Look, I think we need to get real.

You have probably noticed a distinct lack of blogging as of late.  In fact, this past year has been beyond crazy, and I will be the first to say it has been kind of a lot to deal with.  When talking with Ric about everything we do and want to do, and my disappointment in getting behind with blogging, and all our business activities, I brought up the fact that I may have been behind because it has been a hard year (or maybe a little more than a year...) and I haven't wanted to bring people down.

But then Ric hit me with some truth. It's hard.  

It's not easy, but we are still extremely lucky and we won't give up on our goals.

And that is when I realized that it is important to put our real voice out into the world.  (AKA - It's time to get real.) Life can be hard and farming and making the life we want is hard.  It is scary from time to time, disappointing, and sometimes the fact that I am not where I want to be in being totally invested in the farm can be utterly depressing. And why not tell it like it is?  Because sometimes it sucks, and the lemons make shitty lemonade. BUT, I know what I am working towards and how extremely rewarding working on the slow food movement (hey Wikipedia, what's that?) and the slow fashion movement (and Wikipedia, explain that one, too) and becoming more self sustainable in every way truly is.

So here is my new vow to you. 

I PROMISE to tell it like it is.  No rose colored glasses (even Ric's literal rose colored glasses) when things are actually kinda crappy. This is tough for me, but I also think it is very important to because of 3 simple reasons:

1) You should know who we are.  I mean, this is me, and why not put it out there?  I cuss (but I will try and refrain from too bad of language, and our podcast and YouTube channels will remain family friendly, even if that means a bleep from time to time...) I am fascinated by the macabre.   I am happiest when I am creating something or playing with my animals. And I want, with every part of me, to make my farm a success so I can do it full time.

2) You should know the rewarding and romantic side of farming, as well as the shitty sides.  For example, my little lambs are growing up and doing great right now.  However, this year we had to have the vet out more times than ever.  Over $1k later, I have sheep that are still snot nosed, as you can see in the pic at the top. (Did you know sheep get allergies, too?  But it is also how they present for all kinds of other diseases, so that thermometer has seen the insides of rectums more than daylight this year...) and we lost Adrian, our breeding ewe, due to her accidentally eating something she then choked on. It sucked, and I almost threw in the towel.  Luckily Ric knows how much this whole crazy endeavor means to me, and he gave me that little figurative slap-on-the-face to snap me out of it. (I mean, we did take them across the country and back...who does that except for someone who has gone all-in...like crazy-person-all-in.)

3) And finally, sometimes I need to vent. And I bet you do, too.  So I want this to be that place where you can see what might be happening, as well as feel safe to ask questions or vent about life (whether farm related or not), cuz look. We are all in this crazy world together.  Life is nuts.  If we share our lives with each other, I think there would be much more understanding in this world. At least I'd like to hope so. Or maybe not, but we will feel a little better. So no harm, no fowl, right?

TLDR version: Hey, I am a crazy person who wants more than anything to share my REAL life on the farm and REAL goals and dreams, and I want you to, too. 

So...watch out...we are going to keep it real peeps.

Ash

We are back!

Ok...ok...we know we have been completely MIA for too long. And there is much to tell.  But the short story is that we have landed back in our old home of San Miguel, CA in the Central Coast region of Cali!!  And we are finally getting all settled in.  We came back to a whirlwind of activity, some wonderful, some sad, all of which has been a lot of hard work.

We were welcomed home with arms wide open, tons of wonderful support. We put the sheep out in their old pasture, this time with the addition of little Champ and Mickey.

We said a very sad goodbye to JB the Wonderdog, whom Ric and I had for almost 16 years.  He lived a long and happy life, traveled more than many people get to (making it across the country twice) and was laid to rest with some old friend's here at the ranch.  Rest in peace, buddy.

We have been reconnecting with old friends, working hard at our jobs and, of course, keeping Fiberton Acres going.  I am quite pleased with the progress we have made in the short 3 months we have been home.

We won't continue to regale you of it all now, but know that we shared some through our podcasts (find those here on Soundcloud or on your fav podcast player!) and we have begun work on our Fiberton Acres book!  It will be a mix of stories, homesteading advice, recipes, patterns and more!

And just a reminder to follow us on social media, like Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest, and to check out new additions to the online store!

Thanks so much to everyone for the support!  We are so excited for the things the future brings!

- Ash and Ric

Podcast Episode 15 - Big News on the Farm!

Hey folks!  Sorry it has been so long since we have shared a podcast episode with you all!  A LOT has been happening with Fiberton Acres.  We thought what better way to let you know what is happening than to tell you in a new podcast episode!

The spoiler...we are moving!  To learn all the details, click here to listen on Soundcloud or listen on your podcast play of choice!

A few of the other things we reference in this week's podcast:

Fiberton Acres and New Products

Our Instagram (to see Ric dancing while tilling)

Our Patreon Page! (To get exclusives on our travels and more!)

Our Email List!

All the Apparatus, our intro and outro music!

Podcast Episode 12 - A LITTLE Episode...about Shetland Animals

This week we dive into not just one animal, but all of the little animals from the Shetland Islands. We learn more about these sturdy little animals and why we want to collect them all!

I went a little crazy on the page markers....

Check out the episode on your fav podcast player, or click right here to listen directly on SoundCloud.

Some of the things we reference this week...

Shetland Breeds (the book)

Fiberton Acres and New Products

Our Instagram

Our Patreon Page!

Our Email List!

All the Apparatus, our intro and outro music!

This week's podcast...Coyotes!

