Wheely Wooly Farm

Tick, tick

2012-01-26T11:40:00.001-08:00

...still waiting.

Integrity being restored

2012-01-24T13:25:00.001-08:00

What was all the yea's about? It's a good day in the Shetland sheep world here in the U.S.! After struggling the last couple of years with integrity issues within our breed organization, progress is getting into four wheel drive. Integrity is being restored, piece by piece, and Wheely Wooly Farm is pleased to actively assist in this endeavor. We believe an organization must have and maintain integrity to be worthwhile, as old-fashioned as that sounds! Some things just never go out of importance and integrity is certainly one of those things. We believe maintaining the integrity of this amazing, heritage breed of sheep is a much worthwhile effort, for these sheep are worthy of being treasured! You know, it's sort of like apple pie. You can buy apple pie from the store, all modern and easy and like so many other frozen pies and "bakery" pies. They all taste chemically and overly stiff. Or, you can make a scrumptious, fresh homemade apple pie from apples you acquired nearby and fill your home and stomach with mouthwateringly fragrant and soft apples baked to perfection in a flaky crust minus the chemicals. I can just taste the richness and depth of flavor right now of fresh apple, cinnamon and nutmeg! Yum!

Sheep are just like that. You can get sheep, or breed sheep to be just like the modern sheep, all copycats of each other in competition for a narrowly defined, commercial market, or you can raise and breed sheep that are full of richness, softness, liveliness and suitability! Instead of flavor like in apple pie, genuine Shetlands yield an amazing sensory experience in the handle of their fleeces, and in the way they knit up and wear. No other breed can compete with that special uniqueness the Shetlands have! To us, integrity means not only keeping those awesome qualities in the breed, but in managing the organization with human integrity, too.

Enough said, for I think everyone knows where our farm stands! On to what I'm up to lately! Below is a photo of the fleece I'm currently spinning. It's from a young ewe that reminds me a great deal of my little Gracelyn in sweetness and friendliness. This little ewe has a fleece just like her sire's. That sire's fleece is one I've spun pretty much all the years he's produced a fleece, and he's getting old now. He passes on these lovely longish, wavy fleeces with very pleasant density and softness that I cannot get enough of. These are hallmarks of the genuine Shetland sheep. The timing of this photo is not meant to coincide with the announcement from our national organization. Rather, it's just what happens to be on my wheel right now.

Young Shetland Ewe's fleece

This little ewe's staple was taken just behind the rib, near the hip. It shows the lovely density and hence, softness and fineness Shetlands possess. Notice the longish, wavy tip? That wave actually goes to the cut line on the left side, and adds a beautiful feel to the yarn when you knit with it. It's also what gives the fabric that perfect ease when it's worn...nice stretch for ease when you move your body, but not to the point of baggy, saggy. I've spun her britch wool first, and am moving up past the hip now. Up next, I'll be spinning some dyed fiber from a fellow...don't tell him!...with pinks and greens. This popular dyed yarn sold out fast, with many requests for more. That's what I'll be working on next!

Also, today is baby watch and progress is beginning. Thankfully, the wicked cold moved out and nice winter days have returned. The water buckets have barely been frozen on top the last couple of mornings where last week, the bucket would freeze solid through overnight, into a heavy ice cube. I'll be out in the barn a lot the next few days! Sure hope everything goes ok.

And last, I'm working on my annual inventory cleanup. Each year in January, I go through my fleeces and yarns to organize, clean, and see if anything has been forgotten or lost. Not much to go through this year! It feels good to get things reorganized after a busy sales season. This year, I think I managed to stay on top of the organizing pretty good. It helped that I have better storage.

That's all for today, except to say that I'm about to begin a sofa lap blanket with lovely three-ply yarn I made from this little ewe's sire. Those photos will be coming next.

Suddenly, I feel like making a pie. Happy knitting everyone!

Yea!!

2012-01-23T21:11:00.000-08:00

Yea! Yea!! YEAAAAAA!!!!

Thank You!!!!

I Love Sheep!

2012-01-22T11:22:00.000-08:00

Peaceful Summer Grazing

Sheep are peaceful. They are easy. They are sweet. They produce warm wool that keeps me going outside for two hours in below zero weather without a tinge of cold or frostbite. I love to see them outside my windows. I love caring for them. I love sitting out by them on warm sunny days. I love how they greet me when I pull in the driveway. Sheep are some of the nicest animals you'd ever want to keep around. There is a lot of joy found here. I love sheep.

Thank You, Penny and Silks

2012-01-16T10:44:00.001-08:00

Yep! I'm missin' the garden!

Thank you to those of you who came out to the market Saturday morning! It was another busy day with lots of goodies to pick up! We enjoy so much the chance to meet all of you! Lucky all of us that we can preserve so much of the garden and wool harvests to save for the dark cold winter days! Winter is just not that bad when you have delicious soup or scrumptious meats to enjoy while knitting on a warm garment or mittens or something, while those mouthwatering smells fill the air in the house! A deep sense of satisfaction and contentment rise out of such pleasantries. How wonderful to share in those feelings that generations long ago felt so frequently.

I finished the shoulder wrap I'm knitting with Iris's yarn. I am thinking I'll embellish it with a garden feel, so stay tuned! I'll put pics up soon. Meanwhile, let's revisit the warmth of late summer outside with our beautiful hens. They all have names so we can care for them to the best of our ability. We know each of their eggs, and can tell who laid each day....well almost! These hens have a wonderful life out here and we enjoy them immensly. How did it ever get to be that hens were so removed from so many people's lives??? Here are photos of two of our favorites, Penny and Silks. Penny is the black Australorp hen who is now six years old. Yes, that's right, she's six. She has weathered some mighty wicked winters and an ocassional bout with a rat or two. While she now goes stretches without laying, she is currently laying just about every day. So much for that "spent hen" theory! Her eggs are beautiful, a light brown with rich yellow yolks. She loves to come around for treats and is known to politely follow me around the farm as I pull weeds or clean in the barn. I hope she lives a long time! I've always wanted to make her a pretty yellow apron to wear, for I think she looks as if she walked out of the pages of a sweet children's story book. She came from a very experienced breeder of fine Australorps that repeatedly win top ribbons.

Pretty Penny

Next comes sweet Silks. She is five years old and will always be remembered here on Wheely Wooly Farm. She is not show quality, but has been an outstanding home farm chicken. Her breed is called "Silkie", an interesting little breed no doubt called "feather-legged bantam" Bantams are much smaller than the standard sized chickens most people are familiar with, in fact, bantams have been dubbed "the flower garden of the poultry world"! Her skin is black (and so are her bones), but she has these lovely irridescent pearly blue ear lobes on the sides of her head! She has just the sweetest temperment and is a very gentle little hen. A GREAT start for kids! Her eggs are about 2/3rds the size of a regular large grade egg, and are plenty usable in the kitchen. She is also an excellent mother, having raised a brood of chicks for us. That is the Silkie's reputation! They are all mother! If you've never seen little bantam chicks peaking out from Momma hen's wing, put it on your list of must see life experiences! I caution you however, once you see it, you'll want a hen of your own to go broody!

Little Silks

I hope you enjoyed learning about two of our hens here at home. We'll post by the end of the week if we're coming to the next market! I think if it's possible, we'll be there but we are on the 4-H project countdown to baby watch! Am I nervous about that? Yes!

Morning Market and Rooster for Sale

2012-01-13T10:15:00.000-08:00

Huh. It's snowing out there.

Winslow

We are pleased to announce that we'll be at the morning market tomorrow! The roads should be pretty cleaned up by then and good for going out. In fact, the sun is trying to peak out as I write this! So glad this storm moved on fairly quickly.

We have several inches of snow out here, with lots of blowing into cracks around windows and such. However, the coop is very cozy and even though the barn had lots of snow blown in under the door and into the aisle, it remained cozy and nice. Water buckets are just beginning to freeze on top this morning.

The rooster in the photo above is of Winslow. If you're looking for a nice rooster that will pass on good laying genes, this is your fellow. He's just come into maturity and is ready for your hens. He's a Buff Orpington but is a little leggier than an Orp should be, so I suspect he has nice Leghorn genetics in him as well. If you're interested, you can email us at www.wheelywooly@gmail.com or talk to us at the market in the morning.

See you then!

Fudge Bars on Front Porch Today!

2012-01-11T20:50:00.000-08:00

Minus the pretty red geranium...

It's January. Here at Wheely Wooly Farm, January means smashing out frozen water buckets, double layer wool mittens and an extra 20 minutes to get ready to go outside...each time. It means fishtailing down to the barn, shoveling drifts away from barn doors, and sad chickens who cannot go out to scratch. Are we experiencing that today? GIGGLE, GIGGLE! No!

Today has been the most remarkable January day in memory. It was 51 degrees out there today, with bright sunshine and calm winds to boot! Seems the big storms are to the SE of us, and NW, with a huge, warm, blessed gap in between, right over us. No snow, no mud, no slush, and no frozen water buckets! Today was a gift.

So what do people do on such unusually nice spring-like days? This is a multiple choice question...remember those? :)

a) keep on with the daily grind

b) go shopping 'cause the drivin's easy

c) eat fudge bars on the front porch

d) both b and c

If you chose d, you are correct! Now, now! I know that might not have been the most RESPONSIBLE thing to do! But the way we see it, we were making special memories that will last a lifetime, and it was FUN! While we slurped on our chocolatey bars, the hens chased each other in pursuit of a good cranberry off the bird feeder. The chickadees were calling back and forth, and the finches were singing spring mating calls. Every tractor in the neighborhood was puttering off in the distance. We didn't need to wear coats. It really did not feel like January!

I did get back to responsibility shortly thereafter by cleaning out the barn. I organized, swept cobwebs and picked up things left after the busy holiday season. I did the same in Coopville. Then I spent some nice time with everyone out there, cause I DID hear the news at noon. Gulp.

Seems our AprilJanuary is coming to a screeching halt in about 12 hours...good thing the sled is waiting so patiently by the back door, and the mittens are nice and dry. I have chicken and dumplings ready to go and we're stocked up on chocolate. The snow shovels are strategically placed all around the farm and wool has been stuffed around the windows on the coop.

Speaking of chocolate as a little side note: I sacked out just after the holidays for a little "paws in the air" reading time myself. I picked up Sheepish, a book about people who have sheep, like me. In a chapter about lambing, I was struck with profoundly wise words. You see, when we lamb here at Wheely Wooly Farm, we're organized. I make main meals, breads, and blueberry muffins ahead of time, wrap them individually, and throw them in the freezer to be ready in an exhausted moment when I'm more worried about a little lamby than I am about when I last ate something. Problem is, I completely forgot I did that! I was so attentive to the ewes and their lambs I completely forgot to even grab a muffin! Weeks later, I realized my really dumb mistake, but then we ate good for awhile! So what were those profoundly wise words? Skip the healthy stuff!!! Just go for the cookies and chocolate! Just send them out to the barn! Fill your pockets! Profoundly wise. Things will be different around here this year.

Switching topics, I thought Swifty was too young to snore, but here he is, paws midair right next to me, snoring away quite loudly! I'm shocked! Obviously, he enjoyed this AprilJanuary day, too! He did sail around the farm a lot while flinging crispy pumpkin shells around. I hope he's dreaming about drift surfing, for that just might be what he'll be doing in the next day or so!

Brace yourselves everyone!

More Love of Wool: Wooly Blooms

2012-01-09T06:00:00.000-08:00

Wooly blooms

Wool is an amazing thing. It is so versatile, so flexible, so wearable! You can make so many wonderful things for wearing, or for your home. It can be knit, crocheted, embroidered, or felted. How sad that so many of us went a generation or two without this marvelous stuff!

I thought I'd include a picture of wooly flowers today, here in the midst of January and the brown season. These flowers are popular sellers for sure! They make great pins to wear on the outside of a coat, or on a pretty turtleneck when working indoors. They are pinned or sewn on purses, backpacks, and bags galore. I like sewing them on wooly socks. They've become so popular, I've noticed that flowers are popping up all around town! People have bought them and made instant bracelets out of them to wear as they walk on, or pinned them on right away! They have that lovely Shetland appeal that catches people's eye, just like clothes made from Shetland wool. They are a beautiful accent on a turtleneck or scarf, or even on the tops of mittens or half mitts. The possibilities are endless!

Also, our thanks goes out to those who found us this weekend at the market! It was such a nice day outside, and so much fun inside! We enjoyed hearing about the projects you've made over the holiday break. We also heard about some pretty fun gift-giving. And we heard of gifts knitted that never made it to the intended recipient because the knitter fell so in love with it, they wanted to keep it, so came back for more!!! I can understand that! :) It was a great day! Since we have babies due out in the barn soon, we'll be watching them closely but check back on Friday evenings to see if we're coming to the next market! In the meantime, happy knitting!

Morning Market

2012-01-06T11:28:00.000-08:00

Due to the number of calls we've received, we have decided to head to the market! You will find us there tomorrow morning so come on down and pick up the yarn you've been waiting for! We won't be in our usual space, but we shouldn't be hard to find. Be sure to check out the other booths as well to pick up fresh meat, awesome potatoes and beautiful painted glassware for those special gatherings, among many, many other wonderful products.

See you tomorrow morning!

I Love Wool!

2012-01-05T09:53:00.001-08:00

Iris turns into a cozy shoulder wrap

How did we ever lose sight of the wonders of wool? As a culture, how did we ever forget the benefits wool brings to body and home?

I love wool. The more I raise it, work with it, and wear it, I love it even more. Wool comes off the bodies of sweet Shetland sheep who are a delight to own and care for. The fleeces are densely soft and luxurious. I love petting my sheep on a day like today. Today, it's delightfully warm and sunny out there. The fleeces have warmed up in the sun, and are heavenly soft. I can't WAIT to play with those fleeces when the time comes! Add to the pleasures of petting sweet, soft Shetland sheep by hearing the chickadees flit about on the branches as they play in the dripping, flowing water off the barn roof. True joy in the simpliest, littlest things...

The photo above is of Iris's britch wool from her last shearing. I saved it for myself because it's not the highest quality wool she provides. I spun it into a soft, loosely plied two ply yarn at about a worsted gauge. I'm making it into a shoulder wrap which calls for yarn overs at the beginning of every row. This is a technique I learned on dish cloths years ago. I like this technique because it's terribly simple, and adds a nice decorative edge. Later, when I'm done, I'll crochet off the edge to add some additional embellishment, just for fun. Iris looks so lovely in purple. I might use either a drink mix purple on some of her yarn, or I'll use leftover roving...haven't decided yet.

Another benefit of this project is that it's just knit across the rows after the initial yarn overs. I like that simplicity during the holiday season when everything is so chaotic and busy. I like knitting when things quiet down for a moment, to reflect on the gatherings, fun, and food the holiday times bring. Peaceful knitting during the darkest, most peaceful time of year.

Waaaiiiitttt a minute!!!!! Most peaceful time of year???? Did I write that????? Ha, ha! Let's see, the roosters are crowing like crazy in their cozy, sun-filled coop, the rams are butting heads and galloping around, hopping and leaping in the warm sun...no wind today! The ewes are boinging up and down their pen, gleeful to be out on such a beautiful day! Sometimes when I look out the windows, I'll suddenly see one of them just go straight up in the air in pure joy at the nice day. Well, Goldie the farm clown IS sacked out on Annabelle's dog bed! She's left to wonder HOW it happened that the CATS have STOLEN HER cushy pillow! And Swifty is gleefully tearing around the back pastures at full speed, ears back, tongue hanging out in absolute joy! A beautiful, but NOT quiet day, indeed!

Back to wool! Wool is a renewable resource; a CLEAN renewable resource! What a benefit that is! I can improve my land AND provide high performance clothes at the same time! And wool is a high efficiency business if you start out with good livestock. Strive to do your honest best in your breeding program and you'll have very few culls, with years of production. I love wool!

Awesome Year in Bad Economy

2012-01-01T20:22:00.000-08:00

What can a genuine small family farm contribute to a community?? LOTS! The year 2011 was another very exciting year for us here at Wheely Wooly Farm! We began the year with greater commitments for selling than ever before which was a little worrisome...could I keep up? Could we always be where we needed to be?

Here in America, fiber, especially fiber with the breed of sheep we love so much, the Shetland sheep, is practically a whole new business. Despite being well linked to the industry, we realized early on that we are definitely ground-breakers. Everything we've done in our community has been from the ground up, and everything we've done to set up our farm has been created or invented by us. There have been no coat-tails to hold onto! So many said we couldn't do it! From inventory management, marketing, design, and production, to the shepherd's calendar, shearing, and predator management, we've had to make dramatic adjustments that absolutely boggle the minds of those in the industry, frequently leaving them so puzzled they are speechless.

We are unconventional! (giggle, giggle)

The President of the United States resoundingly harped to American citizens that what America needed to get out of our current economic woes was invention. I'm quite confident he never imagined sheep and fiber to be in that request for ingenuity and invention!!!!

Along the way, we bravely changed, tweeked, altered, and went forth. The rewards were many! First, we've come to realize how important local businesses are to the community. When people come to know each other, swap money, talk, and share, things happen that benefits the whole community. We've been able to touch the full spectrum of generations through our flock of sheep which has strengthened our community in ways I would have never imagined in our early days! We've also noticed people are really tired of things manufactured on the other side of the globe, then shipped here at great expense, with massive pollution to boot, then deceptively sold in a "local" shop. Now an orange in the north is nice in January, but would it really be necessary to ship oranges here if we could grow them here ourselves? Is it really responsible? We've discovered that people have caught on to the insanity of that shipping mentality with all it's political and pollution woes, and are eager to support true local.

