Freedom Hill Farm

04/22/2023

Well…it has been a little bit now and A LOT has happened! As you know, Gaia has her two ram lambs on April 3rd. They’re growing very quickly! Next to lamb was Pine on the 13th, early in the morning. Pine had two ewe lambs, the black one appeared to be rejected but after giving them time to bond all seems well, they are getting big and are full of energy! Piccolo was next to lamb later that same day…while I was at work! I rushed home to see the ram lamb already born at 3:47, thanks to my mom and Deb for keeping a close eye on them! Last but not least, Kjolvor had one ram lamb and one ewe lamb in the afternoon of the 16th. With that said, our 2023 lambing season has concluded and our prayers have been answered with all lambs born healthy and vigorous. And all things considered, all the ewes have been great mothers! It’s so amazing to have yet again been able to witness lambs being born…and it’s different when it’s your own sheep! Incredible to see the lambs up and walking, even nursing, within the first 20 minutes of their life. And of course it’s so fun to watch the lambs race and hop around, that will never get old. We are preparing to move everyone out on pasture in the next few of weeks. And on that note, the adventure continues!

04/05/2023

On Sunday night at 8:00 Gaia had her first lamb. 20 minutes later there was another. We all watched attentively, excited and a little nervous. This is a huge milestone for us! We welcomed these little lambs into the world, the first animals born on our farm. What a very special experience it was to witness such a sight! Gaia needed no assistance and she’s been an amazing mom. Both boys are healthy and full of energy, I don’t think you could ask for much more. Now this is just the beginning…we’ll go through this three more times! I pray that all goes as well with Pine, Piccolo and Kjolvor as it did with Gaia. Stay tuned for more updates!

03/11/2023

It’s so incredible to see this land become transformed just from intensively rotationally grazing our animals. The land started as overgrown, wild fields with lots of invasive plants taking over. Part of it was mowed with machines like a lawn mower, brush hog, w**d whacker, etc. Then the fields were unveiled as patchy, stemmy and somewhat brown and dead looking. Once the animals went onto the land and kept moving, the areas that they previously stayed on magically started filling in more and the new sprouts were deep with green. It took a few complete rotations, which was basically the entire summer. But by the end of summer we had lush green pasture with very few bare patches and lots of variety of native plants! Don’t get me wrong, this change was not overnight and we still have plenty of invasive and non-native plants BUT the changes that we have seen have been so dramatic, you wouldn’t even recognize this as the same property.

Now you hear how goats are great in an area of brambles and brush but man oh man the sheep were incredible! I would release them into a jungle with high w**ds and grasses, autumn olive, mutiflora rose and other trees and shrubs. They made such a huge impact reclaiming pasture. I would even be able to keep them in half the size of their normal paddock…for up to 3 days!! They had so much vertical food to eat that it would comfortably last them that long. It was amazing!! We started off grazing the birds behind the sheep but eventually the terrain became too difficult to move those coops around so the birds went to cleanup the apple orchard until autumn came while the sheep and goats finished clearing the main pastures.

🔸🔹🔸🔹🔸🔹🔸🔹🔸🔹🔸🔹🔸🔹🔸🔹

Not only did the animals do a better job at cleaning up the land but they also did a few things that the machines couldn’t:

🟢 The animals did not mow everything down to the same layer. This only gives invasive plants the edge because they will outcompete the native plants and eventually remove them from the landscape entirely.

🟢 The animals did not compact the soil as much as a tractor or other equipment would.

🟢 The animals fertilized the soil at the same time they were pruning and compacting (on a much lighter scale). Giving the plants lots of crucial nutrients that a mower can’t.

🟢 The animals disturbed the top layer of soil enough to promote seed growth…the tractor compacts the soil a bit too much in a way where the seeds become more suppressed instead of lightly disturbed.

We still have a lot of work to do but we’ve come such a long way so far!

03/05/2023

Here’s the latest from the farm!

Thank you to The Fox and Crow Farm & Country Store for our new rooster! I highly recommend if you’re in the Barnstead, NH area that you go check out their beautiful country store! I only very briefly met them but it’s clear to see how much work Erin and Jared have put into their farm. We will definitely be going back!

