Chilly Weekend + Farm Updates

A Dog Video Too!

Hello Lamb Friends:

It’s been another busy week here at Leyden Glen Farm. Last week I shared our good news of receiving a Farm Viability Grant from Mass Dept of Agriculture (aka MDAR). Work has continued on our rehabbing of our barns. This past winter, an old equipment shed fell down because of snow load. It looked like this.

We have decided to use part of the grant for an enclosed structure that Mark can use for items he can keep away from the sheep, guard dog, and other critters. Bobby Deane and crew filled a large dumpster with debris and graded the area in anticipation of the new shed. Now it looks like this.

Amazing what some heavy equipment and talented operators can accomplish in a short amount of time.

This week we also took our young Border Collie Annie out to the sheep. It was the first time she was let free with the sheep since last fall. It’s not pretty but she does seem to have matured over the winter. Here’s a 54 second video. She’s listening much better and even catching on to the “away to me”, “come by” and “that’ll do” commands. She’s incredibly smart and is going to be a great herding dog. We aren’t the best dog trainers and rely on the dogs’ instincts to help us with our farm. Annie is our sixth Border Collie and all have been different. It’s so interesting to watch Beau, our 8 year old Great Pyrenees Guard Dog in this same video lumbering around totally uninterested in the sheep and the hysteria that is going on. I love dogs!

It’s Memorial Day Weekend and it sure doesn’t feel like it weather wise, does it? It feels more like stew weather but if you are looking for picnic ideas, I found this Lamb Burger recipe on the Saveur Magazine site - Lamb Burgers with Mint, Feta, and Balsamic Onions. If you’ve got some Rhubarb available, don’t forget my recipe for Persian Lamb and Rhubarb Stew. While there, check out our new website (courtesy of MDAR) with lots of delicious lamb recipes.

I’ve got some new pottery pieces that I’ll be bringing to the Amherst Farmers Market this weekend along with our farm-raised lamb. Hope to see some of you between 8 and 1:30 Saturday.

Wherever you are, our best for the official start of summer.

Mark and Krisitn