Wool

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.

Seems like our pasture went from a dormant brown to lush green overnight. The spring rain was timed perfectly to spark the growth. The sheep took off running through the tall grass as soon as I opened the gate.

Well, it’s shearing time and this year has been the hardest one I’ve ever had. When my regular shearer retired two years ago, he gave me a list of names of five guys that sheared.

Surprise, winter is not over. Tonight as I write, the snow is coming down hard and blowing a lot. Looks like we have 3 inches already and it is supposed to snow all night. I may be working from home tomorrow. The grandkids are hoping for no school.

This year’s meetings start Jan. 26-27 with the Driftless Region Beef Conference and then Feb. 2-4 with the Grassworks Grazing Conference at the Chula Vista Resort in Wisconsin.

The weather in November has been surprising. The warmer temperatures have been really nice. We had a chance to complete many of the projects on our fall to-do list. Harvest around us is going strong and it is a pleasure to see the combines in the field.

Harvest has started here in northern Illinois. Many counties to the south have probably been harvesting for several weeks. Around us the weather has been perfect for picking beans for a couple weeks. My pasture still has a good grass cover for the small flock of sheep we have.