First project on my knitting machine!

I am so excited about my new knitting machine.  I recently purchased a Studio 328 from a wonderful lady in Greeley.  The Studio 328 is a metal bed, standard gauge knitting machine that has a 24 stitch punch card reader.  Remember that I am an avid hand knitter so the world of machine knitting is all new to me.  I recently heard about knitting machines and I was very curious about how they worked and what you could make on them.  After getting my knitting machine home, I couldn't wait to try it out.  I decided to make a hooded fulled sweater for Bryan.  I had some natural dark brown wool from our sheep that was ready to be made into something.  Getting started for the first time was a little tricky but once you get knitting the garment grows incredibly quickly.  Here are a couple of photos of Bryan wearing his new hooded fulled sweater.  Now he wears it all the time and the sweater is perfect of spring in Wyoming!

Bryan doing chores wearing his new sweater.

Bryan and Nyx in the barn.  Nyx is our 4 month old Great Pyrenees who is learning to guard the sheep.  Bryan is wearing his new hooded fulled sweater I made on our knitting machine.

First Lambs of 2016

The first lambs of 2016 were born.  The first to arrive were a pair of twin from one of our Border Leicester/Rambouillet crosses.  She also had the first lambs last year too.  They are twin girls that are black.  They are doing very well.  One of our Rambouillet ewes also had a boy who is growing really fast.  We are expecting a lot more lambs so stay tuned!

Twin girls from one of our Border Leicester/Rambouillet cross ewes.
She is an excellent mom and the lambs are doing great!

Ram lamb from one of our Rambouillet ewes.  The lamb is
3/4 Rambouillet and 1/4 Border Leicester.

New Guardian at Tronstad Ranch

Tresize, Nyx and Easter the chicken relaxing while we shear.

Tresize, Everett and Nyx!

We have depended on Zeus to keep our flock safe for eight year and he has done a great job.  We decided it was time to get a new guardian so that Zeus could teach them all his knowledge and skill.  We have been watching for a Great Pyrenees puppy for several months without luck but we finally found one.  Nyx (pronouced Niks), a 2 month old Great Pyrenees, joined our family in January.  Nyx is the Greek goddess of nighttime and mythology states that she is feared by Zeus for her beauty and power.  Our Zeus does not fear her, but we think she is pretty cute and personable.  She is currently in training to become a livestock guardian and Zeus has already taught her some good lessons.  We hope she becomes the nightime guardian of Tronstad Ranch when she is a little older.  She is growing fast and love life on the ranch.  Welcome Nyx!

Getting ready for lambs
The landscape may look snowy, but we are getting ready for lambing at Tronstad Ranch.  We have sheared all our our ewes and they are warm and snug in the barn getting ready for their big day.  We have a few more lambs that will be replacement ewes that we will shear this weekend.  The photo shows Bryan shearing one of those lambs in the photo.  She is a twin polka-dot lamb, our first lambs born last year.  Her fleece is very unique and I can't wait to work with it.  She is half Rambouillet and half Border Leicester, so her fleece has a longer staple length than Rambouillet and the fibers are very soft.

Lambs are due starting 9 February, so keep an eye out.  We

Bryan is shearing one of our lambs.
She has a unique polka-dot fleece.

will try to post updates soon.

Lusha and Bryan

First Lamb of 2015!

Our first lambs of 2015 were born yesterday (5 February) to one of our black Border Leicester/Rambouillet crosses.  She had twin girls that are black and white; very unique coloring.  They are doing well and enjoying life in the barn.  We are excited to work with their fleeces next year.  For now, we are enjoying watching them jump around and be vigorous little lambs.

Spring has sprung at Tronstad Ranch

Bryan Tronstad shearing one of our Rambouillet ewes

All the sheep are sheared and we are ready for lambing!  Many people ask why we shear this time of year.  Most sheep breeds are seasonal breeders meaning they can only breed during fall.  That also means they lamb in the spring 5 months later.  We shear before lambing so that our ewes don't take their lambs out in bad weather.  The adults don't mind winter weather with such nice wool coats.  Additionally, the lambs have an easier time finding milk when the ewes are sheared and we can keep a closer eye on the girls as their due date approaches.  We should start lambing 5 February 2015.  The ewes are all snug in the barn and we are keeping a close eye on them day and night as lambing approaches.  Stay tuned for more photos as lambs arrive.

Spring has sprung at Tronstad Ranch

Bryan and Everett have been busy the last few weeks preparing the gardens for the new growing season.  With the beautiful weekend, we spent the whole time in the gardens.  Bryan was busy seeding our front gardens with carrots, a variety of greens, onions, radishes, garlic, etc.  I stayed busy tending the rhubarb which popped out of the ground about a week ago.  We took advantage of the calm weather and put the cover over the hightunnel on Sunday morning.  Bryan has the hightunnel soil prepared already so he will be planting in there this week.  The starts are looking good and he will be transplanting them once the cool weather passes.  Spring is such an exciting time of year.

We put the cover on the hightunnel this weekend and it is already to plant!

Bryan seeding one of our gardens this weekend.

The tomato starts are looking great!

The rhubarb is looking great too.