Roots and Soil Homestead

12/30/2025

First set of lambs on the ground! Dasha was the last ewe to lamb last round and the first this round. The white lamb is a ewe and the chocolate lamb is a ram. These are our only Sawyer lambs this year it looks like. His other ewe must've slipped her lambs early on and was rebred by Perry.

12/26/2025

12/20/2025

This year I have been trying not to obsess about my sheep as they near their due dates. Dasha is due by the 29th and Vienna looks to be very close. Today we brought 3 ewes in. Once Dasha and Vienna lamb we'll bring in another that im still not convinced she's not due soon rather than March.

12/19/2025

BIG bread bake day! 25 loaves since 6AM.
Regular sourdough, jalapeño cheddar, rosemary olive and cracked pepper, parmesan oregano, and cranberry orange. Busy day! Need 1 more big bake day Sunday.

11/12/2025

What a beautiful day to hang out with the babies. ❤️

11/10/2025

Batch 1 kunekune lard soap made!! Not going to "lye", I had a bit of anxiety when it came time to mix the lye solution. Next time it will be easier. This round, I made apricot peach basil daiquiri with apricot shells, lavendar woods honey, iced coffee, and satsuma. Cannot wait to see how they turn out in 30 days!

11/08/2025

Batch #2 of our pasture raised kunekune lard into the crock pot for rendering. Yesterday, I rendered a batch as well. Tomorrow, I will make my first ever batch of cold processed lard soap. So excited to see how it turns out!

11/02/2025

Yesterday, I took a cold process soap making class with my good friends and
It was not the most informative class, but it was a beautiful day out with friends. It also inspired me to research cold processed lard soap from our kunekune lard. Supplies will be ordered this week, and hopefully, next weekend, I can try to make a batch!

11/02/2025

Sawyer has been at the neighbors since September 28. Today we picked him up and brought him home. He looks great. They took very good care of him. Hopefully, they get some beautiful lambs out of him. I only used him on 2 ewes this year. 1 caught for sure. The vet said the other did as well, but she was re-marked by Perry. I'm hoping she wasn't actually rebred. We will know soon enough. She should be due in December. I have another ewe that was marked open at ultrasound as well, but she must not be. Perry has been in with the girls for 23 days and she has not been remarked. She looks pregnant to me. Again, we will soon see. Fingers crossed!

10/24/2025

Normally, I like to breed in August for late December, babies. That was just not in the cards for us this year. With the heat, only 2 ewes caught, and looking at markings, 1 of those lost her lambs and has been rebred (sadly by the wrong ram). The 3 replacement ewes we bought were simply too small until now.
I am trying to look more logically at our breeding schedules again and determine the best time of year. March lambs are actually pretty perfect for grass management and utilization. December babies are nice to ensure butcher weight before winter and fall breeding, but there are many downsides as well. I just have to decide if we will lamb 2 groups each year, first timers, and seasoned ewes. What do you do on your farm?

10/12/2025

I have wanted a freeze dryer for years. With surgery coming up in a few days and too many potatoes and tomatoes to still deal with, bought me my dryer and spent the morning getting it set up for the test run. Can't wait to try ALL the things!

10/07/2025

RSH Jenny 1 and RSH Andrew 1 had a stunning litter of 9 tonight. Queenie is a champ! 4 black, 3 ginger, 2 brown and white. Can't wait to get a better count on blue and pinks. So far, 2 ginger gilts, 1 ginger boarling, 1 of each for the brown and white spotted, and 1 of each black. 2 left to check.