Moonstruck Farm

06/03/2026

06/03/2026

Today's my day off this week so I'm gardening! I was getting a load of straw out of the barn for my potatoes and strawberries and saw an orange bird. I couldn't get close and am not good at identifying birds by their calls so I googled oriole calls. I'm pretty sure it was a ma we Baltimore Oriole. I was hoping it was an orchard oriole because our neighbor, who pet sits for me, has them. I also saw a mockingbird on top of our chestnut oak and he's the main one singing in this video.

05/15/2026

This guy should be the last lamb of the season. I was hoping for twins out of his mom, who looked huge. His birth weight was 14 #, and he came out backwards with a little help.

05/11/2026

We have a group of ewes who are lambing late. Two Texel ram lambs and a Texel ewe as well as one 88 percent ram lamb. 2007, aka Scarlet is still pregnant and looks like she's carrying twins. Then we'll be done lambing.

04/30/2026

I'm getting ready for the great lakes fiber show in Wooster over memorial day weekend. I have 7 fleeces entered in the show/sale and I'm thinking about entering a skein or two of my yarn in the spinning competition. All from Texel or crosses of 75 percent or more.

04/03/2026

About 5 ewes are left to lamb now but I'm trying to wean the first group of older lambs. They got their first immunizations this week and are eating hay and a little supplemental grain mix well.

04/03/2026

We are nearing the end of lambing/kidding but Kelly texted me at work last night to tell me about this little one. I was hoping for twins but at least she's healthy and doing well. The goats are generally good mamas so I'm not going to pen them separately as a single should be easy for this experienced doe.

01/02/2026

I had some of my dirtier or lower quality fleeces made into pellets and they really work nice as a fertilizer or mulch. They are also good to add to potted plants to conserve moisture.

WEEKLY RESEARCH SHARE

Effect of wool pellets on soil fertility and lettuce growth in three soil types

Since 2010, South America has been experiencing a prolonged megadrought, with a 40% reduction in annual rainfall, further intensified by climate change. This situation has led to a severe decline in water reserves, impacting agriculture and food security. To mitigate these effects, the adoption of sustainable agricultural practices, such as the use of sheep wool as an organic fertilizer, has been explored. This study evaluated the impact of wool pellets on lettuce growth and soil properties across different substrates. Lettuce seedlings were cultivated in 1 L pots with various soil types (sand, clay, and peat) and different wool pellet doses: a control group (C), a group with 5 g/L (W5), and one with 10 g/L (W10). Plant growth parameters and soil properties were monitored over a period of 120 days. The addition of wool pellets improved soil moisture retention and chemical properties, with moisture levels increasing by 3% to 25% compared to the control, particularly during dry periods. An increase in nitrate (41-54%) and potassium (10-53%) concentrations was observed in both soil and lettuce leaves (1.4 times) compared to the control, particularly in sandy and clay soils. Lettuce growth was significantly enhanced under the W10 treatment, which showed the highest increases in plant weight (2.5 times), leaf number (1.4 times), and height (1.4 times) compared to the control. Wool pellets may thus serve as an effective tool for optimizing soil management in low-fertility environments, promoting more sustained and resilient plant growth under variable water availability.

Source: J. Arid Land Agriculture, May 2025

https://updatepublishing.com/journal/index.php/jaa/article/view/9572/6550

07/27/2025

Its time to start thinking of sales! I'd like to get my sheep down to 20 adult ewes. I'm planning to send two nice young rams to the Danville ram sale in mid August. Working on a listing for Godzilla, our senior boy, through the Texel sheep society web page and several purebred and percentage ewes will need to go. Theses two are especially nice looking Texel ladies. All are registered and the purebreds are enrolled in NSIP. I'm even have DNA on some.

06/13/2025

The animals had access to this area for about 3 days. They really put a dent in the tall grass and even ate the leaves and flowers from the Canadian thistle. I wish I could get them into the areas back from this but I think they would eat my grapes too