Seventeen Years of Sheep, Sweat, and Manchego: A Love Story

There is always time in the day for cheese!

Seventeen years ago, I was just a wide-eyed dreamer with a serious Manchego obsession.

Today? I'm a seasoned sheep farmer, with callouses on my hands, a healthy selection of jeans and farm boots and the faint aroma of lanolin permanently embedded in my clothes.

People ask me all the time…How did you get into this?

It all started with a simple craving. That irresistible nutty, buttery flavor, the firm yet creamy texture of Manchego cheese... it was my culinary kryptonite. But the deeper I delved into the world of Manchego and other sheep milk cheeses I realized that the very reason this is truly exceptional stuff was the high butter fat content of sheep’s milk.
Logic, as it often does, went out the window. "I need my own sheep," I declared, much to the amusement (and slight concern) of my friends and family but more importantly my accountant!

Now, 17 years later, this farm has transformed into a haven for these gentle creatures. Rolling green pastures (okay, maybe slightly less rolling), a couple cozy barns that have seen their fair share of cattle, horses, hay and tractors but now sheep and lambing seasons, and the constant, comforting murmur of bleating sheep. The biggest difference is milking and cheese making did not end up being the direction this farm took, (except for my personal benefit). I completed my courses in cheese making but later realized how confining a milking operation would be. Shoot! Farming is all encompassing as it is but a dairy operation is 10x more! So, sheep were still the focus, just not milking and cheese!

It hasn't been all sunshine and idyllic pastoral scenes, mind you. But through it all, the joy of watching my flock grow and graze, the satisfaction of being in nature, daily and the sheer delight of shepherding has made every challenge worthwhile.
From Novice to (Somewhat) Knowledgeable Shepherd:
Over the years, I've learned a thing or two about sheep farming. I can tell you the difference between sheep breeds at a glance, my shearing skills leave a lot to be desired (we hire that out and make it an annual event), and I've learned a heck of a lot about wool.

What's Next?
Well, the dream continues! The more I learn about farming and sheep (mostly sheep wool) the more I’m excited to continue and although I’m not making cheese it was truly my love of Manchego that started me on the path.

So, another reason I will forever be grateful for Manchego!

Back to basics with sheep healthcare

Let us just admit it, we got complacent.

In the early days of this farm I made a lot of declarations about how I wasn’t going to adopt a system of livestock care that relied too much on pharmaceuticals and not enough on what mother nature intended for them.

In the early days we questioned everything that came our way. If the books and periodicals said vaccinate, we said why? We talked to vets and read. We were able to take the recommended annual shots from 6 to 1, sometimes 2. Mind you, that was almost 20 years ago but you get the message. We were asking the questions and trying to start off on the right foot, giving the sheep’s needs for living a full and healthy life our full attention. Fast forward almost 20 years and you have 2 farmers working hard to stay ahead of the pastures, the draughts, the losses, the equipment, and wait, I’m making excuses. Yep. We just plain lost sight of our “lighthouse”. When 5 sheep grow to 100 it is harder to manage each individual sheep’s needs (not impossible though). So, in a long, round about way I’m getting to the gist of my post….

Parasites! The number one enemy of sheep and number one reason folks should think hard about raising sheep. The easiest and honestly most full proof method to rid a sheep of parasites is to de-worm with chemical based de-wormers. It has always been our goal not to do that if we can avoid it. We certainly followed our rotation of the sheep through the pasture divisions and we did it according to the experts, some years better than others. Rotation keeps the sheep moving, not eating the grass down too low where the parasites hang out. Problems arise when you don’t plan for drought or you accidently over populate the flock because you have a friend that is selling out and it’s killing her to have to sell her sheep one by one so your big heart has to step in and help, not even thinking about the consequences it might cause on your own farm!

We over taxed our pastures!

