WhirldWorks Farm
A small homestead and Debouillet sheep farm in Central Texas
Spring on the homestead
Spring on the new homestead has been a very busy time trying to establish both the home and the farm. Much of the outdoor work over the past month has been hurried between rain storms and a busy calendar of activities. The rain has been mostly welcome at our place as we have not experienced the flooding of other areas. So far the only inconvenience has been the inability to cut the grass and make hay because the ground remains so soft. On the other hand, the ground that was so hard-baked last year and nearly impossible to dig has been a delight for me in my unending chore of putting up fences. Speaking of which, for the past few months my only option for pulling the fence tight was to attach the end to my tractor and pull forward slowly being careful not to pull the poles out of the soft earth. A couple weeks ago I finally gave in and bought myself a fence puller and am so very glad I did. The result is far more satisfactory.
Much of this fencing has been put up in preparation for the newest members of our farm family. I had (nearly) finished this task this past Sunday evening and was a bit frustrated because I knew our sheep would arrive the next day. Monday arrived and we headed out on our Texas hill country adventure. We took a short detour at the LBJ Ranch and enjoyed a short walk to the living history farm. It’s interesting how different the experience is now that we are trying to actually emulate some of the things they demonstrate.
Once we loaded back up in the truck we soon left the main highway and traveled deeper into the beautiful hills. We entered through the ranch gate and drove a few miles along dirt roads that wound through the hills and down through crystal clear water crossings. When we arrived at the rancher’s home I was in awe of the beautiful spot. The home is nestled in a small valley between two tall hills and a picture-perfect creek flowed just below the home and barns. Angora sheep gracefully bounded along the hillside above us. We were met by the wonderful owners who are the third generation to live on this true slice of heaven.
We were treated to a cold glass of ice-tea inside the cozy home and enjoyed getting to know the rancher and his family as well as some of the history of their operation and livestock. We felt we could have spent hours with them and enjoy every minute, but it was getting late and knew we had a more than three hour drive home so we headed out to meet our sheep.
The rancher rounded them up and gave us some great pointers then we loaded them up in the trailer and headed for home. As we crested a small hill and drove around a corner progress came to a stop because a large cow stood in the middle of the road. We noticed that we were now between her and her calf and she wasn’t going anywhere in a hurry. We just sat there patiently until she decided to go back to her calf and made our way back to the highway.
Darkness came quickly as we drove home, but as we finally reached the street-lights of our hometown one of the trailer tires blew out. It was frustrating to be so close to home to deal with a flat tire, but it was a blessing that the tire had waited until we were back in civilization to give out. We pulled into a gas station and a friendly resident of our new town graciously offered his help. Before long we were back on the road and very relieved to enter through our own gate.
It was quite late so we weren’t able to spend much time welcoming the sheep to their new home. I backed the trailer up to the barn and unloaded them into their pen. We made sure they had what they needed for the night and hurried ourselves to our own beds.
WhirldWorks Farm 
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