Pruning Season
Lambing season and spring pruning collide on this Maine farm...
Shoring up the ladder against the multiple trunks of the old apple tree, I sucked in a fortifying breath as I stepped up onto first one rung and then another. A healthy fear of heights makes pruning season a challenge─but not impossible─and I’d been eying these particular cuts for nearly 6 years now. With my new chainsaw I’m finally able to tackle the job and I wasn’t about to let a few feet in elevation get the better of me.
Looking around from that vantage point, I couldn’t help but marvel at how fast spring has come on this year. 2 weeks ago, the landscape surrounding the farm had been covered in snow and ice as I anxiously awaited the arrival of lambs and spring. Now, all of my lambs have been delivered, and every day more and more of the gardens and field are exposed as the snow melts away. Giddy as a schoolgirl, I’m ready to get this growing season underway.
Welcome to the latest Updates From the Farm! If you are new here, I invite you to check out my About page to learn what this is, who I am and why I am doing this. Or just dive right in! At “Runamuk Acres” you’ll find the recantings of one lady-farmer and tree-hugging activist from the western mountains of Maine. #foodieswanted
All About the Lambs
If you’ve been following along, you’ll know that these past 2 weeks have been all about the lambs here at the Runamuk Acres Conservation Farm. 3 of our expectant ewes delivered their babies last week, while the 4th finally brought hers into the world just the other day.
Sadly, we lost 2 of Number Twelve’s babies, making me even more determined to save Fiona’s #3 lamb, who has been floundering a bit. Through trial and error, I’ve learned not to hesitate when I suspect an issue. Don’t second-guess yourself. If you think there might be something wrong, there probably is.
Animals will go downhill faster than you’d expect. Never take a wait-and-see approach when it comes to livestock. You’ll only be wasting valuable time that could be used to administer life-saving treatments.
I don’t like to name the lambs until I’m certain of their survival, so for the moment we’ll just refer to this floundering lamb as Sweetie.
Sweetie
As soon as I realized Sweetie wasn’t thriving like her more robust siblings, I went to the house for an arsenal of treatments. I follow a couple of sheep-groups on facebook to learn from other farmers for just such an occasion, and I’ve seen it recommended to go ahead and throw the kitchen sink at them when you suspect an issue. Don’t waste time trying one treatment at a time. It’s not going to hurt them if you give an antibiotic AND a vitamin injection.
So I gave Sweetie everything I had. I treated her umbilical cord a second time with iodine. Gave her a good squirt of the nutridrench, an injection of antibiotics and another of Vitamin B. Poor thing. There’s next to no meat on these lambs when they’re first born and I hated having to stick a needle into her tiny body.
Then I coaxed a feeding of warm colostrum into her and cozied the lamb up with her brother and sister under the heat lamp. I’ve found they go downhill faster, sometimes, if I take them in the house. Her body temperature was good, so I opted to leave her with her family.
At 7pm last night, I went out again, this time with a bottle of my homemade milk replacer (a much cheaper option than the commercially available powder mixture containing synthetic chemicals and preservatives). In my fleecy pajama pants and a hoodie with my muck-boots on, I crammed myself into a corner of the 4x4 lambing pen with Fiona and the 3 little lambs.
Sweetie looked neither better nor worse at that point, but I was encouraged that she ate with gusto, consuming more than her previous feeding. Seeing that, and noting that her body temperature remained warm, I made the call to leave her where she was for the night. With any luck she would make it through to morning. If she did, I felt confident she would be out of the woods.
What a joy to see her up and about with her siblings when I went out at 7am! I was ready with another bottle of warm milk, which she received eagerly, consuming a good 4 ounces as I cooed over her, encouraging her burgeoning little life.
I’ll keep a close eye on Sweetie these next few days, but it appears the worst is over.
Meanwhile, our theme for this year’s lamb names will be retro cartoon characters. Feel free to leave your suggestions in the comments.
My First-Ever Sourdough!
When I pulled my first-ever sourdough loaf from the oven last week, I couldn’t wait to cut into it. I had to have a slice of that bread warm from the oven and slathered in butter. Joy and satisfaction filled me as I masticated the slightly sour fermented dough.
