Flerd?

Yesterday, Glenn worked off farm for his friend Phillip.  He was the yarder operator on Phillip's logging job in the south end of the county.  As the yarder operator, Glenn ran the piece of equipment that pulls the cut logs up slope (usually very steep terrain) to the log landing.  Ever see the television program, 'Ax Men'?  The yarder has a 40' tower with cables attached.  A carriage slides up and down the cables.  Chokers are attached to the carriage.  The carriage goes down with three dangling chokers.  These chokers are fastened around the cut logs.  The logs are cabled up slope to the landing where they are loaded onto logs trucks for hauling to the sawmill.

That being said, Glenn was late getting home.  And, we had an appointment to go view some sheep, really 3-month-old lambs, at a fella's farm - a 90 minute drive away.  We arrived at dusk.

lambs looking for a new home

'Sheep?' you say.  You thought we raised cattle.

We do raise cattle, but...Glenn is determined to make the farm work more for us, then us for the farm.

Cattle are grazers (grass eaters); thus, they leave the unpalatable, more woody vegetation which continues to grow in the pastures, taking up valuable space for grass.  Sheep are grazers/foragers - they will eat more of the undesirable plants and weeds (briers, thistle, tree sprouts) along with the grass.  The sheep will be our bush hog (mower).  Or, at least, that is the plan.  Again, less mechanical methods and less fuel utilized results in a better environment.  And, the quality of grass is improved along the way.

We did not make any purchase, it would have been difficult trying to get 10-12 pretty good-sized lambs into the back of my Blazer, but we are serious about this next step.

Stay tuned for further developments concerning our transition from a herd of cattle to a flerd (flock & herd) of sheep and cattle.  I am biting my nails...especially at the thought of having both a bull and a ram together - sounds like a risky undertaking to me.