Beyond the rewards of invention, sweat, and dedication, we've found much joy in bringing our yarns and products to the people. As people stream past our booth, soooo many reach out just to touch. Some make bee lines across the street, some are absorbing and reflective, others just dive in! Few pass our booth without touching, or they come back to touch our yarns and garments. Shetland fiber naturally draws people. The colors and softness are amazing. Compliments come from knitters and non-knitters. The most frequent comment made is "that is soooo beautiful...I gotta (learn)(take up again)(find)(try)knitting!" Shetland yarn inspires. It draws people out of the racket of the modern world, back into the peace of natural.

Also, we've come to realize how important it is to keep money flowing in the community. Money spent in a local economy seldom lays idle. Big businesses act like gigantic bathtubs in a local economy, with local money being sucked down the drain, with little return. If a tiny percent DOES make it back to the local community, the turn around time is frequently dragged out over a long time. When money is circulated in a small local business, it not only remains in circulation in that community, it circulates much quicker than if slurped into the big business drain.

As the sheep lay in their pen tonight, I'm sure they are not pondering the powerful impact they've had on their local community. But as I lean on the fence and peacefully watch over them, I feel an amazing bond to them. Having heritage livestock as sweet and intact as Shetland sheep are, you come to realize how they bring joy, laughter, health, and friendship to your life. While the work is hard, the sheep bring us many benefits not measured by economics, but rather health. Caring for them keeps us moving physically, strengthening our muscles, maintaining our balance, and getting us out in the fresh air. They also bring us much joy and laughter with their sweet personalities, curiosities and innate happiness. They flex the muscle of my mind as I strive to improve efficiency, solve problems, and keep their home safe. They are also the source of many new friends and opportunites! We are very thankful for what they've brought into our lives.

So was I able to keep up this year? Yep! Our most frequent type of customer is the returning customer. The discovery of the fine knitting hand spun Shetland yarn yields brings us all back for more, including myself! We were able to keep up, thanks to prior strategic planning. On top of the sale days, we were fortunate enough to be asked to educate the public with a sheep ambassador from our flock, demonstrate spinning for the public, help in raising funds for a popular local charity event, as well as give spinning and knitting lessons to all ages. We also attended our county fair and other shows, bringing home several trophies and top awards in hand spun yarns, fiber preparation, spinning, knitting, and livestock.

Lastly, we were able to help significantly in maintaining the genuine Shetland sheep here in North America. The threat of modern breeding to "improve" the breed only brings on unintended disadvantages. We here at Wheely Wooly Farm do not think of "improved" breeds as improved at all! How can you improve on a sheep that supports and propagates itself with little input, in terrible weather hot or cold, that grows volumes of soft, ethereal wool that spins, knits, and wears so beautifully to keep you warm and safe from the elements as you scratch chins so sweet and friendly??? The genuine Shetland sheep needs no "improvement", only diligent and watchful maintenance. Our sheep are the envy of the industry, and we'd like to keep it that way! The biggest challenge for our breed organization will certainly be to protect and preserve what we've had all along, what is right, and what is most wanted! The history is fascinating, powerful and indeed completely relevant to today's markets. This challenge, to keep this amazing breed of sheep and it's special textile history alive is what I've come to call "Hunter's Hope". Hunter's Hope is named after the man who was quietly asked to select the genuine sheep off the hill on the Shetland Islands to start a historical flock on a new continent. The hope he packed into the plane with the sheep as they flew over the ocean back in 1980 will not be forgotten by us here at Wheely Wooly Farm, and we will remain dedicated to his hope, and the hope of others that the genuine Shetland will be genuinely protected and preserved on this continent for future generations.

It's been an awesome year! We have so enjoyed bringing genuine Shetland yarn to you and sharing this treasure! We love seeing what you've made from Wheely Wooly Yarn, too! Thank you for supporting Wheely Wooly Farm and we are looking forward to serving you in 2012!

Happy New Year everyone!

Take Joy! Swifty working sheep

2011-12-22T22:13:00.000-08:00

My Swifty Boy!

Swifty is a working Border Collie who is about 1 1/2 years old. He's being trained to work a small flock of Shetland sheep. First, we learned house manners, how to travel, how to get along on a farm, and how to play doggie games.

Good Boy Swifty!

Slowly, very slowly, we've introduced him to our ewe flock. The first thing he did was shoot right past the girls and get on the other side of them from me! Ok! We were off to a great start! Then he learned to respond to whistles outside the sheep pen, then in. He was required to have a good "that'll do!" before I'd let him loose with the ewes. After succeeding with that, I let him help me run the sheep in from pasture at sunset. I'd have to let the sheep go ahead quite a ways because he'd outrun them easily and get ahead of them. Oops! My fault! So we worked on pushing sheep through the gate and holding there, so sheep don't run back out the gate before someone could close it. Ok, so far we're doin' ok.

Next came the waits. Puppies don't have very good waits...especially energetic, bright puppies like Swifty! His first waits were nearly intolerable to him! He'd throw himself on the ground and roll around!!!!!!!!! He just could not picture himself sitting still for even a second! So through lots of giggles.........and lots of practice and patience, he came to learn he COULD actually sit and wait for first one second, then two, then three.....

As he grew through these stages, we'd go for nice walks around the farm, learning that everything was safe, no, you can't chase chickens, and boy! That tall grass is great puppy fun! We practiced basic commands and sticking close. The leash, once a reassuring hold on a shy little pup, had long since been left in the house. He was strongly functioning on pure whistle and in constant contact.

Then one day, I pretended to throw his flippy (doggie frisbee) and he went tearing off after it, but I still had it in my hand. He ran out, then looked back to see what I was doing, only to see it still in my hand. As he turned and came back, I gave him the walk up command (which he had already learned and practiced), then, when he was half way back, I put my hand up and firmly said WAIT! BAM!!!!!!! Down he went!!!!!!!! What a break through!! I'll never forget that day! He got it, and he has it ALWAYS when outside the sheep pen. So off to the sheep pen we went.

The excitement of the sheep can really screw up a young pup's concentration, so I knew I'd have to give him lots of leniency. He has to concentrate on where all the sheep are, and if any are coming at him, plus where objects and fencing are, what we're doing, and what I'm commanding him to do. Are we going out? Coming in? Goofin' around? So first, I just let him run sheep out. Being a sweep breed (one who goes out to fetch sheep and drive them towards the shepherd), I wasn't sure he'd accomplish the run out. We're still working on that...

Then, we went out to just play around with the sheep...up pasture, down pasture. Mostly, he just ran circles around them at first. We practiced the wait command just to be sure that critical point was still working! And that'll do. Yep. Ok. Doin' good!

Now, we're working on directional commands. Sometimes he has so much fun with those, he forgets to drive the sheep! Hope we can get past that one! So that's were we are in our training right now. Driving with directional commands. Here, you can see he is bringing the sheep to me, and they are at my feet, wondering what they should do next. Swifty stays a nice distance back.

Then, I asked him to wait. He was pretty excited by this time, and I didn't get a nice lay down, but I got the needed wait! (and the sheep held at my feet) While he's not all there yet, and probably won't be for another year, I think he is doing really great for his age!

Every dog learns at a different rate, and through different shepherd styles. What works for Swifty may or may not work for another dog. There are no dead-set rules. The game is as flexible as the number of dogs who play it. We still don't know if he'll be a good stock dog, for he has lots of training to go, but we are sure happy with how he's progressed so far! We hope you enjoyed following Swifty's work here on our farm!

P.S....if you're wondering what he's doing while I'm bloggin', he's completely upside down (paws midair) and sound asleep in his kennel, right next to me. He's too young to snore :)

That's the Swifty Report!

Take Joy! Beautiful Shetland Yarn!

2011-12-21T13:29:00.000-08:00

Here is the picture of the yarn I'm making right now. It's from the fiber shown in the last blog. I have a fifth bobbin nearly finished, with enough fiber for at least one more bobbin. I've popped in some Irish music while spinning this. Fun!

And how 'bout that beautiful bread! I definitely take joy in making this bread! I love the whole process, and have been doing it for many, many years. This particular bunch (I make four loaves at a time...but one didn't make it to the picture...)is a recipe I created that I call "Milk and Honey Bread". The honey flavor really comes through in taste...a wonderful depth of flavor that's not overpowering nor too sweet. The milk makes for lovely texture in the crumb and helps the bread freeze well. The honey fragrance is also a very subtle, very pleasant bonus when the bread is baking and filling the house with it's soul-satisfying aroma.

Tomorrow...Swifty! Hope all of you were able to get out and enjoy this outstandingly beautiful December Solstice Day! From here on up, extra daylight minutes! Yippee!!

Take Joy! Wonderful Shetland Spinning Fiber

2011-12-20T13:25:00.000-08:00

Here is what the fiber looks like that I blogged about yesterday. It is so relaxing to spin fiber like this! I could do this all day!

Shetland sheep have amazing color dynamics that are very special and nearly impossible to find in any other breed. Beautiful!

Next time, I'll show you what it looks like on the bobbins as a singles yarn. Maybe I'll throw in a picture of the bread that just came out of the oven, too!

Here's to hoping you have time to spin or knit this week! Remember, it can be a great way to collect your thoughts and find focus again amongst all the busyness!

Take Joy! Warm Feet!

2011-12-19T17:07:00.000-08:00

I've never met anyone who didn't like having warm feet on a cold winter's night! Have you ever tried handspun, hand knitted Shetland socks? No? You should! They are absolutely the best! Don't wait any longer...get yourself a nice pair and enjoy the soft, cozy warmth for yourself!

Joy, joy, joy!

Thanks to all who've visited us at the market! We wrapped up our 2011 market sales this last week. It was a busy day, and we sure enjoyed seeing so many of you! We hope all of you enjoy the gifts of the season, and all the great things you make with Shetland yarn! If you have one last person to shop for (even if that's yourself :) or need one more thing, don't hesitate to email us or give us a call!

In the meantime, isn't this weather just GREAT??!? I'm busy spinning wool from a ram back in 2007. I had 'red bagged' it, meaning that I saved it as a sort of 'fiber bank'. Now I can go back and spin what I spun years ago to check how things are progressing in my own flock, making sure I don't deviate from that much. The fiber is remarkably soft and silky for a ram. I love that fellow! I'm planning on using the yarn for a lap blanket in the living room, a basic knit with a ruffly edge on one side to just lay over a lap on a snowy, blowy winter night. This fellow's fiber matches the colors in the room already, on the floor and curtains, so I'm excited to see how it turns out!

Happy knitting everyone!

Take Joy! She ain't no Quarter Horse!!

2011-12-14T08:49:00.000-08:00

Yum!

Let's see...what was I saying about taking joy? The animals are very good at it, and take joy each and every day. If you spend large amounts of your day with them, it's easy to pick up on that yourself! This horse is Carumba, and she's quite a character! She's a very good horse, and a very easy keeper. She is enormously respectful of the fence...as you can see! She is also mega-talented! (Notice the woven wire ram fence? Never tight, never straight...)

Now I'm not saying Quarter horses aren't. In fact, some can be quite amazing. But after having an Andalusian for a decade, I've learned with awe what this breed is capable of! This girl is TALENTED! She can make her body do things way beyond what any other horse I've seen can do. Never underestimate the talent of an Andalusian!! They are the gymnasts of the equine world. In fact, their talent is put to the ultimate test of military and bull-fighting trials, where the loser faces certain death. To see what the people of Andalusia have created in their marvelous breed is a true joy to experience.

When I see "Bumba" doing her amazing gymnastics, I always have to stop what I'm doing and watch. I can't help but start giggling as I watch her strive for any little blade of grass she can reach. She can do this without ever getting close to the fence, then will sort of stand up, move forward a bit, and go down again. She was taught how to bow as a young filly, so I guess she was smart enough to apply her education to real life skills!

Wheely Wooly Splash

Splash is out of Wheely Wooly Lerwick, and grandson of Wooly Bear

Here's a nice update on what little Splash looks like now. His horns continue to grow perfectly. (Did you read that comment about wider horns vs narrower horns??? What a good laugh that one was!! What will that group come up with next?? I guess if someone wants to believe you have to have bad horns to have good fleece, they can! Maybe it's a way to justify all the bad breeding of rams with bad horns. By the way...if I could afford it, I'd love to buy all the "good horn culls"! giggle,giggle) His nose still has that ever-so-cute splash of white sliding down off the side, as if he got into some ice cream or something! His conformation is nearly outstanding, and his wool is of high value. His face has that highly desirable brightness, with his eyes nearly glowing with happiness and friendliness at times. Friendliness is an understatement for this little fellow! He is a sweetie! All of my ram lambs get handled in a skilled way, to promote interaction, friendliness, and respect. He has never jumped on me, or ever threatened me, and he loves chin scratches. I adore this little guy so much, I couldn't sell him!

Post EDIT several hours later...I was enjoying surfing around Shetland sheep sites and landed once again on www.toprams.com. If you go there, you can see a photo of Island Skeld, the Shetland ram my sheep are descended from. Notice his horns???!!!??? Obviously, they are still coming through on my sheep here in America, and I love them!

Wheely Wooly Farm is committed to raising genuinely high quality stock, including high quality horns, for they are so beautiful when grown in right, and let's face it, soooo much healthier for the sheep who has to wear them everyday! It's a shame that a group would claim bad horns are better!!!!!!

It's not hard to take joy when living out here with hearts like Bumba's and Splash's. Even the hens can be a joy. For example, the other day, I was marveling at the mild weather we've had this month....so mild in fact, that I was able to get out and prune back the raspberry canes. I knew the hens would be upset, and they were....clucking alarm calls with each snip of the pruner. They all gathered around, getting underfoot as I worked, checking out what I was doing and pleading with me to not do that! Eventually, they accepted the disappearance of their beloved raspberry canes, and went on to joyfully scratching in the thawed ground.

Speaking of mild weather, (!) this year has been great so far! The last three years, we've had near or actual blizzards by now, with deep cold. This year, just lots of rain...a record breaker in fact....in some cases as much as 37 inches for the year! I know that will make Shetlanders chuckle! But remember, we live on clay and mud...so lots of rain equates to lots of flooding and mud. ...and speaking of Shetland....did you see that they closed schools last week due to high winds? Now THAT sounds windy!

Take Joy! Greetings from Shetland

2011-12-07T20:54:00.000-08:00

Almost finished with second sock. :)

From fleece to garment, Shetlands are a fine garment breed! While lacy shawls were well known on the Shetland Islands, the true backbone of the Shetland fiber is clearly work wear. At times, it was known that as many as 1500 ships would harbor over in or near Lerwick's Bressay Sound in summer, waiting for fishing to begin, or to trade for everyday work wear. Sweaters (called jumpers over the pond), and socks (called stockings then) were the desire of many a fisherman who took Shetland goodies home to their families. Socks (stockings) were very desired for over 200 years.

Notice the floats? You can almost see the pattern in reverse on the inside.

Look what came in the mail recently! Greetings from Shetland. Let's go!

Can I keep the pony?

The days are getting pretty short now...about 9 1/2 hours of sunlight on a bright, sunny day. I bet that seems heavenly to those near the arctic circle! On cloudy days, rooms in buildings practically need lights on. It has been a fairly peaceful December so far, warm but rainy...like the Shetland Islands no doubt! A big difference between here and there...MUD! We get LOTS of mud in weather like this. When the temperature drops below freezing, it's a happy day, for freezing temps. dry up the mud and everyone can go out again!

Take joy in warm, snuggly socks! If you do not know how to knit a pair yourself, pay someone WELL (!) to knit you a pair, for it will be well worth it! In the meantime, stay warm everyone as we get into much colder weather. Hope you are enjoying the peace and darkness of this quiet time!

Take Joy! A wee peerie for Iris

2011-12-04T21:21:00.000-08:00

One old, one new...

Here is a simple little peerie I knit into a sock for me just for fun. It's very easy to do, and really doesn't require a pattern. So many peeries are like that. Certain peeries are known specifically to the Shetland Islands and the knitwear there, and this is one of them. This little peerie is over four rows...very simplistic.

What is a peerie? It's a small pattern embedded into the knitting. In fact, the word peerie means small. So cute! It is made while knitting with two different yarns.

The sock on the left is an Iris sock I made years ago...I can't remember how long ago. I wear it a lot over winter. It's a squirmy soft sock that has not needed any repairs, nor has it felted or shrunk at all despite heavy use in my barn boots in the snowiest winters my area has ever recorded. The sock on the right is my new sock, fresh off the needles about 20 minutes ago. It is an extra sturdy sock because I spun the yarn thicker than usual, and knit at a tight gauge. These are going to be my "I hate these icy blasts!" socks this winter! The black yarn is a leftover ball from Lil' Rainbow. Iris has a stronger silvery tone this year, and Lil' Rainbow is black with specks of silver from her lighter outer coat tips. They are sort of an inverse of each other and pair so nicely, I wish I had thought of adding more peeries into the sock before I had started. So....do two in a pair have to match? We'll see what I throw into the second sock.

Iris's yarn balled up and waiting for me! :)

Here's Iris again. I love this picture!

Check out Iris's bright expression! She has a nice level topline, is wooly on the poll and cheeks, has medium bone density, is nice and square, has nice shoulders and chest, and the proper hip (as in not rounded like meat breeds, as the Scottish judges so exasperatingly pointed out was a bad fault in Shetlands), and though you can't see it here, a proper tail. She is also an outstanding mother with loads of milk. She manages her parasite load on her own and is always healthy. She's also halter trained, and I shear her standing, tied to the fence while she chews her cud. It is not hard to find joy in the flock! Her fleece is very popular, with repeat customers. I hope all of my sheep can be like her! She was born a rich moorit, and faded to musket as she aged. I select for faders. LOVE 'em!

PS...this basic sock pattern can be found on the right side of my blog under Yankee Knitter. The writer of this pattern has a talent for simplifying things, so I highly recommend it to new sock knitters. I knit lots of these socks because the pattern is sooooo easy to adapt to anything that strikes your fancy...even if that moment is midway through the sock! The peeries were used a lot in Shetland, and the different colored toe (left sock) was common in Faroe at one time.

Hope all of you are finding quiet moments to knit in a warm place and finding joy in that peace!