We didn’t have the time, or didn’t take the time to realize what was happening. We had a manageable but growing parasite population on the farm. We were rotating and deworming regularly as the hot humid conditions persisted and became more frequent. We went through 1of the 3 available classes of de-wormers in about 6 years. The worms were then resistant to that class (the most effective I might add, Ivormectin). How does that happen? Alot of possibilities and theories but the most understandable is that the dose rate is by weight. We're left with guessing because it’s difficult for most small farms to afford or accommodate scales for 130-250 pound animals. There's no way a small farmer can be sure. We’re close but not exact. So we might underdose? Depending on what we read or conference we attended we’ve been different information, sometimes to double the dose, sometimes definitely not? Some of that information came from vets. Long story short, the efficacy of the drugs are diminished or destroyed by inaccuracies in the dosing. The parasites are slowly resistant. We now have a parasite population that is resistant to the de-wormers! Argh! My research tells me this is a problem world-wide. I actually couldn’t believe the numbers world-wide when I looked closely! Sadly, the sheep industry doesn’t warrant millions of dollars spent in research to address the problem. What’s a farmer to do? Canada has a new de-wormer available that isn’t available to us yet but I think we’ve learned a huge lesson in not being dependent on the pharmaceuticals anyway. Let’s get back to our original philosophies!

We have a plan.

We believe parasites won’t pose such a problem if the sheep's gut health is balanced. Heard that before? Yep, just like us, sheep are being deprived of what their systems need. They're put on pastures with monotype forage and asked to keep their PH in check? They need more. Plus an acidic gut will be more resistant to parasites, this we know. I took a class taught by an organic vet, Dr. Paul Detloff. Someone in the class asked about their flock presenting with black mouths. Dr. Paul responded with a question… “do you have black walnuts?” with the response yes, Dr Paul shared that black walnut is a perfect offering to sheep with parasites. The black walnut is acidic and will help their gut heel. The most exciting part to me is if given the opportunity, sheep would find it themselves. Of course they would. Nature knows!

We also believe there are natural de-wormers. We just have to spend some time testing and experimenting. The “old timers” used many a method. We’re reading and planning. We are excited and hope to turn our difficult year into a positive one.

So, here we go replanting Rosemary around the barns, encouraging our black walnut trees to grow and bare and to make sure these and many other natural foods and supplements are available to the sheep. I'm digging through new and old medical journals. As a farm we are determined to overcome this and actually do something that we intended from the beginning.

Stay tuned. Will keep you posted.

Mac and Cheese Bites

This recipe might seem out of context for our blog content…read on.

Alas, I am one that loves to throw a party. Serving lots of folks gathered together for food and fun is just a thing I love to do. Recipes that help me accomplish that impressively and easily are incredibly important to my recipe collection. You’re asking for trouble if you plan a party and try all new recipes so having this in your arsenal is important.

Alas, if you’ve ever had good Mac & Cheese, you understand how a good crunchy mini bite of mac & cheese could transcend you.

Several years ago my sister made her rendition of mac and cheese bites; they were incredible. The second time we made them the flavor was just as good but they stuck to the pan and fell apart? She is a great cook and often does her own thing, tweaking recipes as she goes. Nothing wrong with embellishing a recipe but it helps to remember what you did! Yes I'm calling you out sis❤️. When I decided to make them I did a fair amount of research. There are lots of recipes out there, all a bit different. I ended up using the recipe from Chef in Training with a few “tweeks” of my own based on hints from other sites. Her recipe is solid but I wanted to include (for all my future entertaining) a full proof recipe that didn’t stick and had different flavor profiles based on the crowd I was serving. I think the secret to the recipe includes cream cheese and egg and finally a little bit of the shredded cheese in the bottom of each mini muffin cup. Of course don’t forget to grease the muffin cups really well!

NOTE: Cheese. This is a personal preference and will change based on guests. If there are children you’ll want more mild cheeses. I used mild cheddar. If it’s an adult afair the addition of Gruyere sends these over the top.

• 1 pound elbow macaroni

• 4 Tablespoons butter

• 4 Tablespoons flour

• 3 cups milk

• 4 cups shredded cheese (See Note)

• 4 ounces cream cheese

• 1 teaspoon salt

• 1/2 teaspoon white pepper

• 2 eggs beaten

• Bread Crumb Topping (panko, olive oil, minced garlic)

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

• Spray mini muffin tins with cooking spray really well.

