March 28, 2024

From the Pastures: Twist and shout

Happy spring? The tulips are a little confused, also. Our pasture does have a little green, giving some hope that spring is not far away. I am getting a little impatient this time of year — always lots of projects to do and I would like to get started. The sheep are also looking at the greening pasture with interest. I will keep them off until it gets a good growing start. Last week, my son-in-law started planting sweet corn in northern Georgia. Always interesting how far ahead they are.

All the sheep are doing well. Planning to have them sheared in a couple weeks. The Scottish Blackface wool is long and very white. I need to make more Scottish Blackface yarn — all of the yarn I had sold. The Scottish Blackface wool dyes really nicely and works well for weaving. To make more interesting yarn, it is fun to twist two colors together. Not sure which colors to make yet. I like to use colors that are together in nature. The Shetland flock has a couple different colors of fleeces. These I usually leave natural and do not dye them. Looking forward to different natural colors.

The Illinois Lamb and Wool Producers Sheep Day meeting was a lot of fun. It was nice to see people in-person again. The presentations were very interesting and informative. Thank you to Martha Blum from Illinois AgriNews for attending the meeting.

Jane Zeien

Jane Zeien

Belvidere, Ill.