the pigs

One of our captors for the farm tour. 

 back into their paddock. When we got to the center of the farm, another surprise awaited us. Getting caught up in the moment of herding the sheep through the woods we didn't realize we only had half of the sheep. The other half of the herd was on the other side of the farm enjoying themselves greatly, and there was another pig with them. We both looked at each other and set out to herd the rest of the sheep back into their paddock. Once successful we now focused on the loose pigs.

We had to do our dishes in the shop until Matt figured out
a way to hook up the camper to the utility sink and leave
it accessible to others.

 After tempting them with a bucket of corn and running back to the paddock, Matt decided to go back just to make sure we got all of the pigs. Yep there was one more pig out. We finally got her back in as well. Farming keeps you on your toes for sure! A lazy Sunday can turn into a 3 

The sheep at the neighboring abandoned chicken house

 hour herding session just like that. On top of all this animal chasing we had to do some more animal wrangling for the first farm tour of the year. Rachel and I had to wake up at the crack of dawn with intentions of catching a set of piglets, lambs, and broiler chicks. The chicks

Bad sheep...

 were easy. The piglets got a little scary when they started squealing and the momma pig started getting agitated, but still not too bad. The lambs on the other hand were very hard to catch. After an hour of diving, sliding, yelling, and conniving we were successful. 

Sheep running down the hill to go to the woods

 The farm tour was a success and even Rachel and I learned many new things. It was really cool interacting with the people and making connections. It was fun answering their questions and seeing some of the faces who support us. One family drove over 4 hours from Virginia Beach just for the tour. We are also very excited to let everyone know that we are starting our very own beehive! Matt looked up plans for a "top bar" beehive and we started building it out of scrap

Sheep running back through the woods

 wood lying around the farm. It is not complete yet and we still have to get our nucleus (also known as a nuc, it is a young queen with about 300 of her newly born brood) from a local beekeeper we met at the harrisonburg farmer's market. We will have it up and running by the next blog. So stay tuned to see how that progresses. If all goes well we will have our first jar of honey by the end of summer. We cannot wait! Besides the honey, it is exciting to know

The boar Matt saw behind him.

 we are contributing to the environment by encouraging pollination. Also bees are just cool to observe. Because the open grazing technique of the sheep was clearly not working, we decided to go back to the completely fenced in paddock method. In order to do that we had to take the sheep to the "turkey field". It was a 3 mile hike through the back country woods to get them to their destination. The sheep and the herders were very exhausted by the end.

All the pieces cut for the beehive, now all we need is
to put it together and some bees!

 It was a very successful move. We only lost two sheep along the way. One of them Matt literally caught by the tail and carried back to the truck. We drove her back to her herd. The other sheep we could not find our boss later got a call from a neighbor that the sheep was in 

Matt on top of the grain silo checking how much feed we have left.

 their backyard. At least we thought we only lost two sheep. The next day Rachel and I were feeding a sow set deep in the woods when all of a sudden we heard a sheep bah hing. Rachel looked at me in despair because we both thought the sheep got loose again! It turned out to only be a little lamb who got lost along the way and was all by herself all night long! We felt so bad for her. Matt caught her and we immediately drove her up to her herd.  

Herding the sheep on their 3 mile trek

 We prepared and began to repair the broiler shelters for the broiler chicks. They grow fast and will be ready to go out onto pasture next week. The shelters are a lot bigger than they look in the pictures it was quite the job to try and transport all 9 of them to the adjacent field, without having any fall off the truck and trailer.

A lamb we nicknamed Rudolph, he either
got bit on the nose by a snake or spider,
it was huge! Poor little guy made it through
though.

 Rachel milked her first animal this week! It was a milk goat that Josh and Lena bought. Rachel was a natural and drained her fast. Lena was impressed. It is nice having raw goats milk in our fridge now as well. It's so good!

Rachel and the one sheep that was lost
in the woods for a night.

 This week we were also graced by the presence of our nephew Griffin, nieces London and Charlotte, and Cheryl. The kids got to pick their own eggs. Touch piglets and see all the farm animals. Also Cheryl loved seeing all the old houses and barns on the property.

Sheep need to be moved!!!

moving cows

broiler chicks getting bigger!

Rachel milking her first Goat!

Charlotte bottle feeding the lambs

Griff and Charlotte on Uncle Matt's Tractor!

At the duck field with London

Griff found a duck egg!!!

Matt in the skid steer

 Matt got the chance to learn how to operate the skid steer. Rachel was a good teacher and showed him all the ropes.

Setting up the broiler pens!

Matt caught the stray sheep!

Sheep, piglets, goats, and chicks at the farm tour

 As you have heard us say time and time again, farming is very hard work. But when you have those moments when the sun is setting, the birds are singing, a cool breeze is blowing, dew forming on the grass, the cows were just moved to new pasture and are contentedly ripping and chewing grass, the ducks are quietly quacking and cooing in the tall grass waddling in the mud, the chickens are clucking and chasing grasshoppers, the feeder lids from the pigs are clanging up and down, and the sheep are joyfully running back and forth shaking their heads because they are so excited to be on new lush grass there is a sense of tranquility and peace that I have never felt before. And to add onto that we are contributing to the health and well-being of families, enhancing their lives and also improving the environment, stewarding our part of God's creation the best we can. It is a feeling that I cannot begin to explain. There is just something to it after a long day's work, being sore and tired. It makes me want to just take deep breaths and be in awe of it all. We are so thankful for this opportunity and chance to experience all of this. It is truly satisfying in every sense of the word. Thank you all for following our journey. For your support and feedback. It truly means a lot. We love sharing this stuff with you! We love you all! Till next time!  

Matt and Rachel's first time on a tractor together.