• Cook pasta according to packaged directions and set aside.

• In a medium size pan combine butter and flour over medium heat. Whisk until butter is melted and mixture is smooth. Slowly add milk and bring to a simmer. Add 3 1/2 cups of the cheese, cream cheese, salt and pepper. Stir until smooth and creamy. Remove from heat.

• In a large mixing bowl, carefully stir pasta, cheese sauce, and egg until evenly mixed and pasta is evenly coated.

• put a bit of the remaining shredded cheese in the bottom of each muffin cup

• Spoon mac and cheese into mini muffin tins, press down and top each with a small pinch of remaining cheese and sprinkle with the panko mixture

• Bake at 400 degrees F for 15 minutes or until golden brown.

• Allow to cool 5 minutes before gently removing the bites.

Breadcrumb Topping: Mince a garlic clove and sauté it in 1 tablespoons of olive oil and 1 Tablespoon of butter. Add 3/4 cups of panko and sauté just until it smells a bit toasty and the panko is fully coated.

ENJOY! Let me know what you think!

Tales of a female farmer

I refuse to begin with, “when I started this farm” because I do that too often.

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…When I started this farm , I was in my late 40’s.

I embraced everything about the life.

I looked good in my Carhartt’s

I always dreamt about a day I could get up in the morning, put the same jeans on from the day before and head out for the days job. At a fairly young age (20’s) I professed this to one of my sisters. #nomussnofuss

10 years later, then approaching 60…

I hadn’t really noticed but I was aging. Once I began to notice, I couldn’t stop noticing. I was changing physically and emotionally. That’s what we do, I was told. I didn’t fit so well in my Carhartt’s anymore. The girl I had known in the mirror all my life wasn’t there. Who was I? Now I'm approaching my mid 60’s and I know a little more about the journey. It’s just about morphing! As the “morph” is taking place you have choices…what parts of who you’ve been shall you take on this next journey?

I struggled to accept the meaning of it all. I read and heard over and over, your not getting older, your getting better. I tried to wrap my arms around the idea of just letting it happen; waiting , watching and accept that I would be happy with the results. I know so many older women I admire that are just awesomely beautiful and it’s not about their physical beauty, it is their peace with who they are and the grace with which they carry themselves. I get that. I know it comes from our inner self. BUT, you’ve got to somehow lean into the morphosis that takes place and trust the ride. Just get in the boat and let the waters take you ? It’s the RAPIDS that scare me!

I knew I wasn’t feeling pretty. I also know the definition of “pretty” refers to the physical self… this was definitely more then just my physical being. I grasp and support the argument that too much emphasis is put on girls being “pretty”. Every female on this planet would/could/will approach this differently but for me I had to re-introduce some things in my life that made me feel “pretty” again. I just don’t know another way to say it. I knew I hadn’t been taking care of me. For me, it was the lack of “feminine” in my day to day. Shall we discuss what feminine means? I think not because again, that is so relative. I’d certainly been in nurturing, empathetic, sensitive and tender roles while being a sheep farmer. These are just a few of the traits that make women good farmers. These weren’t the feminine traits I was yearning for…it was more of the “pretty” girl stuff that I’d missed. Let’s be real girls (and guys), don’t we like dressing up occasionally?

A lot of female farmers out there will say they’re just fine in their farm work clothes , hair pulled back or short all the time for efficiency and their clunky farm boots. I see you! I get you! I’ve been there. I’ve done that! There will be others that know exactly what I mean!

One of the first things I did again was start painting my toenails! I love to see those toes and they’re bold “new” colors come out of a boot sock. There is something grand about a hard sweaty day and you sit down to pull those boots off your tired feet and out of the sock slides that reminder that you are a woman. A woman that can work hard, think hard and still be delicate. A woman that can be and do ANYTHING!

