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Lambs out and about

Luckily we have had a great lambing season. Tim had his first opportunity to assist in lambing, I had a run in with our ram, but all in all it has been good. The entire flock is out and about on grass for the first week. Our eldest lamb, Friday, is just about weaned, but still enjoys an occasional suckle form his Mum, Hermoine. Friday seems to be getting the shove from Mum Izzy, as when he tries to suckle he is pushed away most of the time. Our youngest boy, Dick, is still faithfully going up to Mum Ewenice for a drink. Ewenice is such an attentive Mum, as she always lets him.

We have an abundance of wool that will be processed over the summer. It is amazing how much wool comes off of one animal. What is even more amazing is that the wool grows so fast. In only a couple of months the adults have visible wool growth.

The one down side of lambing is that we can't keep them all. Friday is already sold and will be going to his new home in the next couple of weeks. Wednesday has a new home as well. Dick is the odd man out so to speak. Really we don't want to keep him except for breeding, but we don't have enough room for two rams. We may sell him on as well. Dick is a unique little guy. His shetland/babydoll southdown/horned dorset breeding brings some very interesting genetics into a flock.

Here are pictures of our lambs.

Wednesday the lamb. Izzy is his Mum.

Dick making a funny face.

Friday doing his best cute pose.

Eat Your Lawn?

Only if it has something more interesting in it than grass.

Come and join Alexis Burnett of Earth Tracks Wilderness School for a day of foraging, fun, and of course eating!

Location: All Sorts Acre, 10-3pm, May 26, 2012
Cost:$50

This one-day workshop will focus on learning about some of the many edible plants that are found during the spring. After a long winter it is the vitamins and minerals contained in these plants that our bodies need and crave.

We will focus on learning about many of the edible plants in our area and gain hands on experience in the process.

This class will cover how to identify both edible and poisonous plants in the field, ethical wild crafting, and proper harvesting/preparation techniques. If you have an interest in learning to forage for wild edible plants, then this workshop is for you.

Instructor: Alexis Burnett of Earthtracks

Penetanguishene is an amazing town!

 Okay, well the entire area is pretty cool. Last weekend I had the privilege to teach a Practical Intro to permaculture course in the beautiful town of Penetanguishene. I am so grateful to Erin, Sylvie, and Jenn at the Karma Marketplace and 100 Mile Huronia. They all did a wonderful job at getting the word out, helping me through the weekend, and providing great company as well. Oh, and I can't forget to thank them for putting me up for the weekend!

The workshop took place in the Ecology garden in Penetanguishene. It's story is inspiring. In y a few short years the Ecology gardens has become a hub of agriculture, and now permaculture activity in the area. There are many rented garden plots as well as some plots that are used in the community. Many more plans for community and social enterprises are in the works at the gardens as well. It was very exciting being there. All 14 participants were eager and braved the cool winds and soggy ground. Much needed rain had arrived the day before. By the afternoon we were all hot and enjoying being outside in the sun.

Everyone came with a different experience of permaculture and a wealth of knowledge in their area of expertise. I was really blown away with the knowledge and innovation that came to the workshop. We had a great time all learning from each other during the games and lunch. the overwhelming favourite activity though was by far the sit spot time. People enjoyed learning how to begin wholistic observation.

During lunch everyone took notes of the books that looked interesting. Taking a mini-library was more than worth it! The afternoon was a little more low-key. We had covered a lot of ground in the morning. We focused more on guilds, and relationships. The final section was a practical.

Throughout the day we had to be mindful of the killdeer family that had made the garden their home. She sat on the eggs most of the afternoon while he stayed close by to try and ward off any potential threats to his eggs.

I just wish I could have seen everyone's gardens both indoor and outdoor. Yes, one participant had what sounded like an AMAZING indoor garden. Thanks everyone. I can't wait to do the next one!

Guelph 2012-What a great Conference

Thanks to all of those that came to say hi at the Guelph Organic Conference. What a treat it was to show off our drum carder, not to mention all the people that shared their stories, and tried their hand at carding wool, and learning about needle felting!

We made some great connections and met some fascinating people. It was such a great time!

More details about our courses and felting kits will be sent out soon. Stay tuned!

It's Conference time!

We have been incredibly busy here getting ready for the one main social event on our yearly calendar. It is the time for the Guelph Organic Conference.

We have been busily being gathering supplies and information for our table at the GOC. After a few years of observation and exploration both Tim and I seem to have found our niches. We are really refining both our  role and our little farm this year. Here are a few of the exciting thing we have planned for this year!

Handmade hat and scarf by Jennifer.

Lots of felted WOOL!: Jennifer is creating beautiful, unique wool items to both make and buy!

Edible Landscaping & Permaculture Design: We can help you have your own edible landscape!

Traditional Lawn Mowing: Our friendly sheep can now mow your lawn too!

Workshops and courses: Our Backyard Chicken course is returning, but we also have some new ones too!

Begin your own Food Forest: Find out how easy it can be to bring permaculture into your life with a $100 Food Forest!

We are sharing our table with Alexis of Earth Tracks. Alexis specializes in primitive skills such as tracking and fire making, is a wild plant specialist, and does educational and guided trips into wild places.

Come and visit both of us at the 2012 Guelph Organic Conference!

A different perspective

This past summer we had a very unique and wonderful experience. Amy Whitney, of The Inspirational, Transformational Network came to see us. Amy has a blog that features people that are forging their own paths through life. If you need hit of "feeling good" this is the place to go. You can find people from all walks of life that have followed their hearts and dreams. It is an honour to be included in this group of people.

Not only did she want to see what we were doing on our small piece of the earth, but she wanted to film us as well. Frankly, it was frightening. We now have whole different perspective for those who regularly stand in front of a camera.

Amy was patient with us. We told our story to her and she captured it all on film. Of course it is a fairly long story. Amy patiently whittled it down to a wonderful short film. Even Beauty got into the story!

Thanks Amy, it has helped see ourselves through a different lens!

Click here to check it out: The Inspirational, Transformational Network Channel