Goings on, happenings, catalogs and a lamb named Houdini.

Stan will be providing a lambing update in our Feb/March Newsletter. Make sure to sign up if you're not currently receiving our newsletters.

I myself have not been outside much this winter/lambing season. The weather (though mild) has been too cold and the coffee perfectly warm and comforting. In truth, the reason for my lack of polar expeditions was catalog season—non-stop since last fall. The result of my tireless efforts (with assistance from Stan, Jody, Kerrie, Rachel and others) are the Poultry, Equipment and upcoming Fence catalogs.

For those of you eagerly awaiting the arrival of the fence catalog, you may start camping by your mailbox around the 3rd week of March. Until then, the website, blog, Guide to All Things Sheep and newsletter should suffice as your source of info from Premier.

Though I've been inside, I have heard a few tails tales from the lambing barn.

The most notable occurred one morning when one of our shepherds (who shall remain nameless) burst into Graphics and thrilled us with the account of The Phantom Lamb.

While doing chores in the pre-lambing area (where the ewes are kept prior to being put into jugs for lambing) the shepherd heard a faint baa. A quick scan of the pen offered no insights to where the young voice had originated. More baas, but no lamb in sight. Frustrated and ready to move on with chores, our shepherd was moments away from dropping to his hands and knees to check under each ewe for the invisible lamb.

Another baa lead him to a baleage bale situated in one of our bale feeders. A ewe making motherly ewe sounds (you know, the deep throaty grumble that ewes make when speaking to their lambs) was inspecting the bale. Knowing that the ewe did not believe the bale to be her lamb, our hero checked the bale up/down and all around for a lamb trapped against a panel. No lamb.

Another lamb like bleat emanated from the bale. The ewe circled and searched the bale ring. Again, no lamb.

Our shepherd, stopped and pondered all the possibilities surrounding the situation. Could the lamb running around the bale in order to avoid the shepherd and the ewe? Is the lamb hiding elsewhere? Are gases from the silage process escaping the bale and making baaing sounds?

During this thought process, our hero noticed movement from one of the holes in the bale. The loose baleage moved! Had years of raising sheep using non-organic methods caused a mutation in the forage or did a lamb decide to play a drawn out game of hide and seek?

Quickly, the shepherd reached into the bale and below the loose baleage. After finding his target situating his hands in just the right position, he pulled and the lamb (head first with its legs under the chin) came out! Once our hero released the lamb, the lamb bounded straight to its mother for a belly full of milk. The shepherd, having just assisted a bale in giving birth, walked away to continue doing his morning chores and hoping for no more errant lambs.

Upon the ending of the tale, the Graphics folks were doubled over in laughter and I was preparing my next blog post. Names were removed to protect the dignity of the shepherd and all embellishments were added by myself, writers privilege.

Lambing Season 2013

Carl dressed to the 9's (degrees that is) and finishing morning chores in the lambing barn.  

The weather of late has been hovering around a balmy 0°F in the morning to a sweltering 15°F in the afternoon. And lambing season is starting for us (funny how cold weather and lambing seem to coincide).

This year our experiment is using a former warehouse as a lambing barn. This new "barn" offers protection from the elements as well as the option of heat (a real treat). There are some kinks that need to be worked out: feeding, watering and ventilation.

For feeding, the farm guys have been busy building single-sided feeders (using our plans and panels of course). They're arranged to form an alleyway, which allows someone to walk down the center and drop feed to the ewes w/o the need to get into the pen (which is nice since many are carrying twins or triplets.

A bucket placed in a Premier single-sided feeder. The clip was replaced with a Premier bucket holder for added stability. 

Our normal lambing barn (which will still be used this year) has a PVC pipe that carries water the length of the lambing barn. The pipe has cut-outs (so the animals can drink) and flows continuously (so risk of freezing is reduced). A pipe will be installed in the "new" barn. Until then, ewes will be watered via buckets. Fortunately, there is a water hydrant and hose in the building so the guys won't have to haul individual buckets. The farm guys are experimenting with placing a water bucket (held in place with clips) in the feeder and at an angle. They're also trying different sizes and shapes (square vs round) to determine the optimal bucket for this setup.

There are some ventilation issues to work out—the building was not originally designed as a barn. Keeping livestock in the building will bring in considerable moisture. We'll have to be vigilant about clean bedding and getting clean air into the barn. We're planning on installing a vent pipe, it's just a matter of what size and where.

Lamb face salad? Why not?