Caring for sheep hides

We get many questions about caring for sheep hides so they’ll last for generations. The first thing I tell folks is to remember, the hide, in its natural state, survived all types of weather and harsh conditions.

The very nature of any household creates dirt and of course accidents have the potential for worse, permanent stains and smells!

You will surely want to clean, or spot clean your hide.

First and foremost, shake it out! That is the single best way to clean the wool. Wool that has become matted down from use can be revived with a good brushing or fluffing. A dog brush with wide spaced prongs works well. Short wool pelts can also be vacuumed.

Simply shaking it out by hand should sufficiently rid the hide of most dust and debris.

If something is spilled on the hide I would immediately blot it with cold water. If that doesn't suffice I would either run it under sink water or a hose on the spot itself.

The hide can be washed on a gentle cycle, with gentle soap and cool water. Do Not Put in the Dryer! Lay flat to dry. As the hide is drying you may want to “work” the leather side as illustrated in my video. Keeping the leather soft and supple is an important goal.

A good reminder from the folks @ Driftless Tannery, “when wetting wool, please make sure to spot clean in one direction, and avoid rubbing the area.

Moisture + wool + agitation = felting!”

Whether your yoga mat, your rug to snuggle your bare toes in, your car seat, your gorgeous decor…these beautiful, naturally tanned hides should last a lifetime if cared for properly.

Cucumber Lemonade

The heat this summer is turning out to be beyond wrong, especially for a farmer!

Our goal on this farm is to adhere to sustainable practices and yet were imagining watering our pastures so our sheep can continue to graze? Something is wrong with that plan! We’re not really considering watering the pastures but I’d be lying if I said the thought hadn’t crossed our minds.

We'll instead pray for rain and do everything we can to extend the grazing. Watch out, we might do a rain dance!

In the midst of the heat and the added stress it’s causing we have to keep ourselves hydrated and we’re forced to spend a lot of time in doors. That, coupled with cucumbers coming at me from every direction in my garden were the main reason this recipe for cucumber lemonade from Smitten Kitchen called out to me. I usually like any recipe I try of Deb’s This one sounded so incredibly refreshing ( and it is); it used a bunch of my cucumber abundance and it’s timing was perfect because we were having an Open House for our farm store and it was the perfect refreshment to serve!.

Added bonus, your drinking your a mega dose of vegetables.

Makes just over 1 quart (4 cups). Serves 4 to 6 and up to 8 if you like a lot of fizzy water in yours.

1 pound cucumber(s), peeled or unpeeled, cut into large chunks, plus a few extra thin cucumber slices for garnish
1 cup lemon juice (from about 7 to 8 lemons, although juiciness will vary)
1/3 cup granulated sugar
2 cups cold water

Run cucumber through a blender or food processor until pureed, then run it for a full extra minute to ensure that it’s as processed as possible. Set a fine-mesh strainer or a regular strainer lined with a couple layers of cheesecloth or a coffee filter over a pitcher and pour cucumber puree through it, stirring to help it move along faster. Discard solids. In the pitcher, you should have about 1 cup cucumber juice.* Add lemon juice and sugar to it, then water. Give it a good stir or shake, and let it sit in the fridge (to get it started chilling) for 15 minutes, after which a couple more stirs or shakes should leave the sugar fully dissolved. Taste lemonade, adding more sugar or water if desired.

Cucumber Gazpacho

I recently ask our friends on social media to share any ideas they might have for preparing the bounty of garden fresh cucumbers.

No one replied. 😩

I've stopped crying now and decided to share one of my favs with you.

I end up with all sizes of cucumbers. I must not be a very good cucumber finder? I seem to always find one that hid for too long and looks similar to a watermelon! Maybe not that big but kinda. This recipe is friendly to all sizes except maybe not watermelon big. If you use the larger ones be sure to remove the seeds.

I must give credit for this recipe to one of my favorite people who just happens to be my cousin in-law. I was invited to her lovely home and she served this in cordial glasses just as an appertif.

