Wool

April was an extremely busy time, mostly because we welcomed a new granddaughter. Her name is Brynlee and she is doing well. We were lucky to spend more time in Georgia in April than Illinois.

I’m glad to be done feeding hay and am now grazing cereal rye and red clover. Some of the rye is in the flag leaf stage already. I have rye that is 10 inches tall right next to 30-inch tall rye, so I need to get it grazed.

This is the time of year that I become a little impatient waiting for spring. The warmer weather makes me think the grass and pasture should be getting green faster than they are. The sheep are also looking impatient.

At the Illinois Lamb and Wool meeting a guy told me that he didn’t know about the wool loan deficiency payments program until he read about it in my article last year. He was able to get more than the 40 cents per pound minimum by having his wool graded.

This year, February has seemed more like late March. The temperature here in northern Illinois is warmer than in past years, quite a difference from when I was writing the January column. I know the warm temperatures are not going to last.

Today, as I am writing this column, it has been snowing all night and all day. So far in northern Illinois we have at least 6 inches of heavy, wet snow on the ground.

The mill and store are very busy getting ready for Small Business Saturday. This special shopping day is the Saturday after Thanksgiving. It is a chance to support local businesses.

The Wisconsin Sheep and Wool Festival was a lot of fun this year. Great to see old friends and to meet new ones. Just a note to follow up on the items I discussed in last month’s column. The wool coasters were well received.

September already! Have you had your first pumpkin spice latte? I have not, but I did enjoy a pumpkin spice cream cheese muffin. I saw a funny advertisement for pumpkin spice oil change for your car.

Well, I’ve just returned from the Wisconsin Sheep and Wool Festival and it was entertaining and very informative. On Friday was the Sheep 101 classes and Saturday was the Profit Workshop classes.

The summer has certainly been speeding by. Always seems like summer is so short and winter so long. We have been blessed with great weather so far in August.

The rain in the past few days has really helped all plants and crops here in northern Illinois. June was very dry. Hopefully, the July rains will be enough to get the crops growing again.

The Indiana Sheep Association is sponsoring sheep-themed competitions, vendors and educational opportunities at the Indiana State Fair.

Luckily, the hay at our farm grew well this spring and was baled the first week of June. The yield was three more big square bales than last year. I am thrilled because now it has been really dry.

The Illinois Lamb and Wool Producers Sheep Day and Annual Meeting is set for June 3.