Take Joy! Crown of Glory Shetland Lace

2011-12-01T13:10:00.000-08:00

Crown of Glory Shetland Lace with Shetland yarn

Such joy in knitting can truly be found! The Crown of Glory lace pattern was a favorite of the women of Shetland. The main pattern has a large opening, with six yarn overs above it to give the appearance of a crown. Lovely! Some called it Cat's Paw, for it does give that impression as well. The women of Shetland utilized their creative energy to change slightly each pattern, giving each woman or group of women in a small area a knitting identity. So fun!!!

My Crown of Glory Shetland lace is knitted with light worsted weight yarn I handspun on my wheel here on the farm. I obtained the wool from the first little lamb born here, little rock-hopper Pumpkin, whom I sheared myself. It was through aching tears that I did so, for Pumpkin had become entangled in the fence in the night and I lost him. His horns, his fleece, and his personality were all crowns of glory. Even his gait, the flow of his fleece, the brightness of his eyes, and the glow of his heart were all glorious. Pumpkin's fiber is a stunningly beautiful, rich, chocolately mocha color of rich gleam, and it's very soft. The women of Shetland typically knit this lace in a much finer gauge of yarn. I'm using a larger gauge two-ply so it can be worn in heavy farm chores through wicked winters. I chose the Crown of Glory pattern to help remember Pumpkin by. His yarn, this skein, won a blue ribbon at the fair last summer.

...the needles wait for me...

I love knitting this on a 16 inch circ. needle. It's peaceful, relaxing, and reflective knitting. I can't help but think of the women who went before me, who also made these stitches under gray November skies, who also reflected on their lives while the yarn moved through their hands. History is not as far away as we think...

Little Annabelle, The Official Sheepdog's ornament, just for her

Some of you know that our little Annabelle, a breed not of tending sheep, longed to be a real sheepdog someday. One day, she had her glorious moment of 'tending sheep', and has since held the high status of "Sheep Dog". One to frequently leap over furniture at top speed, ears flying, we couldn't resist this perfectly appropriate sparkly ornament that so aptly describes her heart! It gleefully graces our tree each year, bringing giggles and happy memories. We love our dogs.

The season is passing into peace and darkness now. All is truly calm, the skies are gray, the birds are quiet...well...not counting the perky chickadees in the lilac shrub! The sheep quietly eat their hay and meander around their winter pasture with a sense of calm. Wooly Bear quietly feasts on his latest pumpkin, with orange mush all over his horns and poll....a happy fella with his pumpkins and girls.

As I settle into the house to cozily knit by the fire, I breathe in deep the fragrance of the pine just feet from me. My hands quietly take up my knitting, and my mind quietly slips into times past. I can't help but take joy in these small things, things that have been repeated by people over generations, and centuries. The commonality of human nature, our basic needs, doesn't change. We are all the same.

This month, I'm celebrating simple things, and as Tasha Tudor taught us, to take joy! For joy can be found everywhere, all around. Farms can create a heavy heart when loss strikes, but mostly, farms are places of much joy and happiness...glee and bounce...giggles, chaos and silliness. How could I ever capture that on camera? The joy that animals take every day is worth emulating. They see it. Can we?

The future of Shetland sheep

2011-11-27T22:04:00.000-08:00

Sometimes the hardest thing we do is maintain what we've got. The people of the Shetland Islands gave us a gift 31 years ago. The gift we received, that original flock of Shetland sheep, and the hope that flew over in the plane with it is a treasure.

When I think of hope, I think of the people who feared of losing the genuine Shetland sheep back in the 1970's and 1980's. That fear was running strong. Commercialism, cultural changes, economic shifts, disease...all were on the minds of those people. They had enjoyed a long run with this hardy and friendly little sheep that had lasted centuries, lifting their people and place out of obscurity and discomfort, into warmth and fame. How sad it must have been to see the sheep fading into something new, something lost from what it once was, beyond their control. I am sure this worry weighed heavy on the hearts of some, laying awake at night. So much hope was on that plane that fateful day. Hope that the sheep would remain unchanged, not afflicted by those pressures seen on the islands. So much work, so much history, so much care...

The hearts and hope of those people are in my heart tonight, as it is each time I linger in my flock, spin at my wheel, or knit such amazing yarn through my hands. The people of Shetland placed the care of their treasured sheep into strangers hands, on our continent. The hope they sent along in the plane that day must have been very powerful. I know that because I feel it. I'm a recipient not only of their sheep, but of their hope. I'm sure they were hoping we'd protect their little sheep, keep them going for future generations to discover, to relish, to love, as I have. I'm sure they were hoping their little sheep wouldn't be morphed into something new, as it was there.

It is with these thoughts clear in my mind that I am so relieved to hear that despite aggressive attempts by outside groups, the genuine Shetland sheep will indeed see continued protection through a very strong voice of our whole membership! For the second year in a row, the membership spoke very loudly and clearly!!!! WOW!! I am not alone in wishing to genuinely preserve and protect the genuine Shetland sheep. There is a large fraction of our continent who also deeply love this special sheep and who also wish to see it's future secure. The hope that rode along on the plane that fateful day is alive and well in North America! In fact, it's thriving!!! Shepherds coast to coast are dedicating themselves not just to genuine preservation of this amazing sheep, but to the preservation of the Shetland sheep's story over the last 31 years.

With this relief so fresh, I had to take several days to let it sink in. Yes, the sheep will be protected! That is top priority!

Here's what we've come to learn:

1. aggressive groups will come in, take control of everything, censor out the majority, and try to inflict unwanted change, all for some internal motivation they themselves desire.

2. such groups will change language around to sound like genuine protectors, thus dressing in wolves clothing...i.e. hooded red capes...please beware!!! Restoring the truths shouldn't be too hard, as most shepherds in North America understand, see, and recognize the 'morph-language',"morph-groups", and their "cull heavily" motto.

3. the membership spoke very clearly that genuine Shetland sheep are beautiful, worthy of continued protection, and VERY MUCH WANTED!!!!

4. that this genuine protection and preservation is under continual threat...what we have is always in peril of new threats lurking right before us in the shadows. As genuine protectors, we must work very hard to identify the wolves in the room, and strive to hold on to what we've got...outstanding little sheep who just plum don't need" improvement"!

The hope the people of the Shetland Islands sent along with that first flock to North America is fresh in my heart, and in the hearts of so many other shepherds throughout North America! Together, we diverted the latest threat of change morphing our sheep into a shiny new breed. Stay vigilant! But for now, take joy in knowing that the gift we've received, these sweet and diverse little sheep so many of us have come to love and cherish, will see a renewed commitment to genuine preservation and protection!!

Pretty Shetland Ewes

2011-11-21T22:14:00.000-08:00

Lil' Rainbow

She is such a pretty ewe! She has excellent conformation, is extremely hardy, is the healthiest sheep on my farm in many ways including managing her own weight effortlessly and showing strong parasite resistance. It's an absolute shame she's not registered! She gave me a beautiful ewe lamb last year and was an exceptional mother. She positively treasured her little lamb, and they are very close to this day. Lil' Rainbow is going to be bred again to Wheely Wooly Lerwick, the same ram she was with last year.

Sweetness!

This little ewe is Twilight and Pumpkin's mother, Sweetie. She is sweetness through and through! She produces a powerhouse of milk, lambs easily, and has a fleece I love to spin. By shearing, it will be very long, nearly 7-8 inches. There is so much more I could say about each ewe! Sweetie is going in with Wooly Bear tomorrow. I hope to have his breeding group together and settled before the holiday, for I planned this group to be together through Christmas. Despite having to wait longer this year, Wooly Bear is doing great! (i.e. the fence is still up and everyone is on the correct side!) He is coming into his ram scent now, and that always lasts through January, so we'll see what he does this year.

My Iris

I love all my sheep, but I really adore my Iris! Her previous owners sold her to me and I am very grateful. Iris's fleece is beyond outstanding! It is just a dream to spin and is the most comfortable wool I've ever spun or worn. Her britch wool was soft enough to be used for scarves even last year, but probably not this year anymore. Iris is not a socializer, but she will come to the fence for chin scratches anytime she thinks I have time. It's pretty safe to say we've bonded, although she still won't let me catch her if she sees me coming with blanketyblanks...you know....shots, hoof trimmers...stuff like that. Iris is the type of sheep that always looks as if she's about to lamb, but she's been foolin' me since before I brought her home! :) As usual, we have no plans to breed Iris, and she is getting old.

Today I knit one sock and one mitten. Sounds funny, doesn't it? That's the second sock, and the first mitten of a pair. Fun!!

Hope you enjoyed seeing or meeting some of the ewes in our flock!

Getting Stuffed on Thanksgiving

2011-11-18T10:20:00.000-08:00

Don't try this at your Thanksgiving Dinner...

Happy Friday everyone! This weekend is such a busy one for so many of you and us, too. It's the start of our deer hunting season here in Wisconsin, and this year, there are changes that not everyone is excited about, such as loaded, uncased guns are allowed in vehicles while hunters are driving around, and the fact that sooooooo many hunters will be in the woods, but there are virtually no deer around....certainly not enough to meet the needs of soooooo many hunters! So tomorrow is "everyone in the barn day" here on our farm. Hunters in our area seem to be very good about safety so let's hope it's a safe day and weekend for everyone.

Also this weekend is our Holiday Open House at the farm market, and we are ready!! Come see what's new! We will also have the popular blackish yarns back in stock! We have lots of gift ideas. Shetland yarns make for great gifts for the knitters, crocheters in your lives, for it is so unique, soft, light, and colorful! The natural colors are great for men, and men are frequently at our booth picking out yarn for hats and socks. If you have a hunter in your life, or a guy who likes being outside, remember that Shetland yarns were largely made into men's clothing. We have outstanding, deep, rich colors in blacks, greys, browns, and russets that men love. An investment in Shetland yarn is a long-term investment, for the yarns are not only soft, but long lasting as well. Come and see what the guy(s) in your life would like!

Then on Sunday, we are having the first of our Thanksgiving meals, here on our farm. I LOVE roasting the turkey and making all the fixin's!!! The smell of the turkey roasting is just a wonderful lingering memory and a great way to start out winter with warmth and love. Each year, I save and dry some sage from my garden, a habit passed on to me by my Grandmother, and make homemade stuffing with it. Another family favorite is the homemade honey rolls I make. DH makes wonderful mashed potatoes from the awesome, fluffy potatoes he grows and digs up out of our garden, and I hope to get in an apple pie from the last of the apples we saved off our trees. It will be a stuffing feast all right! Pumpkin pie is not on the menu...because...well...you see...I kindasorta fed all the pie pumpkins to....the sheep. Makes me feel sheepish....

Speaking of sheep, the fellow in the photo above is our foundation ram, Wooly Bear. We get requests for this photo every year now and it seems to have become a favorite. The top of the pumpkin had softened under a frost that year, so he ate that part off first, then worked his way down into the interior, as far as his horns would allow him to, that is!!!

Happy Fall Weekending everyone and don't forget to stop by our booth and pick up those great gifts for those you love!

My Spinning Wheel Dishes and farm breeding season

2011-11-16T10:29:00.000-08:00

Can you believe it? I actually have dishes with spinning wheels on them. This is a desert plate. I have a whole set, including a creamer and sugar dish, plates, bowls, serving bowls, and a platter. I inherited them years and years ago, long before I was a spinner. They were packed away and carried around with me for a long time before I actually took them out. Today, they are used regularly in my farm kitchen and make a great conversation piece with company.
Deserts seem particularly delicious on them! This is homemade apple crisp from apples we harvested off our trees this fall. A wonderful, hearty treat after working on winterizing the farm outside. Makes the house smell great, too!

A nice Shetland fleece. Can't wait to spin it!

Sigh...

These grazing days are over for 2011. The sheep are now happily eating sweet hay put up over the summer. Some of our breeding has taken place, but we are about to begin new groups soon. Each ewe that we've chosen to breed has been analyzed very carefully for 1927 Breed Standard criteria, using the assessment form pre-2010 NASSA days (in 2010, major changes were made to the breed, modernizing the animal hence we are not using those criteria). Of course, our rams have been very, very carefully analyzed as well...all summer! Included in all breeding animals is temperament. Our goal here is to raise genuine, historical Shetland fleeces for handspinning. We highly desire maintaining the historical fleeces that are excellent for a whole range of uses because I love doing all those things! We also highly value the hardiness of the breed and excellent, sweet temperaments, which of course, we highly protect with the best care we can give them emotionally as well as physically.

For example, we will not be breeding one ram who's fleece is very short, for he has a very tough time in stormy weather, deep cold, or wet weather. His fleece does not dry out nice, giving him deep chill problems. The water soaks into his wool, saturating it and his hide, but then it takes a much longer time for that water to dry off. With such short fiber, he is not insulated from the cold winds or the cold, wet ground when he lays down. We've had to bring him into the barn on nights when the rest of the rams seemed toasty warm and dry, so he is out of breeding! The longish, wavy fiber acts like a down coat on the sheep's body, creating a layer of insulation that seems to trap warmth. With the tips so light and wispy, the fleeces can dry out nicely during heavy rain yet still keep the sheep warm. They also shed more water off, so less moisture soaks in. We are very pleased with the hardiness of our woollier sheep, and with the performance of that wool on the wheel, needles, and our bodies! The 1927 Breed Standard, standing alone in all it's simplicity not only works, it's amazing!

One thing we are doing differently this year, is that we are spreading our lambing out over a greater period of time on purpose. This also mimics how Shetlands have been historically managed. In the USA, it's common to intensify ewe heat cycles into a short "window", then try to get everyone to lamb in two or three weeks. I did that, and found it EXHAUSTING!! Despite my prior planning to prevent p-poor performance, I still ran out of easy food for us, got overly tired and cold, ran out of certain supplies, and my house got too messy. Plus, the rest of the world thought I fell off the planet, for people didn't see much of me in that "window". Why do that to myself?? AND, I must admit, I WAS afraid of hungry bears lurking around at that time of year, just awakened from winter's slumber and starving! Skipping out to the barn at 3am in darkness and pouring rain with a little lambie in my arms while hearing something "BIG" rustling around in the grasses behind the barn was a little over the top for me! Add a starving mind, body and stomach and you've got visions! (giggle, giggle!!) Oh, how I can amuse myself! :)

We do think we had a bear one night, for I saw a shadowy shape of such run between the horse pasture and the ram pen around 10pm. The rams were very upset and shaken, huddled like musk oxen in a circle of tails, horns turned out while standing smack in the center of the pen. I've never seen that in rams before, but they were certainly afraid and upset.

So far, our choice to stick with history has paid off very nicely for us! Of course, history is not always respected and people are always trying to reinvent the wheel. Well, if they are satisfied with their new wheels, they can do that! But we like history, because for us, it's produced much beautiful fruit! By spreading our lambing out over time, we are returning to yet another historical aspect of this breed that we hadn't thought of before. The idea is that by spreading things out, I'll have time to get re-organized if needed, make more food, pick up the house, or run for supplies...not to mention being more awake for decision-making and middle-of-the-night skips out to the barn! We are very excited about our previous lamb crops, and hope to have another successful lambing next spring! Stay tuned to hear how our new strategy goes!

Inspiration, socks, fleece, and eggs!

2011-11-11T12:34:00.000-08:00

My inspiration basket!

Inspiration can be found in the simpliest of places. I love my odds and ends basket. The variety of natural and dyed yarns inspires me on lots of garments. Borders, trims, ruffles, flowers, or cuffs...you name it....I'm inspired! This overloaded basket goes along on many road trips with me, a constant companion when an idea strikes. What a wonderful way to enjoy the simple things in life!

My sock basket

...is always a busy place! Socks are something we treasure here on Wheely Wooly Farm. Three seasons just would not be the same without cozy wool socks that keep you warm even when wet! This sock has trim around the cuff that is from the barn mittens I made and posted about back in September. The white yarn is from Claire, our non-Shetland sheep. This is her lamb's wool, very crimpy and softer than I expected out of her breed...but then again, she hung around Shetlands all winter! (giggle, giggle) This is the first pair of socks I've made with her wool. I've already noticed a difference in how the fiber knits, as it's heavier to work with, and my hands get fatigued sooner. Other than that, it's been a joy so far! Even though they are not for me, I can't wait to get the feedback on how they wear! The recipient of these socks requested them.

Wonderful spinning fiber!!

Genuine Shetland fiber that is longish and wavy, as our breed standard strives for is truly a joy to spin! Here is the dark fleece I'm working on right now. The tips have that 'Shetland brown' color to them, with the deeper fiber black. The funny thing is that the yarn looks black, with white fiber when spun up. If you took this fiber into really bright sun, you'd see it is actually a brown tone. These plays on color in the human eye create wonderful opportunities for design, and I LOVE it!! Sometimes, I pair different natural colors with fiber like this, or other times I pair dyed colors, or both! The possibilities are endless and great fun! Reasons like this keep me on handspun yarn, where the colors and tones stay intact in the yarn. If machined, these elements would be diluted a great deal, if not lost all together.

Snowstorm eggs...

Last, despite the cold weather and snow we've had lately, the hens have been busy doing what they do best! Notice the variations in them? These hens are young birds, just having come into lay. The bluish/green eggs come from our Easter Egger hen, which is really a crossbred hen. Star, our beautiful black Ameraucana is either not laying right now, or laying where we are not finding them. How nice to have these!

Happy Friday everyone!

Ugh.

2011-11-10T12:12:00.000-08:00

Isn't it too early for this??!?

Well, everyone is back outside today. The storm passed by early evening yesterday, then the moon came out real bright. We got over three inches of very wet, heavy snow that was remarkable blown about. My first treat this morning was walking out the east barn door and having roof snow slide straight down the back of my neck and into my coat! Hate that!