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She had a pitcher full to the side for those requesting more. Experience had shown her there would definitely be requests. It was delicious to taste but such a creative and impressive presentation!

A cold soup served on a hot day and it's oh so refreshing with a slight bite of garlic and crisp bits of cucumber in a creamy base.

Here's the easy recipe!

1. 3 cucumbers peeled and chopped (we're assuming standard grocery store size)

2. 1 Tablespoon salt

3. 3 cloves of garlic

4. 3 cups of chicken broth

5. 3 Tablespoons Lemon juice

6. 3cups of sour cream

I chuckle at these ingredients as if the original author surely wanted to keep things simple by keeping things in 3’s :)

Peel and large chop the cucumber. Sprinkle with salt and set aside for at least 30 minutes. I usually get distracted and come back a few hours later. Rinse and drain the cucumbers and place them in food processor with the garlic and lemon. Puree until smooth. Mix in sour cream and chicken broth. Voila! Best when sits.

It has become a summer time staple in my fridge and I hope yours too.

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Almonds, Sweet and Spicy

With intent, I purchased a very large bag of raw almonds.

Almonds are a great snack and a good source of protein! I figured I would make multiple batches of flavored almonds.

I began an online search for the recipe(s) that called to me and of course had great reviews. I don’t know about you but reviews are very important to my decision making process. I love reading folks’ opinions and often get ideas from the reviewer!

My first recipe find and attempt did not disappoint. This recipe is oh so easy and complete in less than 30 minutes.

A guaranteed yummy snack, appetizer or share as a gift and I promise you’ll be thanked immensely!

I found the recipe on The Cafe Sucre Farine , a cute husband and wife team developing and sharing and photographing recipes! This one is fantastic!

Just a little bit of sweet from honey and a little (or a lot, your preference) from cayenne.

WARNING: these will not last

Warning: hide these if you want to have any for later

2 Cups whole almonds

1 T EVOO

1.5 T honey

1/4 teas salt

2 T sugar

1/2-11/4 teas cayenne

1 teaspoon salt

Oven to 350. Place almonds in center of parchment lined cookie sheet. Add honey and EVOO and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Mix. Place in oven for 3 minutes to “melt” honey a bit and mix again to distribute honey and spread back out on pan. Return to oven and bake 10-13 min. Stir halfway through. While the nuts are baking mix sugar, cayenne and remaining salt. Remove from oven and transfer to another cookie sheet lined with fresh parchment (very important step) Sprinkle with spice mix and toss

until thoroughly coated.

Cool and Enjoy.

Store in airtight container.

Sheep fencing gone wrong…

This farm is a tapestry of wonderful stories. The stories that have made us laugh are the ones we tell time and time again. Believe me, there are more then a few.

This is one of my favorites….

Remember, I was a single gal with no farming background when this all began. Albeit determined, I had a lot to learn and I quickly figured that out. When I bought the farm there had been cattle here but never sheep. Sheep require much different fencing then cattle. I hired the first fence out but after paying that bill I realized I would starve if I hired out all the fencing that needed doing.

What was this educated capable gal to do? Of course, I’'ll “educate” I thought. I started my search. How was I going to find a class on fencing? For anyone considering a life in agriculture, let me tell you, the resources are truly immence. I stumbled upon a wonderful resource, Warren Wilson College. Of all things they had a fencing class. I put on my perfect farm attire and my newly purchased farm boots and drove to Warren Wilson where I participated in a class on putting up a proper livestock fence. Someone asked if I was the only “girl” there. I don’t recall that being the case. Maybe? The good news is if I didn’t notice that I must have been there for all the right reasons. Notes? I took plenty. It was alot to take in but hopefully I was armed and ready.

I cannot say how long it actually took before I put my new knowledge to work. I do hope it was the next day but I’m doubtful. At that point I was still working off the farm to help support my plans so my days were busy. It does not matter when I made my first stab at fencing, only that I did it. Waiting to apply what I had learned might have been a bit worrisome in that I might forget something. Forgetting was clearly not my problem.

