historic house
Howard Hall Farm is both an historic restoration project and a vehicle for educating people in sustainable, environmentally conscious restoration techniques. The site of our learning laboratory is a 1780s stone manor in the heart of the Hudson River Valley. This Federal style home presents a number of restoration challenges specific to this region of the country. We invite you to join us in our effort to RESTORE GREEN.
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Howard Hall Farm Blog

Wednesday, May 28, 2008

Sheep Shearing Pictures....some quite creepy

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Saturday, May 10, 2008

Traditional Sheep Shearing Workshop at Howard Hall Farm

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Saturday, May 10, 2008

Traditional Sheep Shearing at Howard Hall Farm

Video features: Fred DePaul milking and shearing a sheep, gender issues in sheep shearing history, where lanolin comes from, and woolly tales of danger and woe.



(from the morning session:Michael and Fred using an antique hand-crank shear)


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Tuesday, September 18, 2007

Our Sheep got haircuts

After months of searching,WE FINALLY FOUND A SHEEP SHEARER!


They got the **latest** possible hairdos in every sense of the word.



This new sheep shearer we found was truly incredible...

And since it took us MONTHS to even find an available shearer in the area, we decided to bring him in next spring to train people in sheep shearing...more on that to follow. We're just glad our Shetland sheep are finally pampered as they deserve to be.

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Friday, August 11, 2006

Sheep Shearing

As the sheep bleat in the background, and awfully loud breed these Shetlands, I am reminded of the worming we are about to do and the end of fly season coming up soon. We sheared a couple weeks ago and that was fantastic to watch and learn. Mark has been shearing his entire life and really has it down. More than the shearing where his stories about al the local shepherds and the things he has experienced and seen in the sheep world. Check out the video in our video section and see the way this guy moves, really amazing.

This fall we will butcher our first crop of lambs, mostly the ram lambs that we can't breed. We will be having lots of lamb stew as the snow flies and the wind howls up on our hill. That basement kitchen and fireplace will save us from the Wuthering Heights aspect of the place for many months. God knows how we get to a tropical Island for a break with the sheep, guard dogs, and chickens that are about to arrive. The dogs last night where doing their thing as the coyotes circled and where howling up a storm. When that happens, the dogs click i to their breeding of a couple thousand years and circle the perimeters of the pasture, and bark like mad to warn those little devils not to eat our flock. The whole thing is fascinating to watch and would be very amusing if it wasn't so loud, it makes the sound of all that breaking glass in the city seem almost welcome sometimes. We're looking for a ram to breed our gals this winter, we'll let you know from where he comes when we find him.

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