Now, the sun is out and everyone is running around in the fresh, crispy snow. The rams did NOT want to go back outside!! Some even planted hooves like stubborn goats, which just makes me giggle. But one by one, I got them outside. The lure of the hay flake surely failed today! Turned out to be good one-on-one time with each of them. I really do enjoy them! Soon, I'll put them with their girls. I'm waiting this year, for having lambs in the wicked springs we've had lately is not high on my priority list! Last year, lamb losses were very high in many neighboring flocks. We were lucky to have indoor lambing, and lucky all our lambs survived.

Well, there's always someone who enjoys fresh snow!

Swifty had a ball in the snow. Unfortunately, I'm not sure where his toy ended up. The snow will probably melt soon and he'll find it before I do so I'm not too worried.

In the meantime, the storm took away some spinning time. Each storm seems to create three times as much daily work (or is that my imagination?) This morning was clean-up time of hauling out old bedding with the wheel barrow, sweeping up, putting down clean bedding, removing large chunks of ice from water tanks and buckets, and getting everyone back where they should be, as well as knocking snow off the barn roof and traipsing to the coop to fluff things up there. Let's not forget walking fence lines and repairing pull downs! By the time I was done with everything, I was good and sweaty and out of breath. Good work! Time for lunch!

This afternoon, it's back to spinning! I'm working on a nearly black Shetland fleece that has some white in it. It's beautiful! I'm spinning the britch first, then moving up to midside wool. I'm hoping to get more black yarns finished as I have very little in black yarn left. Mona is also sold out now.

Hope everyone else came through this first taste of winter ok!

P.S. Anyone running to the mailbox today? (giggle,giggle)

No clucking in the raspberry canes today!

2011-11-09T12:27:00.001-08:00

I don't think the hens would enjoy this...

Rats! I guess that means raspberry season is officially over! Good thing I have lots of berries saved in the freezer. Today, we are getting a little snowstorm. There is about 2-3 inches of wet, heavy snow on the ground, with a little more yet expected before it passes to the north. The flakes have been huge and furiously falling at a sideways angle in the fairly unpleasant wind.

I guess I'm not the only one looking out the window!

Everyone is cozied up in the barn today, including the rams. Let's hope everyone stays where I put them! The boys were cold, tired, and hungry so hopefully, they will eat, nap and rest before getting interested in their surroundings....

Meet "Sarah Smoke Tree"

Sarah Smoke tree is a droopy tree that lives on our farm. She's normally all as tall as that one branch sticking up. Today, however, she is demonstrating her flexibility capabilities. I guess that makes her "Sarah the Baller-TREE-na".

Tree?? What tree?

The pine near the back door is a beautiful green on one side, and nearly invisible on the other! The branches are weighed down pretty good. Let's hope none of them snap.

The first blasting of 2011-2012

The barn is already getting it's first blasting. Perhaps I'm in a weebee bit of denial that winter's coming? I guess I better bring in my garden stuff now...

Shepherd's Tip of the Day: Old wool that is too dirty or full of VM to use for spinning, or that is off the rumpy britch or bellies of sheep makes GREAT wool to stuff into cracks around your barn. I don't use anything with sheep berries in it, but the "cleaner" wool makes a great draft stopper! I've stuffed it into cracks in the foundation, around windows, and doors to make for a more snug barn. Don't worry, I still have PLENTY of ventilation in my barn!! It' s nice to use the wool for areas where cold drafts come in on animals or where you don't want snow filtering in. I often save the wool on the shearing board for just this purpose. In spring, I remove it, and in fall, put in the new stuff I've saved. Works great! Remember, wool makes GREAT insulation, and mice do not like chewing it.

Hope you enjoyed our snowy scenes from Wheely Wooly Farm today!

Our Pres. in Sheep! Mag?

2011-11-08T16:40:00.000-08:00

I missed it! Rats! Sounds like a really good article that I'm gonna have to get!

The sheep will do it!

2011-11-06T13:18:00.000-08:00

See any leaves?

People often like to think that animal ownership makes your life harder. I beg to differ! Here we are, on a lovely fall afternoon...under a nice tree.....FULL of huge leaves that need raking up every year before snow flies. If these leaves don't get raked up, they kill the grass, for they are very large maple leaves. In the past, I've raked them up and stuffed the walls of the chicken coop with them for added winter insulation. Ok, doing that made my life harder...but I DID enjoy the work and the knowing that my hens would lay more when insulated so nicely from the cold.

Now along comes Posie. Posie is a very cute little sheep who is sweetness through and through, or so I thought! As I glanced out my house windows from time to time, I noticed Posie was parked under the maple tree all day. As time passed, I noticed that as leaves fell, they weren't accumulating like they should. Oh, I thought, she must be eating them up for me! How nice!

Then, I noticed that Posie was looking UP into the tree...waiting for the wind to jiggle a leaf or two off branches above. As they floated down, she ran to where she thought they'd land, and gobble them right up! I watched and giggled as this played out over a few hours. Good girl, Posie! Now I won't have to rake!

Later, as I amused myself looking out the window again, I saw that Posie's best friend, Maewyn had appeared. Now Maewyn was hanging out under the tree...and there still were no leaves around. I decided to wait and see what would happen if a leaf fell...who would get it? Now Posie and Maewyn are very close friends...always the first lambs to greet visitors...untie your shoestrings, or want a chin scratch. They are always together, always looking for attention, and always underfoot. Suddenly, a leaf fell...this way....and that way....and little Maewyn, being the nimble-hooved little Shetland that she is, swiftly pounced her way to the leaf just ahead of Posie, and quickly ate it up! Well Posie watched this, head turned sideways, a time or two before she made a decision! The next time a leaf fell, Maewyn again pounced ahead of Posie, only this time, Posie was frustrated and BAM!!! Posie butted Maewyn on the side just as Maewyn gobbled up the leaf!!! Uh oh! As the leaves continued to trickle down, this is what I saw...

BAM! BAM!!! (Notice the leaf in Maewyn's mouth?)

Good thing they are nice and woolly now! Maewyn didn't seem to mind Posie's jealousy. They spent the rest of the day competing for leaves, and I'd have to say for poor Posie's sake that Maewyn got most of the rest of them!

I've since rotated them to a new spot, where they will spend daytimes all winter. The danger now is that the grass has stopped growing fast enough to keep up with grazing, so the risk is great over-grazing. Because of this, I have moved them to where over-grazing is sacrificed, and placed hay out. Of course, they much prefer every little morsel of grass blade they can tear up, so the hay sits....meanwhile, Maewyn never seemed to get upset with Posie for the head butts, and they seem to be carrying on with their sweet friendship...continuing to get under my feet every opportunity they can get.

Oh the things you learn looking out your windows!

'Wow The Pumpkin'

2011-11-01T20:32:00.000-07:00

Wow The Pumpkin is the largest pumpkin ever grown here on our farm. We grew a bunch of giant pumpkins this year, just for fun. We know a key secret is to snip off certain flower buds so that much of the vine's energy goes into growing a whopper, but we didn't want to do that! (giggle, giggle) The flowers are so pretty, and it's fun to see who's opened, who's growing a pumpkin, and what color the pumpkin is. We also grew a bunch of white pumpkins this year. The sheep love them as much as the orange ones. Yes, Wooly Bear has gotten an early Thanksgiving treat! It would just not be right to go into winter without giving him his favorite treat!!

Swifty's posts are still coming....I know, I know.....I'm late! He is such a fun dog! He loves to get wet so cold windy days seem just right to him. We are actually managing to keep up on our fall chores this year despite multiple challenges. That means certain fencing has been removed from our back grazing pastures, opening them up for flippy runs. That's dog-speak for great fetching of a soft type of dog frisbee that sails long distances. Swifty LOVES to run in the wind to snatch it! He's very sweet, bringing it back and placing it politely in my hands...well, as politely as an excited young pup can manage! His other favorite activity of late is rolling in the tall grasses...thrashing with joy at just being outside and being silly. Notice the 'buzz' in his eyes in this photo? He's a very intense dog, which I find very pleasing when outside with him. He is constantly tuned into me and waiting for the next cue or whistle. I love that about Border Collies! He's my barn buddy no doubt.

Notice the new photo of Wheely Wooly Lerwick on the side of the blog? He was a lamb last year. We gave him some ewes for breeding and he now has his own lambs on the ground, which we love!! Wheely Wooly Splash is out of Lerwick. Splash has the softest fiber our farm has ever produced! We bred these sheep under the guidance of the 1927 Breed Standard, minus the Appendix A. We will not breed Appendix A sheep here, for it demands modern criteria on the sheep, and we are striving for the genuine Shetland. He's getting ewes again this year. I am so impressed with his fleece, conformation, and temperment! I save all the best fiber for sales, but I did save one small skein of midside wool from him for myself...of which will become another lace scarf. Lerwick is out of Wooly Bear.

Last, can you believe I mowed today! It's Nov. 1st and I was mowing. That's got to be a first! The nice thing is that the sheep are still grazing! Tomorrow will be cooler and rainy..."a Shetlandy kind 'o day" I say!

How this works

2011-10-31T13:55:00.000-07:00

How this works:

1. Vote for diversity and everyone wins. Long, short, wavy, crimpy, everyone works for the future. Vote for the camp and nearly 31 years of importation and history, including the Dailley family's import history and flock, as well as the Doane's passionate work to bring the Shetland sheep to America are all discarded, thrown away.

2. Vote diversity and all members are valued, appreciated, supported, and accepted. Vote camp and see intensified censorship, control, hostility, crossbreeding, attorney's fees, and decreased membership.

3. Vote diversity and nothing is lost, for all win and retain value and support in their flocks. Vote camp and much is lost, with huge numbers of flocks and history losing.

4. Vote diversity and retain respect from other credible organizations striving to maintain diverse genetic pools for ourselves and our future shepherds. Vote camp and take credit for vastly narrowing the gene pool to one narrow kind of questionably Shetland sheep, and hence throwing out respect from other leading experts.

5. Vote diversity and retain the genuine fiber that created the famous textiles Shetland women became so famous for, thus honoring them by protecting what they passed forward to us. Voting camp dishonorably throws out that genuine fiber to something much narrower, that was never used for fair isle, bed caps, stockings, gloves and mittens, daily wear such as jumpers and vests, or weaving.

6. Vote diversity and genuinely protect this outstanding breed of sheep, preserving it's exceptional attributes into the future. Vote camp, and throw that all away.

That's how it works.

Great work, Don!!

2011-10-28T18:56:00.000-07:00

1. Great work, Don! Thank you for bringing your years of experience back to NASSA, and sharing with us. NASSA is facing a huge problem, that of an aggressive group of newer shepherds teaching people that the genuine Shetland sheep is a hairy Icelandic or crossbred throwback to be culled, in an attempt to get rid of genuine sheep for a shiny new breed. Thank you for clarifying to the unknowingly misled that genuine Shetland sheep are NOT the nearly naked sheep with puny fleeces this aggressive group insists them to be!!

1.a. ...and thank you to your wife for that keepsake handbook! The 2004 NASSA Handbook has many great photos of genuine Shetland sheep in it. I treasure it, because I know it's been censored out of the NASSA literature. That's a shame! I'm sure many new shepherds would appreciate it just as I did when I was new (and still do). If you are a new shepherd reading my post, ask NASSA for a copy of the 2004 NASSA Handbook and see for yourself some great photos of beautiful sheep, the three wool types, and the types of things made with the wool!

2. Our President, Mike, deserves a huge compliment for doing what he promised, that of bringing a cool head to the board. Boy, did we ever need a cool head to deal with a bunch of inflamed thieves who have stolen the Shetland breed right out from under the membership's feet!! Just as he has done with his awesome and beautiful flock, he is doing with our organization...great work! Thanks, Mike, for bringing integrity back to NASSA! I feel so bad that you have to work with such constantly difficult, inflamatory, and argumentative people on the board! They've brought much embarrassment to NASSA. Clearly, they do not care about the people, or the sheep! They just want to feed on control! You have stayed strong through some nasty punches, and we all appreciate you! Appendix A will fall fast when the time comes.

3. I'm really overdone with the loss of intrigity to our breed organization by the supporters of Appendix A. Their censorship, exclusion, lack of respect, and lies are old. Really old. It's like high school cliques revisited! Supporting Appendix A people is like supporting their bad behaviors. Can our organization take any more of their ongoing fighting (screaming)? Ongoing censorship? Ongoing attitudes that the membership is too stupid to be informed or participate? Ongoing misuse of NASSA funds for their ongoing hefty legal bills, because if they don't get their way, they screech and claw for their attorneys? How tired the attorneys must be of hearing from them!!

4. I joined NASSA for fun, and it has been fun for me. A wise person once stated that competition makes you stronger. I certainly feel that way. I'm against Appendix A, for it takes the genuine out of the sheep, and puts a nearly naked one in it's place. I've enjoyed the search for answers competition demands, with one particular conversation with Carole (Dailley) Precious the most outstanding. In that talk, she described the early flock and her flock as the years passed. It was as though I was looking out the window at my own flock. It was an amazing moment for me. I've sought answers from many very experienced shepherds. I've learned a lot, and it has all been outstandingly fun!

5. Whichever way the outcome of this election goes, not much will change here on Wheely Wooly Farm, for I have been well coached by the most well qualified Shetland producers here in North America and abroad on what the genuine Shetland sheep is. That is the sheep we will continue to produce, and that is the fiber we will continue to make available to our customers. The gorgeous, unique fleeces and colors sell themselves. What's there to 'improve'? Nothing! Nearly naked sheep feels like a 'deprovement' to me!

6. Our commitment to our customers remains the same. We will strive to produce beautiful, soft, colorful yarns perfect for knitting and even more perfect to wear, without compromising handle and strength. Diversity is the key to our farm's success. Maintaining that diversity has brought our farm respect from the most amazing places I never would have dreamed of. I've learned that narrowing genetics is not respected. Appendix A will fall fast when the time comes. The judge's packet will be changed back to protect diversity and historical elements of the breed. Correct photos will be put back in place, and faith in our organization will return.

7. And now, I'm going to go out and kiss my very wooly sheep! ........ Ok...well, maybe I'll wait until AFTER breeding season!

What my kitchen floor...still...looks like

2011-10-18T19:47:00.000-07:00

Will I get them done??

Fluffy, Poofy Sheep!

2011-10-14T20:51:00.000-07:00

Oh, I love the rain! Yesterday, we had a cozy, steady rain most of the day with warm temps and quiet wind. The air was so fresh and fragrant with autumn freshness, I found myself lingering every time I went outside. I gave the rams extra chin scratches, watched the hens peck around longer (in the coop), and found myself drawn to watching the sheep graze contentedly while the rain gently poured down. Swifty was enjoying it as well, for Border Collies love wet weather! He bounded through the tall grasses, sailed down the 'back four', and dove after flippies (dog frisbees), ears to the sky unless in an all out run. As the rain fell hour by hour, I watched as fleeces dripped, dripped, dripped. I knew this rain was like a car wash for sheep! This is a shearer's dream...nice clean, rain-washed fleeces! Then, I heard the forecast for today...wind! Yippee!

Today, as the wind wiped around and gusted, leaves skittered everywhere, trees bent over, and the chickens ran for cover. And there were the sheep...still grazing contentedly like nothing has changed! Only this time, instead of dripping water off the fleeces, the wind has blown the fleeces dry like fluffy, poofy little powder puffs!!

My poofy powder puff, Maewyn

She's so pretty!

Sigh...I love Shetland sheep!!

EDIT: Like many, many farm booths, we are not at the market today due to the high winds. Please feel free to email us or call if there are yarns you were planning on picking up today, as I'm sure we can get them to you. I have six new skeins of Cosmo ready to go (the last of his lamb's fleece)...first come, first serve! There are also 2 Sunrises available today but act fast if you want them. They sell out right away. Also, if you were planning on picking up needles today, just email us or call and we can get them to you as well. Hope to see you next week!

Mr. Handsome...

2011-10-12T21:26:00.001-07:00

Cute pony. Warm sun. Green grass.

Life is good!

'...grow an outer coat of hair...'

2011-10-08T18:17:00.000-07:00

"The climate is perpetually moist and the sheep grow an outer coat of hair in addition to the exquisitely fine, soft wool. The sheep are not shorn; the wool is 'rooed', i.e. plucked, in July. It is sad that the decline in demand for this very beautiful wool, coupled with the drive to produce more meat, has led to the introduction of Blackfaces and Cheviots and the pure-bred Shetland is fast disappearing. No wool is more rewarding for the handspinner and knitter."

Good stuff!!! I could read this all day. Here is yet another source describing the genuine Shetland sheep. Notice the mention of HAIR? So typical. Just like Mr. Bowie, Sr. wrote vehemetly, if it doesn't have tips, it's not Shetland!

I like reading this stuff because I feel very connected to generations past when I spin this fiber. Genuine Shetland fiber has passed through the hands of many women. This spinner described the very fiber I'm growing on my pastures today. We both love spinning, and are both fascinated with excellent spinning fibers. Yet we are a generation...or two...apart. I'm very thankful people like Ms. Elsie G. Davenport took the time to write about her passion. Genuine Shetland fiber is indeed a pleasure to spin.

A wolf in sheep's clothing

2011-10-06T16:18:00.000-07:00

Watch out...there's a wolf amongst us...can you tell who it is? I was reading the board candidate responses in the newsletter that just came today, and I got a good chuckle out of one of them! It's written by someone who has read my blog a lot, quite frequently in fact. Can you find the wolf in sheep's clothing? (giggle, giggle)

Wheely Wooly Cosmo's Fiber

2011-10-06T10:21:00.000-07:00

Longish, wavy joy!!

Here are the photos of Cosmo's fleece. It's his lamb's fleece...he was a nearly black sheep before shearing, but after being sheared, he was a soft, light grey...seemingly white! His face and legs remain a beautiful black. Shetlands are SOOOO fun!

Color change!