Now…He needs a patriotic name because this is what freedom sounds like 😉 Any suggestions?

Meanwhile, Kjolvor is settling into the flock nicely. This was the first picture I was able to get of everyone together! It won’t be long now until lambs are here! …and maybe chicks now too? Stay tuned!

02/17/2023

Now is a great time to stock up on your garden seeds. I encourage you all to get seeds even if you don’t have a garden. They will store for many years despite having an expiration date, their germination rate will decrease as time goes on but most will still be good. I’ll send some links to seed companies in the New England, there are plenty around and you can get seeds from avid gardeners as well, these are just a some good companies I’ve found and some that I’ve used.

Three big reasons to buy your seeds locally:
1.) The seeds will be more adapted to your environment and have a much higher germination rate. Compared to buying from a company down south or out west where conditions are different.
2.) With all these chemical explosions going on, what effect will that have on the crops in those areas? If you’re buying seed from contaminated areas, no doubt the seeds and plants will also be contaminated. Just something to consider.
3.) Supporting local farmers and businesses and keeping our food supply local.

I always look for Heirloom or Organic seeds, not GMO or GE.

Pinetree Garden Seeds, ME:
https://www.superseeds.com/

Johnny’s Seeds, ME:
https://www.johnnyseeds.com/

Wood Prairie Family Farm, ME:
https://www.woodprairie.com/

Fedco Seeds, ME:
https://www.fedcoseeds.com/

High Mowing Seeds, VT:
https://www.highmowingseeds.com/

NE Seeds, CT:
https://www.neseed.com/

Hart Seed Company, CT:
https://hartseed.com/

Heirloom Seeds of New England, CT:
https://heirloomseedsofnewengland.com/

Although they aren’t in New England, MI Gardener has been an awesome company to buy seeds from:
https://migardener.com/

You may also be able to find local seed swaps in your area.

Shop over 750 varieties of vegetable seed, fertilizer, garden tools, and view thousands of free gardening videos. We make gardening fun, accessable, and affordable. Since 2011 MIgardener has prided itself with being family owned and operated with a mission to connect gardeners world wide.

12/25/2022

Merry Christmas everyone! 😄🎄

12/19/2022

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow! Here’s some pictures over the past few days. By far the ducks and geese love the snow the most. They were outside the entire day of the snow storm splashing in their pool…now those are snow birds! The goats were very comical when they would dart outside, jump on their rocks, run around the pen, head-butt and then dart back inside. Both the sheep and chickens went out a bit but mostly hung out inside while it was snowing.

I can’t say for sure that I have a favorite season but each one has it’s place. Many New Englanders complain about the winter…they don’t know what they’re talking about! A walk through the woods during a snowfall is always so calm and bliss. The woods you thought you knew all of a sudden becomes unrecognizable. Winter is the season of rest, it’s a time to be grateful for all that you have, to look back on all your accomplishments this year and set goals for the next year, to take things slow and appreciate the present. Winter is as beautiful as it is deadly. We may not realize that with all our creature comforts and climate controlled houses and vehicles as well as all the clothes we wear to keep us warm. Imagine not having any of those things and going through a harsh winter. As our ancestors did and all the animals do, then the beauty of winter fades away and becomes life or death. Many get so caught up in the holiday season (and then feel like winter drags on from January until the snow melts and the temperature gets above 50°) but that’s not what winter is about, take this time to rest and reset, to spend time with loved ones and those close to you, to give without the expectation of receiving, to see the beauty of winter and respect it as our ancestors did, and to enjoy every moment.

Enjoy the pictures of everyone on the farm, stay warm and cozy. -Evan

11/10/2022

We’ve been hard at work for a while now to renovate an existing pole barn/shed on the property that needed quite a bit of work to become the barn for all the animals…but we did it! Last night we finished the majority of the work and got everyone inside before the temp dropped to 25°. Here are some pics and videos of the barn and paddocks look like right now. Still a few things to finish and plenty of kinks to work out but I’m so thankful we got everyone in. Grazing is over for the year and I have to say I never minded the daily rotations. Watching everyone rush into their new areas was so rewarding and it just becomes part of the daily schedule without questions. Everyone is settling in very well overall and the cold weather is coming quick. Stay tuned for future updates!