27 Dec 2008
Change is on the way

Things are going to be in transition here for the next few days - I'm moving my server to a new home (Dreamhost) and giving up my FreeBSD VPS. It's going to be a change for me, for sure, not having root access, but at 1/12th the cost, it's pretty much required.

I'm planning on changing the look and feel of the weblog as well as the home page, and there's an even bigger change afoot. We've renamed the farm, and will be transitioning to a new farm site. Hammer the horse is no longer here, having been traded this summer for a miniature stallion we named Neo. He's a jet black little guy who's convinced he's the farms "stud muffin" - he's the only intact male on the place, and as such thinks he rules the roost. Unfortunately for him, the goats are bigger than he is, and so are some of the older sheep! I think the rest of the flock lets him indulge his little fantasy, though, and they give him a pass when he prances about like the new owner of the place.

So Hammerstead, Hammer's Home, doesn't make much sense as a farm name anymore, although it would be a fine name for a Heathen organization of some sort or another. I'll hold onto the name and the domain.

Lorraine has really gotten into spinning in a big way, and our cross breeding experiments of the last couple of years are paying off. It seems as though using Scottish Blackface rams as terminal sires against Horned Dorset ewes produces a fleece with the softness and crimp of the Dorsets, and the staple length and strength of the Blackies. Lorraine loves the stuff - she's just finished washing Brittany's fleece (Little Mac's biological mom) and it's gorgeous! I've been promised a new pair of woolen socks from it - which will be desperately appreciated!

We're down to two head of cattle - Mad cow and her calf - and they're sold, just waiting for delivery. So we'll be officially out of the cattle biz by the end of the year.

We didn't breed this year, but we're still up to a flock of 15 - it looks like we'll be a real fiber farm henceforward, with a side business of eggs and a petting zoo. So new name, new website, new logos. Lorraine will have her own spinning/fiber arts blog on the new server as well. Watch this space for the formal announcement when the new site goes live in a couple of weeks. And in the meantime, bear with me - my setup, especially for blogging, is kinda complex, and there may be some interruptions of feeds, etc., during the transition.

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