Tuesday, August 30, 2011

Hurricane Irene Quick Post

Just a quick post to let everyone know we survived the storm.   Not that bad out our way, we were at the outer bands of the storm.   Sheep continued to graze right through the wind and rain like it was an ordinary rainy day.

Hope everyone else fared well and if you don't have power yet...may you have it soon.

Monday, August 22, 2011

Fall Cleaning

It's that time of year again; time to take stock of our successes and clean house on the failures.

As I have posted previously, I have decided to cease shepherding.  The past eight years with sheep and goats have been an experience I wouldn't have missed for the world.  I've met some great people, learned a lot and enjoyed the peace and harmony working with animals engenders even as we suffered the heartache that also comes with raising livestock.  Unfortunately, 5 acres of cleared land just isn't enough for raising the number of sheep needed to be profitable while simultaneously growing sufficient crops.

So what will the new focus of Laingcroft be?  We will continue raising laying hens for those fabulously flavored eggs.  We are also considering an expansion of the small quail flock for both eggs and meat.  And last, but certainly not least, we are exploring the possibility of adding a hive or two for pollination and honey.

As for our produce, we will be scaling back a bit on the diversity in order to focus on better meeting the needs of our community.

How can you find our goodies?  We are excited about the Powhatan County Farmers Market and plan to sign up for 2012.  We will also be investigating the Center for Rural Culture's Local Roots Co-op.  Watch our website for more information!