Here, you can see the soft, light grey on the underside of his fiber. It's fine and soft. The two colors together make for a very interesting and appealing yarn! I know many of you are waiting for me to get this spun up, and I still hope to get that done by Saturday, but I'm not sure I can finish it by then. It might not be ready until next week, then.

It's so fun to work with the dynamics of Shetland color! I do like the dyed colors, too, but these natural colors are just amazing! We now have a little soft grey sheep out there!

Next! Today I'm shearing Gracelyn again, for I cannot WAIT to get her lovely fiber again! I sheared her last in February...a little too early but I really wanted her fiber. Since handshearing leaves the sheep with a lovely protective layer of wool to keep them warm, she did fine. Now, I can shear her again for more lovely spinning, and it's a beautiful warm day to do so. All of the yarn made with the last shearing is sold out except for one smaller skein left.

Happy knitting!

My Kitchen counter...

2011-10-04T23:14:00.000-07:00

Winter treats!

My kitchen floor...

2011-10-03T21:37:00.000-07:00

Is it time for my first ever wordless post????? Am I capable of a wordless post???????

Very Tired!

2011-10-02T18:46:00.000-07:00

What a wonderful weekend we've had! Both Saturday and today, we've been out selling yarn, at two different events. Both mornings were quite cool, but the sun was out and the music was on! Today was absolutely beautiful. Was sure nice meeting so many new knitters! Cosmo is now sold out (that sure went FAST)!! However, I do have some here at home I'm spinning, so I'll have a little more in the future. Gracelyn is also near sold out, with just one small skein left. Lerwick has only a couple of skeins left. Be sure to check your patterns, and don't wait if you saw a yarn you like!

Happy knitting!

Swifty sits by pumpkins

2011-09-28T21:20:00.000-07:00

Swifty the Sheep Dog

Those aren't sheep, Swifty! Can you believe this shot?? I had gone into the house to get the camera...with the idea of taking pictures of 'Wow', the biggest pumpkin we've ever grown. As I came out the door, this is what I saw! Swifty had laid down real nice to wait for me and I was lucky enough to get a picture before he ran away.

Today was a beautiful day. Instead of playing sheepy games with Swifty, we all pitched in to rip out pumpkin vines, including Swifty! I think I need a picture of that, too! Funny boy. For those of you who've followed my blog for a long time, you'll probably remember the flying rotten cucumbers of last year, and Swifty's joy at snapping them, yuck and all, out of the air as they sailed to the compost heap? Giggle, giggle...those good times have come around for SwiftySwifterSwift-o once again!

I forgot to mention, he DID get a juicy, ripe pear today! As pears got picked up and picked off the tree, he delighted in snatching one, then taking off with it! Later, as I fed the rams, he was delighting in rolling around on his pear as I threw the hay! By evening, I found pears in the pasture, in the barn, and by the pumpkins. I think Swifty had a GREAT day today!!

New Barn Mittens, hand spun

2011-09-27T17:27:00.000-07:00

Hand spun, hand knitted mittens

Swifty posts ARE coming! It's been very rainy here lately. Yesterday, we had torrential downpours steadily all day. Not good weather for snapping pictures...and this system has hung over our area for quite some time now.

So while we wait, I'll show you my new barn mittens! These are made out of the roving I bought at the festival and is a blend of Corriedale and mohair. I spun for a guage of heavy worsted weight in a 2-ply yarn. The mitten pattern is a very simplistic one of just a K1, P1 ribbing, then just knitting down with simple decreases at the fingertips for a little shaping. The right mitten is knit a little differently for the thumb placement than the left mitten. I knit them on size 6 wooden double points. Then, I moved on to the task of fixing my old mittens! I cut off the cuff, and tried to pick up the top stitches. It was pretty tough to do that, until I realized that over several years of hard use, and many freezing moments sticking to stall door latches and water bucket handles that they have actually felted a bit! So now, I have them sitting where I see them frequently by my work space, so that I can ponder what I want to do from here, wishing I hadn't cut the cuff off. I was hoping to have TWO pairs of mittens this year, one drying, one on hand. Now, temporarily anyways, I'm back down to one pair.

Now those mittens were a barber pole 2-ply of Shetland/Coopworth blend, with Angora bunny cuffs. I had spun that yarn from my white Angora bunny, Zinnia. So....maybe I'll just replace them with straight Shetland yarn, or I do have some white Coopworth roving I could spin up and ply with Shetland again....hummm.....and add Zinnie's yarn to the cuffs again....hummm....

Another trophy!!

2011-09-25T21:39:00.001-07:00

Can you believe it?? Another trophy graces our home! This trophy was earned at a state poultry competition in which exhibitors came from all over our state and others! There were hundreds and hundreds of birds, all bathed and poofed. How fun to see all the varieties, shapes, sizes! This trophy was earned in showmanship, making it the fifth trophy to come home this summer in only two competitions!

The class was pretty big. We have not attended a show like this before and felt we were just going for the experience. Imagine our surprise when our exhibitor won Reserve Show Person!!! WOW!!!!! Not bad for the first time out! The other exhibitors seemed to know so much, and had beautiful birds. We met more new friends, and learned a lot more about the show and other breeds, and breed clubs. It was a great experience that I'm sure we'll never forget!

The bird we took was a beautiful black purebred Ameraucana pullet. She has lovely muffs and a full beard, but unfortunately, she began moulting just before the show!! Oh no!!! We took her anyway, as she had JUST started, and hoped for the best. Her body was still beautifully feathered, with just a few tail feathers missing. She did get placed down to third, but we were happy anyway! First white ribbon added to our growing collection! The chicken's name is Star, and she made for another happy trip to a show. I'll get pictures of her maybe tomorrow and post them.

Ok, when's the next show! (giggle, giggle)

Wheely Wooly Maewyn

2011-09-23T09:54:00.000-07:00

Wheely Wooly Maewyn

Spring 2011 ewe lamb

Meet our pretty little Maewyn. She's a spring lamb from our 2011 lamb crop. Her color is a rich moorit right now, but my guess is she'll fade, and we hope she will, as I love spinning the fading dynamics as the sheep ages. Faders create lovely color in yarns! If she doesn't fade, we'd feel like we've had a bonus as well, for her rich moorit color is really lovely.

Maewyn is out of our foundation ram, Wooly Bear, and Mona. Just like her parents, Maewyn is very docile, calm, and friendly. She loves coming up to you for attention, and even lets strangers pet her...just like her mom! Wooly Bear will also frequently let strangers feel his wool, but we usually don't let that happen, just in case the people unknowingly pat the top of his head (a ram no-no!).

Maewyn's fiber at shoulder

Maewyn's wool is very fine, soft, longish and wavy. It will be a true delight to spin, and I never get tired of spinning fiber like this. I'm currently spinning about 40 Shetland fleeces a year, plus roving I buy. Those forty fleeces are very much like this one, although I do spin other breeds from time to time. Whenever I do switch, there is a real adjustment period in getting accustomed to the new fiber. I can't wait to spin Maewyn's fiber! If our past fiber is any indication, Maewyn's fleece will probably sell out fast, for people love how soft and light the yarn is. It just has a unique, special feel and appeal that is really hard to explain.

Hope you enjoyed learning about little Maewyn! Stay tuned...I promise that Swifty stuff is coming! I've been having a ball with my little buddy!!!! Today, he got to play in the hose again, and go swimming in the stock tank. How nice it is again to have wet dog! (Yes, I actually wrote that! More later.)

Welcome UK! and cute Posie

2011-09-22T08:30:00.001-07:00

Posie's Fiber

Welcome UK! We sincerely hope you enjoy touring our farm! How fun it is to be able to exchange information over the great seas. We are currently heading into fall here on our farm. The leaves are just beginning to turn vibrant colors, but the flowers and tomatoes are still growing. Speaking of the UK, I've recently seen some LOVELY pictures of your REAL Buff Orpington chickens taken with a breeder (?) somewhere in England (The Poultry Magazine Vol. 3, Iss 2, July/Aug. 2011, page 40), and they were beautiful! It's pretty tough to get that true body style here in America. We are raising one Buff Orp. chick, but we know it won't look typey, but rather tall, leggy, and lean for right now, that is what is available to us. I just LOVE the low, deep bodies, very little showing leg, and fluffy feathers of your Orps! I seriously think a hen like that just needs her own pretty little yellow apron! Isn't it just like Americans to change things around?? I was talking to a Shetland breeder outside the United States this summer, and this person commented on how crazy Americans have been in changing things in animal breeds. I agree! Crazy!

Back to sheep! These two pictures are of little Posie, an East Friesian/Shetland cross. We wanted a dairy sheep, so we got one, and bred her to our foundation ram, Wooly Bear. I was a little nervous on what that crossing would produce, and I certainly didn't expect cute little Posie! She'll be bigger than a Shetland, smaller than a Friesian. She's very docile and friendly, coming over to me every chance she gets for sweet nothings.

Wheely Wooly Posie

Posie's wool also excites me. I had carefully planned out the purchase of a dairy ewe, and thought hard about what I would do with the fiber. Posie's mother, Claire, had an outstanding lamb's fleece that is very soft for a dairy sheep, and is perfectly wearable. I'd like to try dyeing it in goldenrod...soon!!! I know Claire's next fleece will be coarser, but I still can't wait to get it, for I already have plans for it. In the meantime, Wooly Bear even threw his softness into little Posie's fiber. It's softer than Claire's lamb's fleece was. Are sheep fun? YES!! :)

(This picture of Posie was taken two days ago, so you can see we are very lucky to have good, rich grass yet for grazing.)

The telling of a tail

2011-09-21T10:11:00.000-07:00

Wheely Wooly Splash's tail

A tail can tell you a lot about a Shetland. From the very first purchases of sheep we made, tails have always been important to us. We believe that sheep with improper tails should not be selected for breeding stock, no matter how good the rest of their attributes may be. In Shetland sheep, tails tell a tale.

Our Wooly Bear, the foundation ram on our farm and a cornerstone in our flock, throws beautiful tails. His first year offspring produced really nice tails, some of which are pictured on blogs past. This tail photo is of this year's offspring. This is Splashy, a ram lamb of very high quality. He has outstanding horns, a soft, bright expression, an excellent temperment, smart gait, he's lively, has a WONDERFUL longish wavy fleece that just might be the softest our farm has produced yet, and he has good legs. His tail is a great example of the breed standard.

Our standard says "fluke tail. Wool at root forming the broad rounded part, and tapering suddenly to barely covered fine point." Splashy's tail is rounder on top, with a nice covering of wool poofing out, as you can see. Then, it transitions to hair. (Remember, if someone ever says they have no hair on their Shetland farms, then they don't have Shetlands!!!) Yes, EVERY good Shetland should have hair on the ends of their tails. If wool grows to the point, don't breed that sheep. Anyhow, Splash's tail begins to taper where the hair starts, and comes to a finer point at the end...covering about an inch in distance from wool to tip. The tip is harder to see, since the hair is growing down there. In this area of hair, his tail gets FLAT. That was something I heard the UK judges talk about, and I was SOOOOO relieved to hear it! FLAT tips are important in a good breeding Shetland. It's what we've selected for since the purchase of our first two sheep, and it's what we continue to pay attention to as we build up our flock.

I always recommend people get to the shows to learn. It's at the shows you can see so much variance, and really train your eye on what is correct, and what isn't . If you want to breed for high quality stock, you have to know what these differences are. At a show, you can see many sheep in a small space, and make comparisons. I have found it very beneficial in learning how to select for really good sheep.

Last, I think the UK judges did give some outstanding advice, and they were emphasizing it with a sense of frustration....and that is that the Shetland sheep is a WHOLE PACKAGE! You cannot work for one attribute, get it, then say Bam! I have a great sheep that everyone should breed to! (and then try to force the rest of us to breed to that) Instead, you should strive to really LEARN the standard, select appropriately by taking into account ALL the attributes, and be sure to most definitely secure the most important attributes in the breeding stock. I just cannot stress enough that your copy of your breed standard needs to be HANDY and carried out to the flock with you FREQUENTLY! That simple document can help you improve your flock and make better decisions. And most importantly, to avoid farm embarrassment, please, halter train your sheep before the show, and have a friend or family member help you assess that sheep with your standard in your hand before deciding whether to bring that sheep to the show!! No sheep is perfect, but it's a great way to really understand what you have, and whether or not it should be exhibited.

In my experience, I've discovered that striving to adhere to exactly what the standard clearly says, yields amazing results of bright-eyed, friendly little sheep with absolutely awesome fiber that I not only never tire of spinning, knitting, or wearing, but of brightly colored wool that sells itself! The standard, in it's amazing simplicity, works! I know of many people who are breeding for appendix sheep, and are having all kinds of trouble. I know which one we're sticking with!

Spinning together for the public

2011-09-18T16:57:00.000-07:00

Spinning Demos Together!

What fun we had today!!!!!! I got to spend the day in one of my favorite barns, doing something I love, all for a wonderful event!! What could be better than that? Today we spun all day, doing demos for the public. We each had our wheels there. The crowd was WONDERFUL!! Everyone was very curious, interested, and full of questions. Lots of little hands got to feel sheep's wool today. Boys were fascinated in how the wheels worked, with several expressing interest in spinning. Meanwhile, the Baa-tique was out and doll scarves were the hot item of the day! For each scarf sold, we donated 50 cents to the cause we attended today. You see, we were invited to attend A Day on the Farm out in Pickett. This event is the result of a very sad loss of a little boy named Jarid. After Jarid passed away, his family, who lives on a farm, decided to have an event each year to bring children out to the farm. The farm is a place little Jarid loved. The event is beautifully done with a corn maze, pumpkins, farm animals and baby chicks, a great sand pile, pedal tractors with wagons to pull little bales of straw, and music, great food, and other things like hay rides and a pretend cow to milk. While we spun in the hayloft, a little mini-donkey or burro was braying underneath us. LOVED IT!!! The hope of the day is that money will be raised to help fund research at St. Jude's Hospital in Milwaukee. It was a great day with a great turn out despite cloudy skies and a little rain at the end. We felt very honored to be asked to attend this event and spin, and we are very grateful for the wonderful publicity the announcer gave our farm! We hope Jarid's family was successful in raising lots of money for research this year! I know someone from our farm was very excited to tally up the numbers at the end of the day and make a run to the donation can!!!

Spinning can sure bring people together!

Busy!

2011-09-15T11:58:00.000-07:00

More is coming about Swifty! Today, I'm working on finishing an order for Saturday. I managed to get all the tomatoes in, now I can start on the pears! Apples will be right behind that. Our storm damage will be getting fixed tomorrow, and more hay is coming as soon as we can get the big doors popped back out. I have some lovely new skeins of yarn to label and hope to have those at the market on Saturday. Lot's of fun things to do!

In finishing up thoughts on the festival, I've come to realize that the UK judges exhibited quite a lot that was similar to my own adherence to the 1927 Breed Standard. I still think that wavy means wavy, and that longish means longish. But the common ground covered all the rest, such as undersized animals or meaty animals can be kept, but you certainly shouldn't register or breed such Shetlands as purebred, for the breed standard clearly addresses those topics. Also, they were very surprised at the discussion on scadder, and reiterated quite vehemently that scadder is not grounds for disqualification...never has been. So my concluding thoughts are that most of the trendy changes we've seen pushed by a small group of people here in the Midwest are indeed just trends coming OUT of the midwest, and things NOT supported by the SSS, which put the UK judges in an interesting position. The presentation on Sunday of the festival was scheduled for 10 a.m. to noon, and it went that long, perhaps a few minutes past noon, but most of the audience had left long before noon, including the group that hired the judges and brought them here. I thought it was nice, too, that one judge offered her own opinions as to the sheep and management, which frequently matched my own, and she also said she doesn't keep much of the super short fleeces on her farm, either, but she said that was just her preference. It was a good presentation and I'm really glad I went! (I was there Friday, and there was definitely tension in the barn after the judges talked...ram inspections? Something about tails not correct and fleece types...and retelling what was said accurately....then I was three hours north of the festival on Saturday but back for Sunday.)

I truly believe that our task at hand here in North America is a simple-sounding one, but in reality is an exceedingly difficult one, and that is to JUST PRESERVE AND PROTECT the breed from onslaughts of strong groups who find ways to change the breed without the greater membership's awareness. Remember the 2010 NASSA Board changing things in July 2010, but not publishing their changes until the January 2011 NASSA Newsletter?? That was over six months later!!! Remember the changed out photos on literature and the website? The flood of "new" history? The totally re-written judges packet? Appendix A? And the ongoing hijacking of the NASSA Chat list, where only certain people can participate...and hype? It was a total takeover.

Our Shetlands are a treasure, and they do not need "improvement". They are good mothers, hardy, do not need boatloads of corn to survive, won't starve on pasture, have virtually no disease or defects, have excellent temperaments, and they produce outstanding fiber that is perfect for handspinning, knitting, and wearing. Their colors are rich, intense, and exceptional. WHAT IS LEFT TO IMPROVE??? We've already got it all!!! Let's work to make sure people who sneak in and change that get sent the message that the genuine Shetland sheep is well loved and treasured! We don't want these changes! We don't want to narrow our diversity! We liked things just the way they WERE.

On an end note, since the person who suggested I learn how to spin by taking a class with Carol Rhoades, was the judge for the Shetland yarns... I wonder if she was aware of the fact that she got that job through my design of Shetland Showcase, and my personal goals of getting more people connected to the fiber through spinning and knitting (and remember?...to increase opportunities, to learn, to ease the tension, and to have fun)? Probably not! I guess when you design something, and another group steals your ideas, they just can't implement it with the tone and feeling you designed into it...

Someone else can sing the song....but it just doesn't sound the same...

More Festival Goodies!

2011-09-14T06:45:00.000-07:00

Pretty roving, and mitten pattern

Here are some more of the festival goodies I picked up last weekend. The mitten pattern is familiar to many, the original being lingonberries...a very scandinavian design. This pair calls for just 150 yards of the main color, and 100 yards of contrasting color. Fun!!! I've vowed to myself, though, that I'll repair my barn mittens FIRST! (giggle, giggle) My barn mittens need new cuffs, for the angora yarn has worn out and I want to make thicker areas on the thumbs, where water bucket handles tend to freeze to the fiber when I'm carrying them.