When Stan travels and has lamb he usually shares his experiences with the folks at Premier and in the newsletter. I recently took a trip out East and had lamb for a meal. I thought I would share my experience.

Once the Equipment Catalog was off to the printers, I was able to take a break from writing and found the time to go to New York City. Part of the trip was to visit my sister and her family. But the main reason was to try some of the more unconventional foods available.

I was in my sister's apartment only a handful of minutes before I was out the door and on my way to find lunch. After a few miles on the subway, I walked up and out of the subterranean tunnels into a series of sights and smells I've never experienced. I had entered the heart of Chinatown.

The destination was Xi'an Famous Foods, home to a dish known as Spicy & Tingly Lamb Face Salad. I did some research prior to my visit and one of the recommended foods was lamb face salad. My inner foodie screamed for a challenge to my palate, so I gave in.

Spicy and Tingly Lamb Face Salad. It appears much more appetizing in person as the camera does not do it justice. 

The decision was quickly in jeopardy once I walked through the door. The wall across from the register contained photos of all the potential meals I could have. Lamb burgers, lamb soup, chicken and pork dishes galore adorned the wall. Finding more options than I could eat, I had trouble deciding to stick with the salad. Do I go with the salad or something else? I ordered the savory looking Spicy Cumin Lamb with Hand-Ripped noodles in soup. Yet again I debated my decision and asked to change my order to the lamb face salad. I paid, received my ticket number and sat at a long table at the back of the restaurant. Playing on the TV was a cooking show featuring lamb face salad as well as demonstrating the process of making hand-ripped noodles.

My number came up and I received not one but two entres. Through my inability to make a decision and ensuing miscommunication I had ordered both the soup and the salad (no breadsticks). So much the better as it turns out. I returned to the table and began relishing in the double order.

With chopsticks in hand I went for the salad. My taste buds first caught a taste of cilantro, but the heat soon kicked in. My lips tingled and my eyes watered. This cold salad packed a hidden whollop. I tried a piece of lamb. Oh my! The flavor was out of this world. Despite not being a conventional cut of meat, the face was quite good. It was not a lamb chop but after all it's not suppose to be. I would later look up the contents of the salad: head meat (hence face), chili oil, szechwan pepper corns, bean sprout, cucumbers, scallions, cilantro and a sauce mixture which includes soy sauce, vinegar and 30 mystery spices. I'm pretty sure 2 of the mystery spices were fire and brimstone, but they sure were good.

An unidentifiable piece of lamb. Quite tasty though. Forgive the resolution, camera phones do not always focus when requested. 

Onward to the soup. With my trusty chopsticks I tried to pull out a noodle. This thing did not want to be caught. I would grasp and it would slip. I tried angling my chopsticks, poking the noodle and leveraging with a spoon. Finally I found some traction and pulled. 6 inches of noodle came out, then a foot, 2 feet and still more. I may be embellishing but this noodle could have been used as a soggy yard stick.

I contemplated the best possible way to eat the noodle, use a chomp and slurp technique, stuff the whole thing into my mouth or put it back in the bowl and grasp it in the middle? I wasn't going to let go and try catching the noodle a second time. I did not want it to warn it's noodle friends about me.

Quite possibly the most flattering photo of myself. The noodle is doubled over but it's still touching the bowl (which itself was huge)! 

I finally bit the bullet and took a bite. Chomping, slurp, move the chopsticks down the noodle and repeat. This worked until the noodle released its defense mechanism, heat. And I thought the salad was hot. My mouth was consumed by the heat of a thousand suns. A wave of flame consumed my body.  Fire coursed over my tongue and down my throat. Blood rushed to my face in order to cool my flame laden body. I slurped the noodle and took a gasp of air. Wow! Absolutely worth the heat. I blinked through the tears to look at my sister, I was red faced and happy. I grabbed for my water only to realize I forgot to ask for a glass. Onto the salad to cool off. Whoops, that's just as hot. To the soup, no to the salad, soup, salad, soup, salad, noodle, lamb face, cucumber, they all ended in flavor.

Eventually the point came where I could not take another bite. I put the soup and salad into separate bowls for later consumption. My sister and I walked out Xi'an and into the Chinatown Ice Cream Factory which was conveniently located next door. The green tea ice cream cooled my mouth. What a meal! Though during and at the end I was wearing some of it. At some point the flailing noodles flicked soup droplets onto my shirt. Lesson learned? never wear a white shirt when eating the world's longest noodles.


So if you're in New York City and have a cantankerin' hankerin' for heat and lamb, find Xi'an's in Chinatown. You won't regret it, just be sure to order a water.