Fun on the farm

I FAMACHA scored and wormed all the BFL lambs for the first time this evening. For the most part, they were 2s, with a few 3s. A couple 4s, which is worrisome, but they seem OK. I gave those a B shot and iron. I may catch them and give them some Dyne tomorrow evening. For the most part, they were quite well behaved, and did not freak out at having their eyes checked or taking their medicine. Just 2 got feisty with me - Rhiannon and ram #774. They are the oldest 2 lambs, and very large. I suppose they think they rule, and I had to disabuse them of that notion. I told Rhiannon that mama Nibbles would not approve of such behavior. :^) Although Miss Nibs is not above "accidently" stepping on my foot if she can get the chance. Why don't they make wormers that taste good? Like clover flavored. Or dandelion.
We're having a few beautiful, cooler days with crisp night in the mid 50s. The sky was gorgeous, bright blue today. Our neighbor Jim came and mowed the 2 hayfields while I was at work today. It smells wonderful! With these sunny, dry, low humidity days, the hay should be ready to round bale on Thursday. NO chance of rain in the forecast, so it should get safely made and tarped, ready to feed this winter on days when the snow is too deep to graze.

Rabbit In Blue Cheese and Mustard Sauce

1 rabbit (2 1/2 - 3 lbs), cut up
Freshly ground pepper
1 1/2 tsp dry thyme
1 1/2 tsp dry savory
1 dry bay leaf
1/4 c Dijon mustard
3 T dry white wine
1 T cornstarch
1/3 c whipping cream
1/2 c crumbled blue cheese

Rinse rabbit and pat dry; then arrange, overlapping pieces slightly, in a 4 qt or larger electric slow cooker. Sprinkle with pepper, thyme, and savory; insert bay leaf between two rabbit pieces. Mix mustard and wine; pour over rabbit. Cover and cook at low setting until meat in thickest part is very tender when pierced (6 1/2 - 8 1/2 hours).
Carefully lift rabbit to warm serving dish; keep warm. Mix cornstarch and cream; blend into cooking liquid. Increase cooker heat setting to high; cover and cook, stirring 2 or 3 time, until sauce is thickened (about 10 more minutes). Add 1/4 cup of the cheese, cover, and let stand for 3 to 5 minutes; stir until cheese is melted. Pour sauce over rabbit; sprinkle with remaining 1/4 cup of cheese.

Baby Satin Angoras

Yogurt Cheese

Since no one at the farmer's market brought fresh herbs this week, I had to buy a "do it yourself" kit. :^) Now I have a lemon thyme and a rosemary plant. Here are the two plants and the freshly made yogurt cheese. I put it in a colander lined with a coffee filter overnight, and it worked just right. Its surprising how much liquid drains out of the yogurt. It leaves a creamy curd, and I just snipped the herbs and stirred them in, along with freshly ground pepper. I spread it on some French bread, added lots of thinly sliced onion and a small amount of roast lamb, and dipped the sandwich in olive oil with pesto as we ate. We both LOVED it!
You can find the recipe for the cheese on Friday, June 18th.

Marigolds

I have 3 skeins of the pure BFL lambswool yarn - all dyed in this colorway - Marigolds. There are 2 skeins of 250 yds for $16 each, and one skein that is 185 yds for $12. I'll have more white yarn later in the summer.

Ram #777

Twin, out of Lanark and Wilkie, so he is Carryhouse R1, Titus, Loyalty, and smaller amounts of Jamie and Ebony Boy. So far, he is my favorite ram this year. $350.00

Ram #774

Carryhouse R1/Loyalty breeding. Super long and level topline - sorry, the ram behind him made him bunch up. Getting bluer by the day! $300.00

Success at the Great Lakes Fiber Festival

This is me with Paige, who graciously agreed to showing Somerhill Calais in the Great Lakes Sheep Show and Sale over the Memorial Day weekend. Calais was selected GrCH BFL ewe and went on to sell to a new BFL breeder in Illinois. She also bought Somerhill Lanark, a 2 yo ram from us by private treaty, so she has a nice breeding pair to begin her flock.
(I'm not supposed to tell this part, but there were only 2 ewes in the show - hehe) My friend, Kathy, showed the other ewe, and she sold to an Ohio Merino breeder who fell in love with her beautiful fleece. Kathy's ewe sold for a higher price, so we both have "bragging rights". :^)

I think I'll be doing this show again next year, and maybe show a yearling ewe and ram. Some of the other Ohio breeders are talking of competing too. It would be fun to make this an annual event, and really promote the breed in Ohio and the surrounding area.

Just because I love her

This is Somerhill Marisol. She is a blend of UK lines, with Titus, Carryhouse R1, and Loyalty being the highest %. Could she be any more beautiful?