The roving is from a new source, so it will be fun to try! This farm has a very cute barn that I've always admired driving past. Well this weekend, I got to meet the human of the barn (and see pictures of the sheep)!

A few other things about the festival I could share. The UK judges talked quite a bit in their presentation about the regulatory climate in their country, and how expensive ram inspections have become, and hard to do. They also talked about how expensive micron testing is there. One judge mentioned very, very briefly that the older members of SSS preferred the longer fleeces, but that the new, younger members are going for really short fleeces. (There were a couple of rams in the barn this weekend that had people wondering why they were sheared right before the show...they looked maybe three weeks out from a shearing. Turns out, that IS their wool growth from last spring!) Also discussed was birth coats (one audience member mentioned that differing birth coats...up to five? I think she said...was well known and common in merinos). The judges replied that any birth coat is fine as long as the wool grows into good Shetland wool. Lambs need time to grow out before decisions can be best made. Horned ewes were also discussed. The judges said horned ewes were not desirable by many SSS members who are older because of less ease in handling the sheep. The other judge said she does not keep the horned ewes on her farm much, nor polled rams. The horns on ewes are typically more upright horns, so I can understand what the judge meant. The same is often felt about goats' horns...upright can cause safety issues. Rams should have nice sized horns that curl in a nice curl along side the head. That's what my rams have. It was truly fun listening to them! By the way, one judge was from mainland Scotland, the other from England. Neither was from the Shetland Islands.

Another point of interest about this festival is did you notice how many people this year in the Country Store were wearing wool?? I was sooo excited to see that! I always wear my wool in my booth when weather permits. It's a great way for people to see how beautiful and warm wool is. I think the most popular garment I saw was little capelets...small shawl-like garments that essentially cover just the tops of the shoulders and maybe a little past along the back. I saw LOTS of beautiful, handmade capelets this weekend! I also saw light scarves in coordinated outfit colors being worn to perfection, with a casual, rustic look that was sophisticated and politely understated. It was quite evident to me that so many people are loving their wool, and the garments they are making from them, yet it's still a little not ok culturally to wear much of it. Despite that, women are having a ball making the most amazing garments! I'm hoping that some day, this excitement will spill over into the public realm where woolen garments are as acceptable as blue jeans! That's why I created my Show Your Shawl Day! I know so many people have really beautiful things stashed away. Time to get those things out and put them to use!!

In years past you can never predict what the weather will be and this year was a real winner! We had 70's and warm sunshine (maybe even low 80's?? Not sure! It was just NICE!) I'll never forget the year the remnants of hurricane Gustav washed through (right Laura??:), and we were trying to get a motorhome through wicked construction over washed out roads, through heavy winds and torrential rains! Truly the most white-knuckle driving we've ever had!! Other years, we nearly froze to death after hot, humid summer weather, then the festival weekend being upper 40's/low 50's, cloudy and rainy. One year, we had horrible heat and humidity...93 degrees and stifling air rich with dew point. This year, beautiful!

Also, I saw a t-shirt design that I totally fell in love with! It was soooo cute! It had a picture of a sheep on it, and instead of the cuts of meat labeled on the various parts of the sheep (like neck, shoulder, midside, hip, etc.) it had what typical type of garment or fiber product might come from that region! So neck was shawls, midside was sweaters, mittens etc., and hips were weaving, belly wool, mulch. Soooo cute!!! What a great way to spread the word about how versatile and useful sheep can be! Excellent sheepy marketing!

And don't forget...taste the sheep cheese!!!! Yummm!!!! We love it! It's rich and creamy and flavorful with a mild, pleasant taste. Ok, so we may have ended up at the free tasting booth more than once.......in fact, we suggested a sheepy name for a new product coming out soon....let's see if we inspired a hit! The guy loved it. Bet it'll be on the package next year! We love to inspire people!

And that's not all! More coming! (and Swifty, too!)

The word crimp

2011-09-13T06:47:00.000-07:00

The UK judges who attended the WI Sheep and Wool Festival were a delight to listen to, and talk to! For the most part, I thought what they said about Shetland sheep was excellent advice to Americans. It was obvious they were not aware of the problems we are currently facing in the breed here in America, such as very undersized animals, animals with improper bone, expression, and sheep with very fatty/meaty toplines that are not level. This was evident in how they expressed, almost with desperation, that the Shetland sheep is a WHOLE package! You can not subtract off a bad tail, a sloped topline, a dull look, bad horns, or washed out color and say you have a great Shetland. Well said!!!! They specifically said animals with these faults such as too small (i.e. 40 pounds at maturity) or with bad bone, or meaty toplines can be kept if you want them, but certainly not registered and certainly not bred as purebred Shetlands.

However, there was a place where they deviated from common sense...and this is why I'm not a supporter of the SSS. They actually said that the word "crimp" did not exist in 1927!!!!!!!! They claimed that's why the word crimp is not on the breed standard. What????? That's like saying credit card companies are always working in my interest!!!!!!!!!!! (Later Edit: I forgot to add that one of the show organizers and the one who helped hire and pay for the judges to visit us here, Lori, taped the presentation of the UK judges on Sunday morning of the festival. Unless it's edited out, you can hear it for yourselves.)

Let's look back...and it's not so very long ago! (To put it into perspective, a person born in 1927 is 84 years old today.) It is well known by linguists that the word crimp has several forms, in several languages, that stem out of several regions. Did all these words happen AFTER 1927?? I think not! Let's look at some of the Shetland Island's close neighbors.

Dutch: krimpen

Low German: crimpen

Faroese: kreppa ('crisis')

Icelandic: kreppa ('crisis')

Old Norse: kreppa ('crisis')

Dutch? Faroese? Icelandic?? Old NORSE??? You know, that old language many of our Shetland descriptive words comes from??? You know...from the Norwegian people who SETTLED on the Shetland Islands...of whom the descendents still live and still claim heritage to??

The Shetland Islands are a place where ships ruled. The Islands are in a location of much ship traffic...THE way goods, culture, and people got around for hundreds of years. It is well documented that the port of Lerwick was a popular stop for centuries for rest, trade, or safe haven. Not only did goods travel around, so did people and their languages. There is no way you can convince me that the man who lead the writing of the 1927 Breed Standard had NO awareness or USAGE of the word crimp!!!!!! Many countries all around had their own versions of the word long before the standard was written. The English are thought to have created the word in the first place (origin: middle English), and the word is recorded as utilized in the development of English breeds south of the Shetland Islands throughout the 1700's and 1800's (breeds that were ON the Islands at the time our standard was written). The French used it with merinos and rambouillets. The Germans used it, so did the Dutch, the people of Iceland, and even in Faroese!! There is no sense in the statement from the UK judge that Mr. Bowie Senior, an educated, wealthy man (who's patients were largely fishermen and crofters), had no awareness of the word crimp or even to go so far as to say the word crimp 'didn't exist'!!

Now let's look at the usage:

used as a noun to describe "bends back and forth in many short kinks"

used as an adjective to describe "easily crumbled, friable, brittle or weak, inconsistent, contradictory

I can see why the writers of the 1927 Breed Standard did not use the word crimp!!!!! Their fibers created strong, yet light and comfortable garments that could hold up to heavy labor on the sea, or on the croft. Fish were netted in, stone extracted and homes, fences built, animals to tend, and peat to dig. The Shetland fiber, and resulting garments had to be STRONG and durable, yet soft and light, because while SOME of the fiber went into things stored away for safe keeping, MOST of the fiber went into daily garments. That's certainly longish and wavy!! It seems obvious to me that the writers of the 1927 Standard chose words that not only accurately describe the fiber, but also avoid implied meaning of weakness.

All of my data comes from Webster's dictionaries dated 1909, revised 1913.

An interesting end note: to crimp or crimping, in times past when ships sailed the seas from all around the world, especially western Europe, also had another meaning! It meant that a person could be swipped out of their communities and forced onto a ship to help man the ship, without that person's will. It meant, essentially, kidnapping someone and forcing them into labor on a ship. The Merchant Shipping Act of 1854 detested this and attempted to make rules about ship labor. Can you possibly tell me the people of Shetland, who lived in one of the busiest shipping lanes of the history of the world, had no awareness of all this? The word 'crimp' or to get 'crimped' struck terror into many hearts, I'm sure!

For these reasons, I think the UK judges were way off in saying the word crimp didn't exist in 1927.

Later edit: Why were the judges saying the word crimp didn't exist in 1927? To insist that the word wavy means crimp. It's their way of insisting the word crimp is not on the standard because, they claim, the word crimp 'didn't exist'. Many audience members were in agreement. I disagree. I think wavy means wavy. I always say that a wise historian gave me wise advice once, and that is the mists of time are most accurately seen through by multiple accounts and regional knowledge. You cannot zoom in on one tiny detail and expect to see the whole picture. If you look at what the sheep climate was like, and what languages were like, and other work beyond crofting, you can easily see that claiming the word crimp didn't exist is not correct. If the original writers of the standard in 1927 MEANT crimp, they would have USED the word. Instead, they chose WAVE. End of Edit.

Home from festival fun/ and Carol Rhoades

2011-09-11T16:44:00.000-07:00

My festival goodies!

It's Sunday evening and I'm just home from a very fun sheep festival! Of course, I have my goodies here now...that I don't have time to enjoy yet for there are things to do! The photo above is some of the goodies I have. I finally broke down and bought a smaller handshear for shearing my sheep. It's taken me a long time to do it, but Shannon out in Oklahoma (a longtime Shetland breeder who handshears countless Shetlands with her husband) recommended I get one a long time ago and now, I got one! I'll use it around the necks and horns of my sheep, instead of my big shears. Can't wait! I also picked up some Soay fiber fluff, seen here, for a bit of fun spinning! I talked for a long time with the Soay sheep's owner and made a new friend! The sheep were bright-eyed and sweet! Fun! I also picked up yet more bobbins for my wheel. Having more bobbins really helps keep up with orders and they were badly needed. In the background is yarn from a little yearling ram in my flock out of Wooly Bear. His fleece, turns out, was a very valuable fleece and I lost out on knowing that before I spun it! It's black with a clear white transition line on the lower inch or so of fiber, making it a very unusual and beautiful fleece. I've already spun half of it, and the yarn will be ready for sale soon! Thanks to David Kier for the ongoing support in helping me learn things I should know about shearing and fleece! I always so appreciate the time he gives me!

I think my favorite part of the festival is the friends and people I see every year! It's so much fun getting reconnected with so many familiar faces and updating about the year! I think I made some new friends as well, and I certainly met some new, VERY talented artists who have done beautiful things, from gorgeous jewelry to handknit beaded scarves to the talented spinner/knitter who designed a spinning wheel sweater with sheep on it! So cool!!! I got to talk to everyone, and THAT is the best part! I heard about sheep that passed away who were old friends...and hay problems, excitement with Border Collies, and predator problems. I talked three needle bindoffs, perfectly consistent yarn overs over a large garment, and was updated on an old college town. And...you guessed it...we talked Shetland sheep! And people were so kind to my family in encouraging growth and enjoying the moment! Thanks goes out for that, too! AND, I got the kennel returned! Whew! That took me two years!!

I saw the biggest Corriedale ram I've EVER seen...a massive sheep! And I got to meander around the Shetland barn Friday night. It's always FUN to see more 'Shetland sheep'!! I met Rich Johnson...who was definitely needing absorption time...and we said hello to Claire...for Claire! (giggle, giggle!) I bought a couple of new books with info. I'm just bursting to learn about shearing and dogs, bought a BUNCH of roving from the big fleece winner, Carol Wagner! Congrats again, Carol for the big win!!! So happy to hear it! ....and I had great conversations with fleece judges...AND the UK judges MSSBA brought in! That was FUNNNN for me!!! I learned some GREAT things such as an adult ewe weighing 40 pounds would certainly be a disqualification and that even if you want to keep such a tiny sheep, it shouldn't be registered, for it will possibly pass on birthing problems in the future to other things like yes, super crimpy fiber loses it's resiliency over a fairly short time. That one, after the judge admitted it, created such a stir, one audience member was on her feet saying I didn't know how to spin, and that I should take spinning lessons!! The other comments the UK judges made that were very meaningful were that Shetlands should NEVER have fatty, meaty toplines. In fact, certain wealthy people in Britian order their meat from certain areas of the Shetland Islands (not Scotland mainland) BECAUSE they want LOWFAT meat. Me, too! Also, Shetlands should NOT have beefy, thick bone, but neither should they have petite bone. Both are undesirable. And last, what was emphasized over and over and over by both UK judges was that the most desirable Shetland is A WHOLE PACKAGE! Every part of the sheep is important. You cannot separate the parts and still claim it's a good Shetland. A good Shetland is a WHOLE PACKAGE. Good advice!!!!!!!!! My feelings EXACTLY!! That's exactly why I've blogged so much about toplines, bone, expression, etc. Tails, too, were heavily discussed, with comments made about how important correct flat, fluke-shaped tails were...which was NOT much visible in the Shetland barns this weekend. (and, unfortunately, I saw more than one pair of fatal horns again this weekend...I still can't get why someone would bring fatal horns as showcase stock for breeding...)

Later Edit: After what I saw in the Shetland barn this weekend, I am again truly left wondering why the Standard is being so unused! Why are undersized animals being brought to a show?? They are too small, and the standard disqualifies them. Shetlands are a small breed, but not miniature. What about tails? Why are very incorrect tails being brought to the showring?? Incorrect tails are not only unshow-worthy, they are unworthy of breeding. They are stay-at-homers to carry out the daily flock purpose, at best. Where did the rich, beautiful colors go?? The barn was a sea of dishwater gray. The sheep with darker colors were lacking intensity and brightness of hue so well known in the Shetland breed. I've always hyped that we, as shepherds, should be taking our Standards OUT TO THE BARN with us to critically analyze each and every sheep. Make a photocopy of the assessment form in the 2008 and 2009 NASSA Newsletters for each sheep. Take the form out to your sheep and fill it in. THAT'S a good way to assess your flock for show quality. So I'm still left pondering...why are the people who changed our breed guidelines in 2010 by adding Appendix A, and redesigning the judges packet still having so much trouble just getting the basic parts correct, like tails, toplines, size, horns, and color??? End of Edit.

What else? I bought the mitten pattern I fell in love with years ago in a library book! It's not quite the original, but it's close enough and I cannot wait to knit with it! And Saturday's market was amazing! The weather was great, the music was great, and the repeat customers were great!! I had the great honor to see a sweater being made from our handspun yarn with carefully planned designs on it, and it was BEAUTIFUL!! I am truly humbled that our yarns are in the hands of such talented people! I have orders to fill and more fleeces have sold out.

To sum up my weekend, I am really proud of the hard work we've done over the past few years to carefully breed up our flock. While it's still small, it's correct. We have lovely fleeces that are soft and fine, and spin up/knit up/ and wear beautifully. We have deep, intense, lovely colors that create really special unique yarns. Now we have high quality locally raised, handspun yarns landing in the hands of very talented knitters, and our yarn is selling itself. We've gone from knowing nothing 10 years ago to owning, raising, breeding, shearing, processing, spinning, knitting, crocheting, and selling yarns and sheep! I could not have come this far without the help and guidance of so many of the festival leaders! I've also come to learn that preserving and protecting diversity in the Shetland breed is what many people would like to see besides myself, and some people even told me that before I could think to ask!

Later Edit: I forgot to mention something else that was significant the UK judges vehemently reiterated over and over, which is that scadder IS ok, and is NOT a disqualification in rams. Scadder comes in on the back of a ram's head as he ages, if he has it. It is normal in the breed, it's always been there, and always will be. No ram should be disqualified if he has it. This point was strongly emphasized over and over. End of edit.

More Edits!! It was suggested strongly by an audience member nearly standing on her tip toes in emphasis that I don't know how to spin, and that I should take a class by Carol Rhodes, who she claimed would quickly tell me all the things I'm doing wrong, mistakenly thinking my spinning skill is the issue, rather than the fiber. This was AFTER the UK judge admitted that super short, super crimpy fibers do not have the resiliency over long periods of time (and rightly so). So about Carol Rhoades! Carol has skillfully and professionally managed to detour around the political fleece misconceptions and debate by avoiding incorrect proclamations. Instead, she's carefully chosen history and accuracy. For example, she starts out her class description (which the instructors write themselves, I think) at the festival on Sunday (an all day class) as this (and I'll quote directly from page 31 of the Wisconsin Sheep and Wool Festival Catalog...class is titled "Spinning Shetland Wool for Fair Isle & Lace Knitting":

"Shetland sheep produce amazingly versatile fleeces: superfine neck wool, a coarse outer coat and a fine to medium crimpy undercoat can all be found on one sheep. After an overview of the sheep and its wool, you will learn how to sort Shetland for various types of yarns."

These are the reasons Carol has earned my respect, and I look forward to her article submissions in Spin-Off Magazine. Carol clearly understands and recognizes, accurately so, that the proper fiber for ideal historical fair isle knitting does NOT come from super short, super crimpy wool. It is well documented in many places that fair isle is best knit with longish, wavy wool, typically found midside on the sheep's body. So while I could surely learn more fun stuff from Carol's interest in Scandinavian textiles and her experience as a loved and successful magazine editor, I already know that Carol Rhoades and I are on the same page. End of latest edit.

It's been a GREAT weekend!

By the way...Carol Rhoades describes herself in her biography on p. 38 of the catalog as this:

"Her particular interest is in primitive wools and how they are used for traditional knitted garments in Scandinavia and Britain." I think everyone understands that 'primitive' means not super short, super crimpy, super consistent, head to tail.

