Shaven and shorn sheep

Another sure sign of spring at Brambleberry is sheep shearing.
Twenty-five of our ewes, two rams and our wether are now sporting new haircuts as their thick layers of wool have been cut off.
Some sheep farmers have their flocks sheared before lambing, but we've always waited until after every ewe has lambed and the weather has warmed up to have our flock sheared. We hire a local Amish farmer who is still learning the skill but does an excellent job in just a few hours.
It's always an unsettling day for the flock, as the ewes are separated from their lambs for a few hours before everyone is sheared and they can reunite. The lambs are not sheared because their fleece is not yet thick enough. The older girls who have been through the process before handle it better than the new ewes who are being clipped for the first time.
It's always amazing how thick their coats are after a year of growth and there's always a lot more room in our barn after the sheep are downsized. They look more like goats until their wool starts to grow back.
We don't make any money selling the wool since our sheep do not have the high-quality fiber sought by spinners. By the time we pay for the shearing and for the freight to ship our wool, we lose money. We wish there was more of a market for wool, but we raise our sheep for meat and for breeding stock.
But our flock is now ready for summer!

The hunt for morels

I'm not a mycologist but I really enjoy morel mushrooms. These annual fungi, which need a combination of moisture and warm weather to sprout, are hunted by many enthusiasts this time of year in Wisconsin.

The bounty of the hunt.

Morels taste earthy, nutty and a little goes a long way, but they are so, so good. I usually just saute them with butter and a little garlic powder. They are also fantastic on the grill.
With more than 500 acres of family farm to explore at Brambleberry Farms, there are plenty of places to hunt. The challenge is to find the time when the weather conditions are right. With a very early spring this year followed by cool weather, it was anyone's guess as to when the mushrooms would be out.
Recently we've had plenty of rain and temperatures in the upper 70s, so I figured the time would be right. Accompanied by our dog Nessie and the farm dog Lucky, I headed into the woods.
I am by no means an expert morel hunter, but I've had the best luck finding them in the vicinity of dead elm trees and sometimes apple trees. Our woods are mainly a mixture of oak, birch, hickory, ash and elm, so it's a matter of spotting the trees and diligently searching the area.
What makes morel hunting so maddening is that the tree where you found the mother lode the year before may not have anything this year. It's a fickle fungus. Many times I've come home empty-handed but always enjoying the time spent in the woods regardless.
I should caution anyone eating wild mushrooms to make sure they are safe. As you can see by the photo below, there are many mushrooms in the woods and some of them are deadly poisonous.
This year I got lucky. I found about eight morels in the vicinity of two small dead elms. Then I found a veritable feast -- a couple dozen near a tree that hardly looked dead, but was apparently the perfect place.
There's nothing quite like tasting the first fresh morel of the year. Makes me want to go out and find some more.
-- Chris Hardie 

The first morel of the season.

Look carefully -- it's a morel bonanza!

Just because you find mushrooms under a dead elm, it doesn't mean they are morels! Some mushrooms are deadly poisonous.