From the Pastures: Summer goes fast

June seems to go by so fast every year. I think I am going to slow summer down and accomplish so many things and then it is already July Fourth. Maybe this month goes by fast because I am always comparing where Illinois agriculture is to Georgia agriculture. An example: Today is the first day of selling sweet corn for my daughter and son-in law. Corn around Illinois is not even knee high yet.

Early spring was very wet, then we went through a dry period. The hay was cut at the end of May and the amount of growth was low. We were able to bale only about half the normal number of bales. Now this week it has rained so much a lot of fields are flooded. I am grateful for the rain.

Hopefully, a second cutting will produce more hay. I need to have enough for the sheep and a couple cows my grandkids have now. I always said no cows in our barn. Well, that may change. My son is redoing the section of the barn where the horses were. He is making new fences and gates for the kids’ heifer calves this winter. They will be in charge of feeding and cleaning out the pens. I have never been real fond of cows, but the grandkids are really enjoying working with them and showing.

The gray Shetland fleece I talked about last month looked so nice I have already washed it. It is processing nicely through the steps needed to make it into yarn. The yarn is going to be beautiful. It is very rewarding to make yarn from wool that I have raised from a little lamb. This year there are several nice fleeces. I may work on cleaning them and try to sell the raw fleece. Many people have good success selling their fleeces.

This month I have had a lot of conversations with people about the benefits of wool. Most of these people do not raise sheep. They have just had a positive experience with wool items. I am glad to see that wool is gaining in popularity. Happy June!