What are the odds that all lambs born on the farm this year would be males? Well, regardless of the mathematical probability, that’s exactly what happened this season. Four ewes gave birth to 4 lambs. It is an auspicious start to the fledgling Tunis flock, but 3 are healthy and thriving, having lost one the day after it was born.

These days we are busy with lambing and kidding season will soon be upon us as well. Ben spends most days in the woods, tapping trees and working on his maple enterprise. I’ve been manually clearing fields. I hope that sentence conveys the sheer absurdity of the task. To be specific, I have been digging up wild roses , honeysuckles, and blackberry vines with a pickax, hand saw, and hand shears. The brush hog is kaput, and since I need these fields cleared for pasture, I am clearing them with the tools that I have at my disposal.

This brigs me to my next thought– determination. I read an article the other day about beginning farmers and how people need to just START. Even if you long for that nice little Kubota that would make life so much easier, farm with what you have until you can do better.

There are lots of days when the sheer amount of work and finances required to run the farm without worry is daunting. We are slowly plugging away, making our farm dream a reality. But I’m not going to sugar coat it– it’s HARD WORK!