It is that time of the week again!  We just released our newest podcast episode (can you believe we are already at Episode 8?!) and this week we talk coyotes. Ric may have been a little confused on the subject matter, but as we have had some coyotes close by on the farm as of late, I wanted to learn more about them.  They say the key to assuaging fear is to learn more about it. But not 100% sure that worked in this case.

While we were recording, my cat shared her take on it all with some serious body language....

And a few other references we made in the episode....

Our New Kit!

Our Patreon Page!

Our Email List!

Our Friends' New Podcast (and previous intro and outro music musician)!

And All the Apparatus, our new intro and outro music!

Thanks for listening all!  Let us know what subject you want in an upcoming episode by commenting below or at info@fibertonacres.com!

- Ric and Ash

What Farmers Want You to Know and What They Need to Hear

Damn...sometimes this farming thing is hard. Okay, actually, most of the time it is. Today was one of those days where I had to keep reminding myself that it is worth the pain, the tears of frustration, the extra expenses and time. Oh so much time.

Ric working on the fence that this guy keeps escaping from.

As I looked out the window to see Rocky, my Shetland sheep ram, hanging out in the yard...the part of the yard that is not fenced, I mumbled under my breath something slightly colorful. The 3rd time today that I saw him doing the same, it was less quiet and a bit more colorful. And after the 6th time, I looked at my phone to realize that a day planned for other endeavors was basically gone. The light was waning. And out of desperation I touched the electric fence to see if it was even working. It was.

Damn it is cold in these here parts.

This post is to illustrate something specific for two different groups of people.

For those that have never had to bundle up in 20 degree weather to walk a fence to find out where the weakness is, those that have never really worried that the hay you just bought is full of crap and can’t be fed to your animals, those that have never lost their entire crop of tomatoes to disease, or lost one of their animals, I wanted to paint a picture of the struggles that the small farmer goes through on a day to day basis. It is just a reminder that when you buy that piece of pizza, that salad, or that knit sweater, of the things that could (and should) have gone into making them for you. I know you know, but sometimes we take things for granted. Not all the time, but sometimes we wonder why that farmer is charging a bit more for that organic carrot, or why that hand spun yarn is $20 a skein. And the sad fact of the matter is, almost never is that a true representation of the time and resources that went into that product.

Take that destructive tomato hornworm. (A parasite laid its eggs on it.)

So you are saying...man, then why do it? After a day like today, freezing pipes, sheep running amok, moldy hay, I had a moment of that, too. But I do it for the same reason so many other farmers and ranchers do. It is important work. It ties us to our past, our heritage, to the food we eat, to the clothes we wear. We know what we put in and on our bodies, as well as our friends, families and our customers. As a society, we have lost our passion and respect for it, and we see that as we lose countless acres of farmland, and as our aging farmers look to retire and don’t see who will take up the reins. But luckily, it also seems like there are some folks going back to the land. More new-to-farming folks, women and young people. And most of us run at it headlong, not really knowing what the hell we are doing. But after doing this for almost 3 years in some fashion or another, it kind of seems like no one really ever does. Sure, you learn a lot, but something new is thrown at you all the time. What farmers are really good at is learning to roll with the punches and make due as best is possible.

I urge everyone to look into the slow food and slow fashion movement. Go down to the local farmers’ market and ask your farmer more about how they grow and the challenges they face. Or just say thanks and buy that carrot or skein of yarn and make yourself a new, cozy hat and some yummy soup.

I made dis. (From shearing to finished piece.)

Wait, who is the other person this is for? For all of you either doing this work or thinking about doing it. I just want to say I am here for you. I am still new, and definitely don’t know it all. But I do know that having others to talk to is pretty much the best thing there is for any of us. And if you are thinking about going into this work, but hesitate because you don’t know much...just do it. It will likely be very hard at first. And even after you feel like you sorta have the swing of things, there will be days that are still very hard. But hands on experience and learning as you go is sort of the only way in this field. And to those that have been doing this a while, those that I have made a panicked phone call to when my ewe lambed the day before a HUGE move or who taught me about natural insecticides, THANK YOU. All of you out there being an inspiration and going through as much, pardon my french, shit, and more than we tiny fiber farmers do, THANK YOU. We all need you.

Ash

Introducing our new podcast!

We are super excited to present our new podcast! Fiberton Acres' podcast is a Humorous History of Horticulture and Husbandry. A fun introduction to what we do, but more than that, it looks at the history of animal rearing and husbandry, agriculture, and some of the fun and funny things that we did, and some of the adventures that we have encountered in our forays into our relatively new farm life. We are also excited to take time with others in the field, other small farmers and ranchers, to see what they do and why they do it.

This episode is looking at a broad history of sheep and the uses of the domesticated sheep.

We found most of our details from:

• http://www.sheep101.info
• http://www.pbs.org/pov/sweetgrass/sheep-facts/
• http://www.onekind.org/education/animals_a_z/sheep
• http://www.famu.edu/cesta/main/assets/File/coop_extension/small%20ruminant/goat%20pubs/Sheep%20Facts.pdf
• http://www.think-differently-about-sheep.com/Sheep%20_Facts.htm

We also want to say thank you to Charlotte Cleary for helping us with our research, and to Lefty5Strings for our intro and outro music!

Make sure to subscribe on whichever podcast player you use, and we will post each episode here! Right now you can find us on Soundcloud, iTunes, Stitcher, TuneIn!

Thank you to everyone for your support! Head over to our Facebook page to leave your comments! (Or hit us up at Instagram or twitter @fibertonacres!)


- Ash and the Fiberton gang