July 18 STORM

It was Friday between 3:30 and 4:00pm, a five minute "wind event". I was on the Plot road visiting and it came through. Trees were everywhere, power lines were down and the whole town was out with there chainsaws, clearing the roads.

If you do not live in a small town then you might not know what happens when trouble hits. In Waterville folks stop what they are doing and help out those that need it. There is no waiting for the electric company or the "road crews" to clear your road. So thank you to everyone that help.

I have never seen anything like this before, the wind was so powerful it ripped trees out of the ground, blew windows in and out. It even leveled a barn in North Cambridge. The Storm was about 10 mile long and maybe a 1/2 mile wide, but in some areas there a was smashed tree and 10 feet next to it was fine.

All of our animals are fine, but we have lots of trees to cut and fence to repair. The barn roof will need some tin and our round bale feeder was squished.

It is predicted to rain all week, but clean up will continue.

Mother Nature has made her point, she is still unpredictable.

Welcome Cowboy

We finally have him home. The Ram Lamb that we purchased from Woolambia in Wells, Vermont. We named him Cowboy, since his mother's name is Crystal and we have a naming convention on our farm. The first letter of the Dam is first letter of the offspring.

The girls were a little rough on him at first, but seem to be getting a little more friendly each day. He is about 3 months old, and will be breeding the girls this fall or early winter. I hope to get one more Ewe by the Fall.

First Cut almost done

June was a wet one and it has been a challenge to get our hay dry and baled. We have a new John Deere round baler and although Krys was a little nervous, his first bale looked great.

For those that have never hayed, it is a long process. First you have to mow the grass, wait a day, then ted(fluff it up with a tedder) it once or twice to help it dry. Then if it has been good drying weather you can rake it into nice rows, and finally bale it. Not done yet. Once baled it has to be put up. Loaded on a wagon, transported, taken off the wagon and put under cover. And of course equipment always breaks and you have to fix it before the rain comes.

If we are lucky we can do all this in two days, but most likely it takes three days, if it is during the work week.

2008 Chicken for Sale

Our first batch of chickens is ready for your freezer or grill. The average weight is over 4 lbs. some are over 5 lbs. Give us a call to place your order. Our next batch is growing and will be ready the first week of september. If you need directions on how to cut up a whole bird, just ask us and Krys can give you all the details. Feel free to call or email your order. twisshill@hotmail.com or (802) 644-8341