Cranberry Moon Farm

Autumn Blessings to Ewe All from our flock of lovely sheep.

http://shepherdstales.blogspot.com/

Merino flock up for sale.. Inquire@goodwool.com

Follow this link :

http://shepherdstales.blogspot.com/2013/05/local-public-tv-show-connecting-point.html

Hi All ! Cranberry Moon Farm will once again be attending the New York Sheep and Wool Festival in Rhinebeck, NY. October 20-21... We will be in our usual location, OUTSIDE in 27A, #5, between Barns 28 & 27.. This year we are introducing our new friends from Australia "WOOLERINA" 100% Merino clothing. Please stop by and learn about how this amazing line of wool gear is perfectly designed for you and your whole family for every kind of activity and climate. Enjoy the Autumn colors and hope to see you at the fair! Lisa & EZ

 

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Reserve your Lambs for 2012

Taking reservations for purebred English Leicester Longwool Lambs and purebred Bluefaced Leicester lambs for breed stock.

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On the verge on leaving for Tasmania Australia. This will be a trip of a lifetime for me. The rare wooly English Leicester flock in the United States was restored by sheep from this farm, Heazlewood Farm, Whitemore. 

I look forward in sharing with you what I've experienced on this journey, both sheep related and in the realm of fiber arts. On December 29th, I will be honoured by my hosts at a sheep and wool roundup that will gather several island sheep breeders and fiber artists. My presentation will feature my flock and the seasonal changes and challenges of New England.

Stay Tuned.

Lisa Westervelt

2010 breeding of ewes has begun. We are breeding purebred English Leicester Longwool and purebred Bluefaced Leicester stock. There are two exceptions, Luna de Sombra and Assumpta II, mother and daughter out of Blossom, our matriarch and lead ewe. We have every reason to believe that the three breeding groups will deliver beautiful lambs in late February, into March. The timing is balanced with this shepherd's trip to Tasmania in December and January and her graduate school efforts.

Long Live the Leicesters!

Beautiful lambs are starting to arrive! The Bluefaced Leicester ewe "Glory" has twins, a ram and a ewe. Two of the Leicester Longwool ewes have lambed. Beatrice has twins, a ram and a ewe, while Anna Harrison II delivered a huge single ram lamb of distinction.

I'll try to insert photos soon.

The month of December will host two full moon displays, yet again. It’s been a very bright lite time for this first full moon. The weather is still unstable and not typical for the season. It has hardly brought freezing temperatures and snow. Some, yes, but not what we would expect for December. The ground is not frozen and since it’s been raining alot the ground is mucky and wet. This is not so good for sheep. Or Goats. Did I mention we have three goats? Their primary function is helping with land clearing, but they also are a milking type of breed and their milk will be harvested and used for human and sheep consumption. Having the does deliver their kids prior to lambing seems like a good idea. If there is a bummer or bottle baby, then the goat milk will be fed to the lamb. Right there is a savings in expense in buying milk replacer. On through the summer months, I intend to milk the doe to make cheese and yogurts and soaps too. All the while the new pasture area will be under goat browse management. Back to the sheep: It’s looking like the ewes are all bred. There is no action or slightest bit of interest by the rams now. It’ll be time to blend the rams together and the ewes together soon. Since we got one new ram this year, I’ll be cautious and likely will use the ram head shields for their first introduction. The new ram has been working well. His name is Rhay and he’s a purebred colored Bluefaced Leicester. Very well built ram and he’ll bring alot of excellent growth on the lambs, both carcass and wool.

We are just about half way through January and we have had some pretty frigid temperatures that have brought ice and snow storms. Nothing as bad as the ice storm in mid-December, but still challenging for clean up and getting outdoors.

The flock is doing great. The ewes and rams are all quite comfortable in their barn and the numbers of sheep are perfect for the space. On that note, I’ve decided to add two new ewes to the flock. In a flock dispersal of Bluefaced Leicesters, I choose two of the unbred ewe lambs, which actually will be one year old by the time they arrive here next weekend. The decision was quick because of the situation, but it is fully in line with my breeding program. Ironiclly, I am planning to retire "Blossom" my older BFL ewe. And having these new ewes will insure that I can prolong the use of BFL lines in my fleece flock.

The decision to sell at least two of my ewes will be easier now. I have potential fleece flock buyers inquiring now and it’s good timing for planning of Spring sales. I do appreciate the turn of events. Crossing the BFL ewes with my English Leicester Longwool ram, Charles, will be something to look forward to.

I also sold two of the white Angora bunnies. Now I’m just down to the primary breeding pair and I do plan to try breeding them for having bunnies for sale at the Cummington Sheep Fair in May. I really adore them and their wool, but sheep are my main interest and farming focus.

October Surprise

    Phew, what a weekend in New York at Rhinebeck! Our booth in Barn 26 ended up being a "Horse Stall", much to my surprise. Thank goodness Ernie was there helping set up the display. I think it turned out to be very nice, but it was touch and go at first. At least now I know what to expect for next year and can plan the display accordingly.

We had a flood of visitors and buyers all day Saturday, making our first solo booth experience incredibly welcoming and worth all the effort. Sunday’s attendance was calmer, at least in numbers. All in all, we had a good experience. Thankfully, my parents were at the farm taking care of the animals and doing a fabulous job! Thanks MOM and DAD!

So, onto planning for next year’s wool endeavors. Our breed of sheep will be the Featured breed at Rhinebeck next year, Leicester Longwool (English Leicester). In addition to a very special Card Grade show with the sheep, there will be a beautiful and educational display in the Wool Nook. My focus for my booth will also feature my sheep’s wool, handwoven pieces, handspun yarns and spinning fiber made by me grown on my sheep. I’ll be very busy with all that this winter.

I will be selling Leicester Longwool products at the Massachusetts Sheep and Wool Fair, in Cummington, MA, in May 2009, if you want to get a jump on experiencing the unique fiber from the Leicester Longwool sheep. Until then, visit my website and LocalHarvest store to buy online.

I am going away to visit my west coast family for the month of November, when I get back in December I’ll start in on the wool washing, et al.

Be Well, Lisa