All Good Things Must.......Continue !

This Sunday past and the Sunday before Buckwheat Bridge Angoras was invited to participate in the Rhinebeck Farmer's Market. A couple months ago Cheryl, the market's manager, asked if we would like to "fill in" for one of the fruit vendors who, at this time of year, really did not have much produce to bring to the market. We jumped at the chance to attend this wonderful market!
The market bustled this weekend with shoppers eager to select the perfect accompaniments to their Thanksgiving feast. It was great to be in the midst of fresh greens and root vegetables sure to depart their savory aromas in homes this Thursday.
We met a bunch of great folks, sold some socks and a couple of hats, and reconnected with a few old friends.
Sadly, this was the last day for the outdoor farmer's market in Rhinebeck for 2010. Happily the market will continue through the winter INDOORS at the Rhinebeck town hall on ....appropriately .......Market Street ! The indoor market begins on Sunday the 5th of December and runs through April 24th - every OTHER Sunday. Stop by and buy Local !

Windmill - Another Perspective

So, as we mentioned the other day - we have this windmill. Here it is on the perimeter of one of our pastures. These boys really do not seems too taken with the thing, They are much more interested in the photographer standing right next to their feed troughs.
People have asked us if the windmill is loud. I can assure you it is not. If the wind is blowing with enough force to cause the turbine to generate electricity all you hear is the sound of the wind - no turbine noise at all.
When the idea of the windmill being erected on our farm was brought into the public domain - which was only necessitated by the local zoning rules restricting the height of the windmill to 100 feet - by our application for an area variance, some neighbors closed ranks, passed a petition, contacted newspapers and government offices and did most everything they could think of to stymie the effort. A number of those neighbors have since stated that " it's not nearly as bad as we thought" and "it's not that big". Not a resounding endorsement but none-the-less possibly an acknowledgment that maybe they really had not gathered all the info necessary to evaluate the project before establishing a stance "against". It's important to mention this because ...unless more of us take a serious look at "alternatives" we may find ourselves in quite a mess here on planet Earth in a few year's time. And that's about as political as I intend to get.
Buckwheat Bridge Angoras is now, most likely, the only farm in the USA that grows and processes all it's own animal fiber using exclusively solar and wind produced alternative energy. I think that goat just might be smiling !

Puppies as Promised

We are pleased to introduce you to our first litter of Maremmas in quite a while - about 5 years.
There are 4 female and 5 male pups. This photo is from about two weeks ago prior to eyes opening - so they are all in one place. Kind of a "pile 'o pups". Now they are up and about keeping their mother mighty busy keeping track of them all.

WE'LL HAVE TO SEE WHICH WAY THE WIND BLOWS

After a long and arduous process ( almost 4 years if you can believe it !) Buckwheat Bridge Angoras wind generator was installed in mid-September. The installation took about a week once the foundation was in place. With a tower of 100 ft in height and a blade length of 40 feet, the turbine rests at just about 120 feet above ground level. We are grateful to have this project completed and now that I have finally recovered my password for access to this blog, I'll be updating shortly with what's new around here.
Coming up next : A new litter of Maremma pups whelped 10/9/10. They are just four weeks old and "on the move". Pictures coming soon !