Spring Sprang and Sprung

Climate Changes and Hope

As my husband and I talked about our next phase of life, at the time, our son was entering his senior year of college and our daughter was doing the same except in high school, we spoke about how we wanted to spend our last phase of life. Before we moved out to Seattle, we lived on a small farm in Virginia, and I missed the night sky, the wildlife, and I missed the sense of place I felt in the South having grown up in southern states.

I also felt a sense of hopelessness about the climate and what we were leaving our children. My husband asked me what I wanted to do about it, rather than sit around and feel sad, what was it that I could do to help change things. At the time, I was running a fabric store, and selling fabric made all over the world but finding very little made in the US much less locally. I became fascinated by the ideas of Rebecca Burgess and Fibershed. The idea of creating my own fabric from local sources that I could grow began to intrigue me. I became obsessed with regenerative agriculture and the idea that grazing animals could help improve soil and capture carbon. I knew I couldn’t do things on a grand scale or publicly, that is not in my comfort zone, but I knew that I could work diligently to make something worthwhile happen with fabric and animals, two of my favorite things.

So, thanks to my supportive husband, we were lucky enough to be able to find a farm where we could raise our own fiber and do something for the environment every day. I try to avoid using the tractor as much as possible, and as a result I walk A LOT! We mow around the yard and around the fence lines to protect the fences from deterioration (or rather further deterioration-there is old fencing here). I move the animals every 3-5 days to protect the soil, to avoid overgrazing, and to avoid having to treat the animals for parasites. It is too soon to tell what impact we are having on the soil. This is a long term project, most regenerative farmers don’t see a significant improvement in their fields and soil for 3-5 years. But, I feel more hopeful about making a positive change in our little edge of the world.

Farm Update

All farmers are reliant on the weather and at the same time the weather sends us where it may. My last newsletter was in February as I was learning to move the goats through a rotation. February was a very strange month, warm and April-like with some days summer-like with temperatures soaring into the low 90s. We were all suffering on these days, overheated despite drinking copious amounts of water and seeking shade. March didn’t roar in, but snuck in with little fanfare, but more seasonal temperatures, and April was the lion that roared in colder temperatures, crazy winds and more seasonable highs and lows. April was the month when my husband and I congratulated ourselves on managing the farm. Then May arrived and the grass overwhelmed us. June has arrived with smoke from fires in Canada and very, very dry weather-no appreciable rain since April.

The grass is now waist high in the fields that have not been grazed. Those areas on the farm with short grass, our yard, the farm road and edges of the fields, are hard, dry and in some places the clay is cracked. The fields with high grass have hard ground but the grass is green underneath, the spots that we have mown are brownish and crunchy. Although we thought we could manage all of the fields and edges, we finally gave up trying to manage all the fence lines and called in some help. Ah, the hubris that comes before the flush of spring growth that seems to have happened overnight.

The overgrown fields do come with benefits. I flushed a fawn accidentally, who was sleeping while mom was away elsewhere. The fields are full of birdsong, mainly of bluebirds, swallows and Eastern meadow larks, who are likely to startle you and jump up in a flurry as you walk through the fields. And, the fireflies….I love seeming them twinkle in the evening hours. The tall grass is being saved for the very hot days to come in late July. The idea is that the tall seed stalks will shade the green growth underneath, and it seems to be working. The grass in the fields that are quite high, is lush and green underneath and still growing. It is not the sweet, sugary grass of early spring, but is a more mature grass but still hides tasty clover and plantain and other sheep and goat delights underneath. Although our young goats love to munch on the seed heads that are head high and make for a crunchy treat.

The goats are endlessly entertaining. Here they are looking at me as if to say, not sure how the hay feeder overturned, maybe the the wind blew it over, wasn’t our fault. I found Clarabel under the feeder one day, but she has since learned to be a bit more careful.

I looked out the window one morning and saw the goats outside their field hanging with our former racing Thoroughbred Reggie (not really known for his calm demeanor), all calmly grazing together. I do know how they got out, their supposed guard animal Blaze the donkey pushed down the fence, and moved into their field and ran the goats out. Blaze, not quite 2 is NOT known for his calm demeanor. Never a dull moment.

I now rotate the animals altogether, each in a different area. The goats are the centerpiece with their field enclosed by netting, the donkey covers 2-3 sides and the horses the remaining sides all in defense of the coyotes of which we have many. I have not seen them, but they can be heard some nights, especially when there is a full moon and I have seen scat. So far, so good with this plan. These moves take me a few hours (3-6 hours depending on how far we are moving), but they are worth it for all the benefits.

Horses and goats grazing on a summer evening. Goats get first selection of grass, then the horses follow the goats and eat what they don’t. The bonus is they don’t share parasites.

The Beauty and Comfort of Support Groups

The news is filled with reports of how lonely as a nation we are. I have always felt blessed to have more interests than I can ever undertake as hobbies. My husband is eternally fascinated to find that each of my interests have a sub-culture associated with them. In these sub-cultures I have found friends and support and found a feeling of belonging. Being an introvert, I loath going to parties to meet people I don’t know and trying to make small talk. But, give me a group of horse people, goat or sheep people or people who sew or knit, and instantly we find topics to discuss ad nauseam and we feel a connection no matter our background, life circumstances or age. I have two such groups here in Virginia.

The goat herder that I bought my angoras from organized five local women to meet monthly as a support group, each of us having ruminants of one form or another. This group has been a lifesaver, literally for some of our animals. We get together once a month and talk about our lives, our ruminants, and our problems. The last meeting was filled with talk of parasites, fencing, and nursing mothers with issues, thus comes the lifesaving part of the meeting. It is a great comfort to have a network of women I can call and that will come at the a moment’s notice to help with whatever health problem arises with my animals. This last month two of the women had nursing mothers “space out”, meaning the stopped showing any interest in their kids or lambs, stopped eating, and stood staring into space. The vet we all use is exceedingly busy-there are few ruminant vets around- we often just consult on the phone and then treat the animals ourselves. Both moms were saved (calcium and maybe magnesium deficiency, and possibly one mom had a listeriosis problem but never verified) with help from the group. It is great to have moral support as well as loads of knowledge from all these women, plus everyone else in my family finds the discussion of parasites disgusting!

Central Virginia Fiber Arts Guild is a wide ranging group of people of various ages and genders and backgrounds that love all things related to fiber. It is a very welcoming group that loves to show what they are doing, have activities all month long both online and in person and are willing to help when you have a question. It is such a supportive group made up of knitters, weavers, spinners, fiber farmers, dyers, crocheters, embroiderers and more. I have found help with my fleece cleaning adventures, and help in finding processors and solving fleece problems. Plus, it is great to go once a month to knit or embroider with other like-minded souls and meet new friends.

If you don’t have a group, reach out and find one, even an introvert like myself finds joy in being with others of similar interests.

Hope you all had a lovely spring and enjoy the summer.

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Susan