Fresh Yogurt Cheese

Try this cheese spread on french bread with thinly sliced roast LAMB, onion, and tomatoes. As you eat, dip the sandwich in olive oil flavored with sundried tomatoes and pesto.

1 16-ounce carton plain yogurt*
2 teaspoons finely snipped fresh herbs (such as basil, thyme, oregano, marjoram, chervil, rosemary, or parsley) or 1/2 teaspoon ground spice (such as black pepper, white pepper, red pepper, coriander, or chili powder)
Directions
Line a yogurt strainer, sieve, or a small colander with three layers of 100-percent cotton cheesecloth or a clean paper coffee filter. Suspend lined strainer, sieve, or colander over a bowl.
Spoon in yogurt. Cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least 24 hours. Remove from refrigerator. Drain and discard liquid.
Stir herbs or spices into the cheese. Store, covered, in refrigerator for up to 1 week. Makes 3/4 to 1 cup (six to eight 2-tablespoon servings).
*Note: Use a brand of yogurt that contains no gums, gelatin, or fillers. These ingredients may prevent the whey from separating from the curd to make cheese.

BFL ram lamb for sale

His sire is SHF Lockerbie AI, and dam is SHF Royce, making him 53% UK blood. He is Titus, Loyalty, Laird, Jamie breeding. You can find photos of his parents on my website
http://somerhillfarm.com/ He is going to have his sire's large frame size and bone, but will have better meat carcass qualities. Looks like he's going to have good fleece coverage, and will inherit his sire's very fine, dense fleece. As you can see, he has excellent blue color with that beautiful shading around the eyes. He is $300, and will be ready to travel to his new home by the end of the month.

Along the roadside

Somerhill Rhys

This is Rhys (rees) who is a 2 month old REW French Angora buck. He is looking for a new home. He is $50. His father is NB Mystic Eden, and mother is my Somerhill Oleander, who is Spang/Somerhill breeding. Colors in his litter were blue tort, lilac tort, and of course, REW.

BFL-Angora roving

I have 45% angora blended with natural colored BFL roving for sale for $5 per oz
Also have 30% white angora blended with BFL for $4 per oz.

SHF Banner?

Custom Signs at BuildASign.com

Two new BFL rovings

These are my two new colors of BFL roving I have available. The teal is called Fairway. The blue/purple has hints of pink in it - help me with a name?
I also have lots of natural white that is super soft, and about 1/2 # of the Tropical Punch from the fall 2009 colorway.
The colors are $2.50 per ounce, or $32 per pound, and the white is $2 per ounce, or $28 per pound.
Below is Tropical Punch - i just have a few ounces of it.

In the hayfield

Hard to believe that crownvetch could be so beautiful. These flowers are nearly 2 inches across. The tiny yellow flowers are Black Medic, another legume.

Lamb and Strawberry Salad

2 C diced cooked lamb roast
1.5 C sliced strawberries
1 can mandarin oranges, drained
1 C chopped pecans
1/2 C sour cream
1/2 C mayonnaise
2 T wine vinegar
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp paprika
1/8 tsp cayenne
Combine lamb, strawberries, oranges, and pecans. Mix together remaining ingredients, add lamb mixture and toss well.

More angora pics

French angora kits from NB Mystic Eden and Somerhill Oleader. Blue tort buck, white buck, lilac tort doe. Tudor, Rhys, & Tegan.
Red SA junior buck - Somerhill Gibraltar
Chocolate agouti SA doe - Dusty's Angora Haven Ariel.

Some Satin angora pics

Somerhill Sumatra - chocolate tort Satin Angora doe, born in December.
Somerhill Kathmandu - chocolate son of Timbuktu and Mandalay, born 3-14.

Phoebes have phledged!

The 5 young Phoebes have left the nest. I've not seen them around the house, so I hope something did not happen to them. Although we enjoyed watching them, we won't be allowing Mrs Phoebe to build on the porch again. We spent over a month feeling guilty every time we walked in or out the backdoor. :^( Perhaps we can install a ledge nearby that she will like to use.

Rabbit Eggrolls

2 cups Rabbit meat cooked and diced
1 T Oil 1 clove Garlic finely minced
2 T Soy sauce
2 T corn starch or flour
1/2 tsp. grated ginger
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. sugar
12 egg roll wrappers
your favorite Veggies (onion, carrots, peas, cabbage}

Stir fry Garlic in oil, add veggies and rabbit. Stir fry for 6 minutes, add rest of ingredients. Cook stir fry till thickening begins and allow to cool slightly. Spoon into Eggroll wrappers and fill. Fry eggrolls @ 365 for 2-3 minutes.