Please, please, please don't tell me that everybody, including the Dailley family, the Doanes, Linda Zuppann (sp?), the Ludlams, the Fletchers, the women of Shetland past, the Shetland Museum, the estate records and ship's logs, and modern day leaders in fleece and fiber are all wrong, and that the camp is the only group outside the SSS that have the fleece right!!!

P.S. You will note on page 2 of the latest issue of Spin-Off Magazine that Carol Rhoades is not just an editor of the magazine, she's a technical editor. Technical editors make sure things are correct. It's a tough job!!

My Youth Classes show up in Shetland Showcase!

2011-09-07T23:35:00.000-07:00

Example of outstanding youth achievement in Shetland knitting

Won first place, then Best In Show Outstanding Award

Winnebago County Fair

August, 2011

Yippeee!!! MSSBA FINALLY did something right! They FINALLY brought my youth classes into Shetland Showcase (which MSSBA stole and renamed), as I had originally designed when I created the whole program!!! I've had a very busy summer with the success of our farm business, and with local youth. I am just reading the catalog now! If you look in the Wisconsin Sheep and Wool Festival Catalog on p. 43, you will see the layout as I had designed it...with youth classes in handspun skeins, as well as beginner and experienced adults, but with one exception. I had designed the program so that youth could enter youth categories for handmade (knitted/crocheted) items as well (that still seems to be missing...). Even experienced youth cannot compete with adults for youth do not have the fine motor skills adults have accomplished through simple daily living, among other things. The 18' doll poncho made by a nine year old above would have to compete with adults, and that's not only discouraging, it's not right! Maybe MSSBA can fix THIS mistake for next year.

As a youth educator, spinning and knitting teacher (adults and youth), and 4-H project leader in spinning and knitting for youth, and successful sheep farm business owner, I was soooooo disappointed that MSSBA cut out my youth activities last year, the first year they put my design of Shetland Showcase into action. I guess the MSSBA people realized (and came to their senses) that the original designer(me) knew what she was doing...and that if you (MSSBA) steal something, you may not know best how to implement something!

I know a lot of you out there are staying away (and have for years before our farm came along), but really, this is the time to trample the hostile people and get to the classes! Here is a great chance to reconnect fiber with textiles...which is EXACTLY what genuine Shetland wool is all about! Sign up for the handspinning skein competitions and bring your knitted/crocheted garments and such for judging!!! I guess it's too late to encourage all of you to make yarn and knitted items!! Wish I would have had time to look at the catalog sooner!! Details on page 43 of the catalog. Tell them Wheely Wooly Farm sent you!

Coming up next...wait 'til you see what Swifty has learned!

LATER EDIT!!! Oh my G....!!!!!!!! What on EARTH possesses people to be so aggressive? You MSSBA people should be absolutely horribly ASHAMED of yourselves!!!!!!!!!!!!

Our NASSA President is doing an outstanding job and has the support of the NATION! For the public out there that follows my blog, if you want to know what the Jefferson Shetland people are like, join the online groups!! You'll find out (and I know some of you already have!) what those people are REALLY like!

End of Edit

Spinning, mint, and hens

2011-09-07T09:17:00.000-07:00

At last! I can finally control where the pictures are, and where the text is!! Here is a bobbin of yarn spun from one of last year's lambs. The color is absolutely amazing, the fiber long and easy to spin, and oh so soft!!! I've spun a lot of this in the last week. The goal of our flock is to bring genuinely soft, easy to spin, and very comfortable wool to our yarns. Our yarns are very light and pleasant to knit, and create very lightweight garments that are extremely comfortable to wear. Our garments do not have the excessive stretch in them caused by super crimpy wool. We all know what it's like to wear those disaster sweaters of the 80's that stretched and bagged so bad! In fact, I recently knit with wool that was only half Shetland. I noticed the extra weight on the needles right away, then when the garment was finished, I noticed right away how different it felt. There is only one true Shetland fiber!!

harvested mint

The mint is from the herb garden, and there's a lot more of it still out there! It makes great tea, or winter treats for bunnies. We also dry basil, which makes the kitchen smell so fragrant, and sage for our Thanksgiving meal.

Meet Muffy, the Ameraucauna hen

Muffy is a silver hen (yes, that's right...the silver color has brown in it) with lovely muffs on the sides of her beak, and a beard under the beak. She lays beautiful light blue eggs. We've had her several years, yet she continues to lay steadily, keeping us in supply. She's a very docile bird and extremely winter hardy with a medium pea comb. She's survived through some pretty rough winters around here, always laying her pretty eggs. She's very neat, keeping her feathers nice and tidy at all times. A great bird!!

Next comes perhaps by far, the most valuable bird in our flock. Her name is 'Silks', and she's a Silkie hen. She's tiny, and lays tiny eggs steadily even though she's now....let's see...five years old. Her value comes not only in her ongoing laying but also in her excellent broodiness. She can always be relied on to do a fine job of hatching out chicks for us. Excellent mother, docile, tender little personality that we adore. Each time I see her, it seems a baby chick should be popping out from under her wing!

'Silks', the Silkie hen

Her two favorite places in the world are the darkest nest box, and the raspberry canes. If you don't let her out of the coop, she protests loudly, for she adores that raspberry patch!!

Raising good chickens is a goal everyone should have! Ok, maybe I'm a bit of a bird enthusiast. They enrich your life in many ways! Take good care of them, and they'll take good care of you!

Small farms are beautiful places

2011-09-05T06:00:00.000-07:00

In my last blogs, I have pictures of our flowers in the vegetable garden. The day I took those photos, I realized how silently busy our farm is. Bees were quietly busy dancing in the middle of the flowers, butterflies were flitting silently by and landing on so many sweet, nectar-rich flowers, and zipper spiders have been busy building impressive webs and silently sitting smack in the middle of them, waiting. Our farm is alive.

It's made me realize how beautiful a small farm is. There is no heavy machinery here to drown out the silence of busyness. Our soil is springy. We have a huge variety of bird life. Our grass is still lush, green, and growing even after a summer of grazing and several weeks without much rain. It is very colorful here...the bright oranges of the pumpkins, the bright reds of the raspberries, the bold and cheerful sunflowers, and the rich greens of pasture. When it does rain, as it did torrentially this weekend, the air is rich with fragrance...artemisia, alfalfa, pine, earth....sawdust.....

I just love taking the time to watch our chickens! They come out, stretch their wings, and immediately begin the chase and dive for bugs in the grass. Chickens and gardens just go together like milk and cookies. They slowly walk under the pumpkin leaves, cleaning up anything you don't want there. They take shelter in the raspberry canes, fertilizing the roots and snapping off any weeds with their eager beaks. As they do these favors for me, they cluck happily, or make other happy sounds. I could sit out there all day, and in fact, I've placed temporary human perches all around so that I can take a minute when I'm out there, and just enjoy. (Sweetie Tweetie is the Polish hen with the pom...she's five years old, Mable is the Barred Rock...black and white and she's four. Mable continues to lay a steady supply of eggs while Sweetie Tweetie lays every little while.)

The sheep here are all behind Wilbur. Wilbur towers over all the others! Here they are on the old horse pasture, waiting for me to turn the hose on. Notice the outstanding color variations? I love that about Shetlands!

Then, there's Goldie. We put this hitching post up for the horses, but by far the most frequent user hitches himself to it! This is his favorite perch, and frequently, a place for a good brief nap.

And last, can't you just picture sitting on the front porch (first picture), sipping an early morning cup of coffee? It's a great spot to right the world, or wake up, or close the day, or cool off after hard work such as putting hay up, or weeding. I'm sure this picture of my favorite chair on the front porch will be one I relish come the dead of winter! Indeed, small farms are beautiful places!!

The raspberry canes are clucking

2011-08-31T12:13:00.000-07:00

Just as I love the first spring woodland flowers and the first sandy flip flops of summer, I love clucking raspberry canes. It starts around this time of year, when the canes are very tall and lush with vibrant green leaves. As the berries begin to form as little round lumps on the ends of canes, the leaves create a dark canopy over the soil, which creates a cool, shady, safe haven for heat-weary hens. It doesn't take long for the hens to create little paths with tunnels of leaves over them into the patch. On any given dry summer day, you can wander around the farm and find not one hen. Where are they? Go stand by the raspberry patch and listen, and you'll find out!

If you get down on your knees, and peak into the cane tunnels, you will find happy hens there, resting in the shade or perhaps preening their lovely feathers. The soil is moist under their feet. They can see me just fine, peering in at them with a smile! It is here that they find coolness, and safety from summer hawks and other scavengers silently circling overhead. How great it is to have heritage hens, in the heritage raspberries!

Again, I seem too have no control over text placement, or picture order!

The little ewe lamb is Wheely Wooly Lacey. She is a LOVELY ewe, with a really nice fleece! Her conformation is outstanding. She's a sweet, fast growing lamb that has become a valuable part of our flock, considering that our commitment to you is to produce the finest handspinning fleeces we can that are as correct as possible. Our goal is to produce yarn, and ultimately knitted garment performance, that matches the legendary Shetland fiber as accurately as possible. One way we do this is to be sure we don't fall into "fiber fads", or trendiness in fiber production. It's unfortunate that livestock can be caught up in trendiness, but it's true.

The zinnias in our garden are very bright this year. And aren't bachelor's buttons obligitory?? The white pumpkin marched right up the pea trellis, and over, and down the other side, then through the wire....to find JUST the right spot to grow a new pumpkin!

And last, Penny, my lovely hen. She's old. She's valuable. She's useful. We love her! ...and she still lays eggs...

...what ting? I didn't hear a ting!...did you?

2011-08-30T13:02:00.000-07:00

Ok, the pictures are here, but I seem to have no control of the order or placement! Below is Wheely Wooly Gracelyn, a lovely yearling ewe! Her fleece is long and wavy, making it very easy to spin. The fineness and softness are most noticable when plying! It is such a joy to spin her fiber! I sheared her last February...a case of not being able to wait....and her yarn is nearly sold out. I'm going to be shearing her again, perhaps this week. We feel very lucky to have her! She loves to untie my shoe laces. Friendly would be an understatement for this little ewe!

The other pictures give you an idea of how alive our farm is. We have an abundance of butterflies, honey bees, hummingbirds, zipper spiders, and many other things. It's been a great year for monarchs and yellow swallowtails. I've lived in places where these things are not around, and I found it very unnerving.

The pumpkins have had no trouble growing this year....and thankfully, we got them planted this year! There are several HUGE ones. I'm sure we'll be rolling them around for they will be too heavy to lift.

The little pink flowers are 'Double Click' cosmos. I grow cosmos every year. Wouldn't seem right not to.

The sunflower with the bee is a variety called 'Teddy Bear'. Fun! Just a quick tour! Next time, chickens!

Iris helps around the farm

2011-08-29T08:38:00.002-07:00

Oh Iris! You're such a good helper around the farm! Shetland sheep are great for keeping your farm looking neat and tidy. Since we use portable fencing, I can put the sheep where the eating is good as the farm moves through summer. By the time the sheep are done with their work, everything looks pruned up real nice...like a park!

Every day continues to be a busy spinning day, with lots of joy in working with the fiber. Our 2011 fleeces are really nice this year. I hope to have more fiber to sell in the future, as I know a lot of you have been asking! Meanwhile, even in the heat of summer, our yarn sales continue to be strong, with many, many repeat customers. The yarn truly sells itself!

Stay tuned for photos from around the farm!

Blue Ribbon Shetland Fiber

2011-08-24T15:31:00.000-07:00

Here is the Cat's Paw Lace Scarf I made from Wooly Bear's fleece. Some of you who've followed my blog all along might think I'm bragging or something, for I know you've seen it before...giggle, giggle! Don't forget we have new people coming on all the time, and this time the picture is up per request. The scarf was entered in the garment made with handspun fiber class, which was judged by the sheep judge, not the knitting judge. The fiber was the main component, as was the preparation of the fiber, spinning, and knitting skill. It was really fun to work on a project straight out of the Shetland Islands, with real Shetland wool! This is why I designed handspinning classes in my Shetland Showcase (stolen and dubbed Handy Shepherd by MSSBA) at the WI Sheep and Wool Festival...to get the fiber BACK into the hands of knitters. You can change the breed's fleece into something shorter and more consistent, but that changes characteristics of the fiber that currently cannot be measured scientifically. What a shame to throw that away! I'm thankful that even though my idea was stolen, it WAS implemented and people are beginning to reconnect high quality genuine Shetland fiber (i.e. longish and wavy) with the textiles (fair isle, socks, gloves, mittens, tams, sweaters, and speed knitting, along with the least often knitted lace shawls). Shetland fiber has fame in it via lace, but it truly is a working fiber for working clothes. It has amazing characteristics to it that makes it extremely comfortable to wear. If you haven't knit with it yet, don't wait any longer! Get the real deal, longish and wavy fiber that is soft and fine and I'm sure you won't want to knit with anything else after that experience! (giggle, giggle again!)

Back to here at the farm. Two zipper spiders have moved into the Black-eyed Susans in front of the barn while other webs are forming ALL over the place each night. So in between spinning and harvesting, I'm sweeping webs from the barn, shed, and coop! That's a lot of sweeping......

What's on my bobbin today? Mona. Her fiber is a joy to spin and the color is a beautiful black, not the dark brown Shetland color, but black. I knit a beautiful swatch from that fiber, but am still spinning singles from her fleece. I've also been busy spinning some other fibers as well, and combining them with my Shetland wool in combination knit/crochet garments. So lovely! My knitting projects are selling right off the needles before I can finish them lately. The weather has been gorgeous...so refreshing to report that we are not having unruly weather!!! The grass is still green and great for grazing. The little boys are on their own now. Wheely Wooly Splash is a knockout! He has the finest wool our farm has produced yet, outstanding horns, perfect health and a very gentle temperment. He's now halter trained, and nearly ready to go.

**Edit! I almost forgot! If you are taking sheep to the festival this year, NOW's the time to get those little hooves off pasture and into halter training! It's already getting late, but you could still train a sheep if you practice every day! Remember, Shetlands are only shown in one of two ways....

1. with a SHEEP halter or

2. with no halter

Shetlands are NOT shown in the meat carcass hold!!! That means, DO NOT pull your sheep's head up to the ceiling nor stretch out it's body as if it were already on the meat hooks, headless!! Second, ONLY show your sheep without a halter IFFFFFFFF you and your sheep know each other and are very comfortable together through partnering and frequent handling. People who work frequently with their sheep and have a trusting relationship can do a beautiful job showing an animal halterless. DO NOTTTTT throw your sheep into the back of a pick-up truck fresh off 364.9 days on pasture, and expect yourself OR your sheep to be good ambassadors of the breed! Lasty, DO NOTTTTT put your sheep in dog collars, dog leads, or husky harnesses!!!!!!!!!!!! Work with your sheepies now! The results will make you look more professional. End of edit**

As for harvesting, the peach tree came through for us with a bountiful crop that we treasure! The cucumbers...well...they got a little large.....but we still make pickles out of them for fun! The tomatoes are just now ripening...latest we've ever experienced! We're usually about done with tomatoes by now. The potatoes were outstanding! Onions, outstanding! Raspberries...outstanding! Good garden year. Up next, pears then later, apples and more raspberries...and the sweet corn has been heavenly! Peppers, too! Sigh...I love the garden!

Happy summering everyone!...the summer timer is about to ting!

Can you believe this? First fair with animals

2011-08-16T15:47:00.000-07:00

The first fair with animal projects has turned out to be a very memorable one for our family, and life changing! One bantam rooster, and one yearling dairy doe have given us memories we'll never forget! In both projects, trophies were taken in showmanship all the way up to the top, even over experienced teenagers who have good stock, and have shown for a long time!! We can't wait to get started on next year's goals!

Many people asked why we didn't take sheep to the fair. Truth is, many people are still trying to figure out why we are not in the horse project, for horses have been a love and passion for ME, not our 4-Her for my life time. The horses were left at home for two reasons: first, the project is not top priority for our 4-Her, and second, the project is not a good fit for our family. So then everyone was asking, why not the sheep? Easy. Disease. We treasure our flock and have come to realize we have really good genetics of genuine Shetland sheep. The real deal. We have very soft, fine, easy spinning fleeces that are a joy to wear. Since we have worked so hard to build our flock up, (even though it's still small), we didn't want to risk bringing home disease to our land or flock. The market sheep at the fair, by the way, exploded! More than doubled from last year...that's a lot more pens!

Considering that the fair is all about youth, we really carry that on here at home. It's not about what us adults are doing, rather, it's about what interests youth. It has become a top priority to protect our sheep from disease. They are outstandingly healthy with very little input. What a joy it is to have sheep like that! I wish our dairy ewe was like that!!

And what have we learned about goats?? They are not sheep! They are fun and personable, and were a great first year project. And the chickens were a natural because we've always had and loved our chickens. Right now, we have a really mixed small flock that is soooo pretty when they are out on the lawn! Penny is a six-year old Australorp, Sweetie Tweetie is a five year old Polish, Silks is a five year old Silkie (and we ADORE her!), Chickaline is a four year old Silkie cross, Muffy is a five year old Americauna (who lays blue eggs), Mable is a beautiful Barred Plymouth Rock who lays LOVELY brown eggs. There are four roosters, all Bantam Partridge Cochins or Cochin crosses...Eddie, Teddie, Half and Half, and Jazzy. They live in separate cages with rotational release for bug diving in the grass.

Company's here...gotta go!

Pumpkin's Blue Ribbon Moorit Yarn

2011-08-11T20:43:00.000-07:00

Pumpkin's handspun yarn is outstandingly soft, and has beautiful coloring, which the judge loved. It is very hard to get such beautiful coloring with dyes. This natural color will never wash out, fade, or bleed! Shetland sheep are very special! Pumpkin, by the way, is Wooly Bear's lamb. More blue ribbons in Wooly Bear's line!

Pumpkin's Yarn

Here is a photo of the Best in Show Knitted exhibit, with it's ribbons! Not bad! Made entirely with Shetland fiber. The colors are very bright and appealing, especially for a doll.