For 20 years now, I’ve been baking my own breads, even selling them from the farmstand and through my former CSA program. My recipes for white, wheat, oatmeal and multigrain breads have been perfected and I’m damned proud of the loaves I produce. Sourdough, on the other hand, is a whole new world that I am just beginning to experiment with.
Psssst!─I’ve decided to share my secret bread recipes once I reach 50 paying subscribers. So, if you’ve been on the fence, here’s a little incentive to come on over to the other side!
Pruning Season
Even before I was drawn into farming, I’ve always had a sick fascination with with agricultural history.
Go figure, lol.
You can see traces of those early frontier farmers even today. Stone walls built some 200 years ago criss-cross the landscape. A cellar hole lost to the forest, burried under leaf-litter, that you happen upon during a walk in the woods. Little orchards, neglected and forgotten, standing testament to Maine’s agricultural heritage.
Old apple trees in particular, have always drawn me. I love the way they look─all gnarly, leaning and knotted. I love the fruit that they produce─if they’re still of fruit bearing age. And I love working with them to bring them back to a better state of health, preserving their longevity.
When I opted to replace my chainsaw recently, I decided to take on a few pruning gigs off the farm to help offset the cost of the investment. I’ve found these little odd-jobs are good for easing BraeTek (my 17yo son whom I am homeschooling) into the adult work-world. He’s not quite ready to take a job working for someone else yet, but is keen to earn some spending money.
Typically, I’m working for senior folks in my community. Folks who once were homesteaders or gardeners, much like myself, who can’t keep up anymore with the work involved in maintaining their properties. I know there will come a day when I am in their shoes, and so it feels good to help them keep something of that lifestyle.
This week we were able to help an elderly gentleman suffering from Parkinsons with his apple trees. You should have seen his relief and enthusiasm when I offered to come back later in the season to help with his neglected flower beds!
The following day we loaded up and headed out to the Mountain Village Farm B&B in Kingfield. I was downright tickled to land this particular gig. Since my adolescence I’ve admired this farm-turned-B&B with it’s maple-lined drive and gnarly apple trees up on a hill. I gawk every time I drive by the place, yearning to press myself against the massive boulder in their field.
(Don’t ask why, lol…there’s just something about the energy and peace I feel when I connect with rocks and boulders. It’s the same reason I enjoy tormenting myself by climbing mountains, I think.)
With a smaller orchard close to the farmhouse, and a couple of older trees out in the field, this was a bigger job, but I revelled in the work. Over the last few years BraeTek has grown into a fine young man, and we work well together, teasing each other and laughing as we go. It took us 2 and a half hours to complete the work there, and my arms and shoulders were sore and burning by the time we finished, but it was a labor of love and worth every aching muscle.
Rain on the Old Tin Roof
It’s raining again today, but I don’t mind. I drink in the sound of rain on the old tin roof of this 123 year-old farmhouse. Nature is a marvel to behold and every day is beautiful in it’s own way.
Besides─the sooner these rains eat away the snow, the sooner I can get into the garden! Wooooooooooo!
I’ve got lettuce starts ready to go in as soon as conditions allow, which is fairly early with our sandy soil. Using hoops and row-cover, I fully intend to take advantage of this early spring. My mouth waters just thinking about those fresh spring salads with pink radishes and purple scallions.
After having to abandon the farmstand last season due to incessant rains, I’m looking forward to having produce available again for my local community. It’s a special thing─when folks stop in to buy the goods we’ve produced here. They’ve gone out of their way to shop at our farmstand, and that is reward in itself, but the added income is also very much-needed.
Much love to you and yours, my friend!
Your friendly neighborhood farmer,
Sam
Thank you for following along with the story of this lady-farmer! It is truly a privilege to live this life serving my family and community, and protecting wildlife through agricultural conservation. Check back soon for more updates from the farm, and be sure to follow @RunamukAcres on Instagram or Facebook!
I always love your lamb stories. Well done Sweetie and well done you xx
How about Mighty Mouse as a name for Sweetie? I realize MM is male, but I think it would suit her seeing as she’s mighty to overcome difficulties.