On the day of my grand adventure, feeling so proud and capable, I put on my jeans, boots and t shirt (I loved my new wardrobe) and loaded up Floyd, my vintage Ford PU with the fence posts, fence wire and appropriate fence tools, and headed to the pasture where my second fence was planned.

Hands rubbed together in a gesture of expectation, I began. I walked each post to the spot where it would be placed. One at a time I banged the posts into position. It was a beautiful day and I was no doubt full of myself. It definitely added to my state of mind looking around at these beautiful vistas staring back at me. I felt at one with the great outdoors. Now hands brushed together in a gesture of completion I knew it was time to start a strand of wire. I was pulling and securing the wire in about 250 foot stretches…remember a football field is 300 feet. I had 3 sides to complete. The forth side included a barn and my first fence. Pulling the wire around took no time. Securing the wire with clips took a bit more. I had to wear my leather gloves because the clips could be difficult to bend, even with the coolest possible tools. And we all know, the leather gloves just added to my demeanor! One wire near the bottom, then perfectly spaced, 3 more. 4 clips per post, one row and a time. Before I knew it, the job was complete! DONE!

I cannot tell you the pride! This girl had done it! All those nay sayers, LOOK AT ME NOW! I just put up a farm fence! If I could high five my self I woulda. But I think I understood the cock-a-doodle-do of a rooster, if only for a moment.

I pulled my self up to the tailgate of my Ford F-150 pick up , slid up on that “ farmers throne” to take in what I had accomplished!

Golly Girl!

As I peered around the fence in awe, I realized one MAJOR problem.

I had just spent the day building an awesome fence and there was no gate! Yep, you read that right folks, I hadn’t painted myself into a corner, I’d fenced myself in…. Good Lordy. All I could do is laugh….

If you can’t laugh at yourself, your cooked…Elizabeth Taylor

In the beginning :Tales from the shepherd

IN THE EARLY DAYS…

Continuing my paying job until I could get this operation up and running was clear. I just didn't know for how long. The house itself had good energy but needed ALOT of work. The land seemed huge to me at almost 60 acres, each of my previous homes were on less then 1/2 acre! I had a lot ahead of me and I hadn't really embraced the totality of what this shift in my life was all about.

I knew no one living around me, I was in a strange place. In the beginning I would often wonder if I’d lost my ever living mind! Every one else thought I had, why not join the ranks?

I had a sign I hung at my back entrance, “NO WHINING”.

One night I arrived back at this place, not even close to a farm yet, feeling alone and doubtful. I heard my father’s voice…”Pick yourself up by your boot straps and quit feeling sorry for yourself. You made this decision. Do something about it” my pity party wasn’t serving me well so I decided to do something, anything….

something told me to grab Floyd, my newly purchased vintage Ford pickup that I named Floyd because I thought I needed just a wee bit of male energy around this big expansive space that needed so much physical labor.

Yep, this mood was nothing a tailgate and a bottle of wine couldn’t cure!

The back 40 is nothing more then the 40 acres in the back of the property and it was very dark and VERY quite. Something this “city girl” hadn’t been used to. I spent a lot of time in my back yard garden and going on long hikes and brief visits to natural wonderlands but I hadn’t know the raw of nature so personally since my childhood. As a child I spent a precious few years in the mountains of N.C My father retired there and brought us to what he deemed “Gods country” , a place he wanted his children to grow up. I have fond memories of my secret spots in the woods, over hills, where no one could find me. Most of my memories of my early years aren’t so clear but of these moments I recall sights, sounds and smells. My experiences in that beautiful place and my exposure to nature in such expanse, influenced my soul in a way that would set my path in life, although I hadn’t the slightest idea of it.

So, here I was, in a place that until Floyd and I arrived I thought was unfamiliar.

As I sat on the tailgate and looked up at the night sky, EVERYTHING MADE SENSE. I was exactly where I was supposed to be.

After I came to my senses (or lack thereof) and began remembering what my dream was, I decided I just needed to start somewhere.

Just start!