Week Two:

The pond infront of our house. It will soon be dug out and filled with fresh water.  It will  be made deep enough to swim in.

Photo credit: Lydia Hick

Week two was fantastic! I was finally into a good pattern and Tuesday was Maria's birthday. Maria the Garden Manager and awesome person, so Molly and John (farm managers) decided to have a cookout/ birthday party for her. Molly, who is a talented chef, made a special dessert for the occasion, smores, with organic graham crackers.

http://deliciouslyorganic.net/grain-free-graham-crackers-marshmallows-without-corn-syrup-recipe/

The smores crackers taste much better than store bought graham cracker and they don't crumbling in your hands.

On Wednesday the sheep were moved. The sheep generally move pastures every three or four days depending on the amount of damage they have done on the pasture. The farm is trying to prevent over grazing because this leads to dusty soil, erosion, and sometimes mud slides. To avoid this, a pasture that has just been grazed on is put to rest, this is a regrowth period.

It usually takes two people to move the sheep. One person in the front with a handful of sweet-feed leading and the other in the back pushing the sheep along. This is a predator pray technique that most farms use. The sheep are used to being moved, I move them everyday out of and then back into the barn at night.

It can be tricky at times, the sheep get aggressive and most recently a 200 lb pregnant sheep keeps jumping on me to reach the food in my hand...ouch! Also, George the ram at the farm can be temperamental and decide to take your knees out, so I can never turn your back on him.

Rotating the sheep from pasture to pasture also cuts down on parasites. If the sheep are getting a lot of parasites from the grass in one pasture then they can become sick, so rotating grazing areas cuts down the risk of the sheep getting sick.

I have been using a microscope to examine some of the parasites the sheep carry. First, a sample of poo is located and the number of the sheep, consistency of the sample, and date is recorded. Second, the sample is prepared and a slide is made. Then, using the microscope the parasites are located, a picture is taken, and the image is sent to the vet. The vet then tells us how we should adjust the sheep's diet to avoid any serious illnesses caused by these many different types of parasites. The image above is of a parasite I found on a piece of green grass particle. The parasite is the black circles on the grass particle.

One of the sheep had twins about two months ago and is still breast feeding even though they are nearly the size of her. This is causing her to become thin and weak. To make sure she is at a healthy weight I have been making a concoction of apple cider vinegar malasis mix (in my left hand) and a spoon full of hemocel (in the bin in my right hand). The apple cider vinegar acts as food that is directly absorbed by the sheep, making it easy to gain weight. The malasis makes the vinegar go down a little easier. And the hemocel is a vitamin that provides digestive factors and blood builders.

This is Basil and me. She and her sister, Sage help me take care of the sheep and I help take care of them. I make sure they are eating (they don't have much of an appetite), have food and water, and every Sunday I clean their ears because they often get ear infections.

Week one of WWOOFing

Everyday is a beautiful day at Apricot Lane Farms.
Photo by: Lydia Hick

Week one, I learned a little bit about what it's like to be an Organic Farmer. I now know how to treat animal wounds and  feed the animals organically. Each animal is completely different from one another, from personality to dietary needs. One of the most important tools the farm uses to keep their animals, cows, bulls, sheep, goats, and dogs healthy is Apple Cider Vinegar. This is used to maintain a balanced stomach PH and also gives the animals an immune boost, but not all of our farm house friends like the taste. To overcome this obstacle, John Chester, the livestock manager adds molasses to the Apple Cider Vinegar and it becomes much tastier.

Weeding in the garden to make room for raspberry bushes.
Photo by: John Chester

No pesticides are used to control weeds , so weeding becomes a big part of Organic farming. But nothing goes to waste! The weeds are pulled and then put into the compost. The compost is then maintained by rotating, watering, and keeping it at a healthy temperature (below 150 degrees Fahrenheit) until it can reenter the soil.

Peeling carrots.
Photo Credit: Molly Chester

On Friday, Molly Chester, Farm Project Manager/ Chef was updating her Organic Spark Blog and used me as her hand model for her recipe for dill carrots. See the link to learn more...

http://www.organicspark.com/portfolio/dilly-carrots/

Lamb number 9 was born.

Photo credit: John Chester

Finally, Saturday the day the WWOOFers get to sleep in...nope! A lamb is born at 7am. She's healthy and so mom. Mom and baby stay separated from the herd for a week. This allows the lamb to become steady on her feet before she gets pushed, head butted, and trampled by the herd. More babies are expected to come soon. Six or seven more sheep are pregnant.