Good Food is Everybody's Business
During the winter, I had ordered 50 young Red Twig Dogwood trees to add an inner row to the windbreak, and also 25 new perennials for the flower beds, so I had plenty to keep me busy through early spring. If I had known what was to transpire later in the year, I might have thought twice about the perennials!
I was extremely proud of an exceptionally big, handsome ram out of my best 4-year old Texel-cross ewe and already anticipated the nice progeny he would produce when paired with the crop of ewe lambs. On a mild day in early November, I set about getting the big ram out.
I wish by some miraculous turn of events, I could say “Abracadabra”… and poof… America would fall in love with vegetables as I did – decades ago. I resist owning how much of an anomaly I really am (because I LOVE VEGETABLES).
Kate and Ian are WWOOFing in the North East; their advice for others wanting to try it: “It’s likely you’ll also come out of it with a couple of good stories, some delicious recipes, a few great friends, and at least one place you’ll always remember.”
Despite all the carefully laid plans made previously, events conspired to change them. Fortunately, the changes were mostly to my benefit!
That was the plan, but as we all know, “There’s many a slip twixt the cup and the lip!” My mind went back to an earlier lambing in 1993, when things didn’t go so well.
We have a real problem now in Washington state; especially close to cities where bankers and real estate hacks are turning protected farm easements into horse ranches for the wealthy. There is nothing strong to protect valuable farm soils in critical service areas, to insure that the resource will be used to grow good food for local markets.
Lambing of the mature ewes began in early April, and they were just finishing up when the young ewes started, so it was an intense six weeks. By the end of lambing I was thankful to be done climbing in and out of lambing jugs doing tags, tails, testicles, and tattoos… Yes, tattoos!