American Girl Doll Poncho, Best in Show

The heat has subsided for the week, so we are busy doing things around the farm. The rams are getting an expanded pasture with two places for shade, rather than just one. The sheep got rotated to new ground again, and barn stalls are getting a thorough cleaning. It's cobweb season here on the farm, and if we don't keep the webs down, it would look like Halloween around here! Charlotte seems to be everywhere.....

Stay tuned for more fair pictures! I know some of you are waiting a long time to see them!

Eddie the rooster goes to the fair

2011-08-10T19:47:00.001-07:00

Oh Eddie boy, you are so handsome at the fair! The little chicken on the cage (on right) has his name written on it. Eddie is a bantam cochin rooster who is five years old. We raised him from a day old chick. He spends his summers chasin' hens all around the farm and bug-diving in the grass. In winter, he scratches around in the barn for tidbits of spilled grain. Being used to humans and handling, he was a great pick for a first year poultry project! His comb has survived many wicked winters and showed bright red the day of the show. The judge said he was in great shape for his age, but that his wing feathers were off just a bit. We knew Eddie was not a blue ribbon bird, but he was the ticket to the fair in poultry. He won a beautiful red second place ribbon out of five birds. Not bad Eddie boy!! What DID come home was three huge trophies for showmanship and herdsman awards!!! Yep! ALLLL showmanship trophies came home with us!!! This has been a knockout great first animal project fair!!! Photos of the trophies and Wooly Bear's Cat's Paw lace still coming!

First Fair Picture...

2011-08-08T21:05:00.000-07:00

Here's the poncho that won Best in Show Outstanding Award! Made with Shetland fiber.

More pictures to come! Stay tuned for Wooly Bear's blue ribbon with his Cat's Paw Lace, and others!!

Put to the test...

2011-08-07T18:50:00.000-07:00

Just got home from our county fair! This was truly the most amazing experience we've had! Two animals went as projects...Eddie the rooster, and Primrose the yearling dairy doe. WOW, WOW, WOW!!! Came home with FOUR trophies each over a foot tall!! Eddie won a second place (he IS FIVE years old afterall...giggle, giggle...he looks VERY handsome with his pretty red ribbon!), while Primrose won a blue first in her dairy class! But the trophies are for showmanship!!!!!!!! Not only for age group, but for ALLLLLLLL age groups (that's human, not animal) in both poultry AND goats!!!!!!!!!!! Plus, Outstanding Poultry Barn Award...yet another trophy!!! That one was earned through hard work and attentiveness, and one very cutely decorated bird cage!!

As for myself, I entered in open class. I thought it would be fun to exhibit Wooly Bear's lamb's wool in my Cat's Paw lace scarf I made. I figured putting his wool to the test in a handspinning class of another judge would put Wooly Bear to the test. I anxiously awaited the results. BLUE!!!! The judge loved it!!!!!!! Wooly Bear continues to keep us in the blue ribbons!!! I also exhibited a skein of yarn I spun from Sweetie's little ram Pumpkin. BLUE!!!!!!!!!! The judge also loved it!!! My dairy ewe won a second in her carded wool, while one Shetland won a second and the other Shetland won a blue!

Also, a knitted poncho (a junior entry) for an American Girl doll won BLUE!!!! The poncho is made from handspun Shetland yarn, dyed here at home with kool-aid....fun! It's trimmed with purple fringe and embellished with a lazy daisy on the front...pictures coming soon!!!! It not only won a blue first place, it won BEST IN SHOW OUTSTANDING Award!!!!!!!!!!!! Yippeee!!!!

We all had a great fair and can't wait to start getting ready for next year's fair!!! Stay tuned for pictures!!

More airplanes? On a sheep blog??

2011-07-28T21:57:00.000-07:00

Eaaaaaarrrrrr........BOOM! EeeeeaaaarrrrrrBOOM!

Sigh....EAA (that's the Experimental Aircraft Association) is fun, but it sure is noisy! As I walked down the pasture to do an afternoon check on my sheepies...you know....the ones invisible by the still palatible tall grasses....a deafening sound befalls the farm. That sound is one that I know brought much terror to thousands of people in the past, and it comes from a line-up of eight Warbirds flying together in formation, right over my pasture. As they pass by, each wing looks like it might clip the wingtip of the nearby plane any second! They turn together in a graceful arc back to the airshow right over me, affording me a free and terrorless view of each plane. The noise is thunderous. It makes my heart pound, for I know that this is the sound people heard just before bombs fell in WWII. But for me, it's a familiar sound, one I grew up with. Those old Warbirds are just a normal part of summer for me. Wouldn't be the same without them, actually.

The sheep seem unfazed as these old geezer planes slowly pass by. They just keep grazing, with an occassional highpitched baa coming from an unseen sheep somewhere hidden in the grass. (Think Boy's Choir for rams.) Later, as I head back up to the house, an F14 flies by and takes my breath away, spinning me on my feet like a top. They are FAST! LOUD! WOWWEEEWOW!! THAT was cool! How am I ever gonna stay at my wheel spinning with all this aviation excitement going on???????????

As I settle back at my wheel, I'm just getting into the rythmn again when I hear a Blackhawk helicopter approaching. Not wanting to miss it, I run outside to see! COOOLLL!!! Hey! Ever find a ballet teacher on a Blackhawk?? I have!! (many giggles) Ok, ok....back to spinning......

EAARRRRRRRR.......wait! Here comes that cool stunt plane! I think he's doin' flips! Gotta see that!!! I can hear it as I run out the door...eeeaaaarrrrrrr...eeeeeaaaarrrrrr...eeeeaaaaarrrr...one for each full flip.

If you've never seen the AirVenture show, you gotta get here! The Warbirds are reinacting a WWII bombing raid, the stunt flyers are flippin' out, Air Force jets wizz by, and old bi-planes putter past. What a show of contrasts! If you turn around, behind you will be someone's Blimp floating along. Ok, so this blog wasn't about sheep....but let me ask, do you know your airplanes, executive jets, blimps, warbirds, hurricane planes, airships, ultralights, and so on?? Do you know our nation's aviation history? No?? What are you waiting for! :) Join the 30,000 other campers and 580,000 people who aren't missing it! It's a zoo.

Speaking of airplanes...Dailley sheep and EAA

2011-07-25T07:14:00.000-07:00

Eaaarrrrrrrrrrrr........

Wawwaaaaaaarrrrrrrrr.....

As I sit here on my (usually) peaceful farm, I am quite conscious of the continuous diving and banking of airplanes overhead....airplanes that are going up......coming down......going up.....coming down....as they practice all of their stunt movements. Frequently, a plane starts flipping sideways over and over, or diving straight for the ground...or going straight up, stalling out, and tumbling nose first back to the ground before the pilot fires up the engine again and pulls out of it. You see, starting today, we are having the world's largest airshow on the planet! It's called EAA, or the Experimental Aircraft Association's annual gathering. This show draws in the biggest names in the airplane biz...from astronauts to Boeing execs to amazing former WWII pilots (and their planes with nearly naked girls painted on the sides) to hurricane radar planes to stunt pilots and wing walkers to....you name it! They are all here! This event also draws celebrities...this year, George Lucas is apparently coming since he is/was? working on a film on the Tuskeegee? Airmen. The event attracts up to nearly 1 million visitors, although this year attendance is expected to be very low...around 580,ooo. Planes come in from around the globe and line up in the sky waiting for their turn to land on our little runways. Airplane wings become tent shelters as thousands of private craft line up and stake down in fields that become overnight plane campgrounds. The city becomes a buzz of foreign languages...absolutely FUN to hear all the people talk...or try to! You can sit down to eat a brat and find youself in casual conversation with a commercial pilot from a major German airline (one of the many experiences I've had...) The traffic in town becomes impossible, and you see $500,000 rigs with crystal chandilers dangling inside pull up next to you at the stoplight and you wonder who's inside THAT one!....Pat Parelli???? Hey Pat and Linda! You can hide out on MY farm! Pull your rig into my pole building! Enjoy Carumba! She's SOOO much fun!...oh yea....back to sheep and airplanes....

Having grown up in the city that puts this airshow on each year, I've had the opportunity to visit the grounds for free on many occassions. While I've not had the opportunity to shake hands with Buzz Aldrin or any shuttle pilots, I have had some absolutely amazing experiences there! The most memorable one BY FAR is the day I saw the Stealth flying just before me! That day, I was driving down a busy two lane street, and nearly crashed my truck!!! No one knew when it would arrive, for everything surrounding the Stealth's arrival was secretive. When it did come in, the whole city was in an excited panic! Radios blared it's presence, people ran out of their houses to see, and cars stopped in the middle of the street to see it fly by! It was the NEATEST thing I've ever seen! Straight out of Batman, the Stealth was flying low, just above and in front of me. It was flying slow, silent...and looked absolutely out of place in this world....straight out of science fiction or something! It had the most amazing presence in the air....and as it approached me, it began to bank....and I nearly crashed my truck! I did manage to pull over to the curb and watch it as it slowly flew away...only to realize after it was out of sight and I began to recover from what I just saw, that other cars didn't make it to the curb....they were stopped right in the road and everyone was stunned. That was a very cool experience!

Other years, I've jumped onboard Navy Seal helicopters and Coast Guard helicopters, hurricane radar planes (the ones that fly through the hurricane and the eye), and the Concorde, that huge and super fast plane that has been banned from the skies now...to military cargo planes and little private planes and ultralights. (In fact, there are LOTs of ultralights around this week...and the biggest thing I've learned from them is their constant little engines WILL give you a headache fast.) I've had the opportunity to shake hands with trim, handsome young pilots who've flown through hurricanes, delivered military ammunition to war zones, rescued people out at sea, spyed on foreign countries, delivered everyday people to a destination on commercial aircraft, to WWII and Korean War pilots who were shot up and experienced....well...the H word, to fire jumpers who fly over wildfires and dump retardants. I've sat in the pilot's cockpit (of many planes and helicopters) and looked at the array of instruments with wonderment, noticing the deadly words labeling certain buttons and switches.... I've put on pilot suits and floatation devices and jet suits, just for fun! I've also flown on a little wooden bi-plane...ok...I was scared! It was soooo slow and creaky! You can go up in the blimp if you have the moola, or you can ride in a helicopter, or one year, when the amazing Concorde was here, if you had the moola, you could spend 45 mintues!!!!!!!!!!!!!! flying up to Canada and back with a sonic boom!!!!! EAA is always fun for everyone even if you know nothing about engines or fusalage...which can get extremely boring after awhile! But then comes the Harrier! That 's the plane that can hover in place over a spot, then begin flying off!!! UNREAL!! LOUD! AWESOME!! People were screaming in amazement, but you couldn't hear them! Let's not forget the F1 fighter planes that come every year and play Top Gun...aviation IS indeed exciting!

So what does all this have to do with sheep? Well, I'm a horse person....well....I WAS until my little Shetland sheep came along! It was super fun to go inside the seeming mouths of the monstor cargo planes and see how horses are flown around the world. I would imagine the original flock of Shetland sheep that Col. Dailley had flown in from England would have had a ride similar to that...in big boxes perhaps? Don't know...but I did get to see how the boxes are loaded and secured on the plane, and how the animals are cared for during turbulence and such. FUN! You see, I am most into the Dailley flock because that flock went through a ridiculous amount of documentation! Their history is rock solid. The Dailley flock was brought to North America by a man who specialized in international animal transport, of whom his family has carried on. That flock is so heavily documented, there is no doubt they are the real deal, rock solid, unlike other supposed 'imports'. We often think today that all the government paperwork and red tape is such a headache and so time consuming, but after it's said and done, I can see now how advantageous all that documentation has turned out to be! The Dailley flock contains REAL Shetland sheep, with heavy documentation to prove it. And I can easily visualize what that original flock's flight must have looked/felt like! The way their container was strapped down inside the plane. Where the flock's keepers would have to sit, and what the noise must have been like, the take off in such a huge plane, lifting so high in front of you with the rear so low!.

Aviation has created a massive shift in humanity, both good and bad. It is swift and all encompassing. It's exciting, enormously helpful, and...in the case of the year I got to nearly TOUCH the Enola Gay, overwhelmingly, unshakably sad. But I think it goes without saying...nearly EVERY subject, nearly EVERY place I now visit, becomes related to sheep! Those sweet, endearing, powerfully raming sheep! Even airplanes.

This year's big highlight is Boeing's new 787 airliner, supposedly an airship so sophisticated and luxurious that it is exceptional. If you live anywhere in Wisconsin or surrounding states, I highly recommend you get to EAA!

Celebrate Colonel Dailley Day is coming!

2011-07-20T10:27:00.001-07:00

Everyone out there knows how much I love and enjoy genuine Shetland sheep! As a very busy shepherdess, spinner and knitter, I work closely with the sheep and fiber all day, every day. Therefore, I have lots of time to think about how much I enjoy this work!

In the early days, our farm brought awareness to the continent that a small group was working hard to change the history of our breed, in fiber, conformation, expression, and facts about the history. Our concerns worked! Today, awareness of the changes is strong, and more people are getting active to stop our breed history from being rewritten.

Then, our little ram lamb won a surprising victory as Grand Champion Ram, setting off sirens in those working to create new history! In fact each year, genuine Shetland sheep, with longish wavy drapey fleeces (just like our ram) win big...something I quickly learned frustrates that group immensly! Thus, our name was added to their already long list of breeders to hate.

That experience resulted in my design of Shetland Showcase, a multiple day program designed to restore fun in the breed, give new shepherds a forum for learning, and to promote the fiber/textile connection. Shetland sheep are one of the world's premier hand spinning/ hand knitting breeds, responsible for a vast array of amazing textiles...all from a very tiny part of the world! A small organization called MSSBA...the group of people feverishly working to change all of the Shetland sheep in North America to something like a new sheep bred in Scotland proper, promptly took my idea of Shetland Showcase and ran it as something they renamed "Handy Shepherd". It may not be quite what I had in mind, but it did restore the vital link between the fiber and the textiles! It will now be harder to rewrite that history, just as I had hoped!

After that, I turned my attention to the extremely unprofessional and foul language allowed to post on our national organization's chat list. It worked! I've since found out that the list is controlled by the group who wants to rewrite the breed and it's history, so that even if you are a paid member of our organization, you cannot participate on this forum if they so choose. Hence, I worked to fix this problem, causing one of the moderators to immediately lose her position, and the organization began working to regain control of a chat list gone astray.

Meanwhile...

The tension is growing. Last year, that brewing tension resulted in confrontations by those wanting to force change of the breed onto those who love the original, genuine breed. This year, exhibitors of genuine longish wavy fleeces will be needing added security, and I know the festival organizers are trying to figure out just how to protect them and manage a safe environment for all. A serious task indeed.

As our general membership's awareness of these problems grows, and as they grapple with how to safely handle this year's challenges, I've already moved on to the next exciting project before me! One thing I've definitely picked up from the group of change is an absence of gratitude in the flock that first set hoof in North America. Why would they have gratitude for something they don't want to keep?? That sure isn't the case here!!!! We here at Wheely Wooly Farm are very appreciative of the one person who literally gifted these incredible sheep to us! That person would be Colonel G. Dailley of Quebec, Canada. Therefore, I've created a Celebrate Col. Dailley Day, a day to honor him and his amazing work/talents/ and struggles. I've picked October 13th as the annual day we will celebrate him here on our farm, and in our literature, for that is the very day in 1980 when the hooves of the very first flock in North America set down on North American soil. That is a day none of us should forget! I've shared my ideas with some key people, so stay tuned!

Part of my motivation for this annual day of celebration is to express my gratitude for his work, and the ongoing work of his family in maintaining that original flock to this very day!!! Without their sacrifices and hard work, I would not have had the opportunity to discover this amazing breed! The other part of my motivation in creating this celebration is to help keep the facts straight. Last year, I was very bothered by a board member in our national organization skewing the facts way off to attempt rewritting the history! I was also very bothered by the slanderous comments made about the very movers and shakers who worked hard to keep this breed going and growing! That is going to stop right here, on our farm. We have since enjoyed many great conversations with the earliest of people who brought us these sheep, and have learned that my ram, and many other genuine longish wavy fleeced sheep are indeed very special and very real. In fact, I've learned that genuine Shetland sheep in the US and Canada are definitely in the majority, and that they are loved and treasured by their shepherds.

Our farm has already had a profound impact in our country and elsewhere. We treasure this breed, as so many of you out there also do! Our work has kept the changers busy at the end of their fire hoses, constantly trying to drench the flames of truth with new history and control. What they can't seem to gain control of, though, is that thousands and thousands of people just LOVE those beautiful, genuine sheep! Stay tuned!

Shetland Moorit Yarn and Esther, too

2011-07-18T10:14:00.000-07:00

As a busy knitter, I can't say enough about the joys of knitting with Shetland hand spun yarns!

Moorit Shetland Yarn from Wheely Wooly Wink

Shetland natural colors are so amazing! Here is one I love. It's a rich brown with some amber highlights. This rich brown is known in the old norse language as "moorit". Many of the words used to describe the Shetland sheep, as well as words of places are rooted in old norse, for the people of the Shetland Islands relate closely to their Norwegian heritage. For example, the main town in the islands is called Lerwick, which means 'muddy bay' in the old norse language. When I named our ram lamb last year 'Lerwick', I didn't know that yet! It's neat how his coloring is dark brownish/black. Lerwick is the main seaport on the east side of the Shetland Islands where shetland sheep, fiber, and supplies have been traded for centuries. It's still the main port, still busy, today. Our Lerwick's yarn is selling fast, with less than half of it left. Come early if you'd like to try it! Wink's will also be available.

More of Wink's yarn

Notice the natural heathering? His tips were lightened, but he is not a blaeget (another word for describing fiber). Because this is his first shearing, his tips were in great shape, with this wonderful ability to bring highlights into the yarn! Pair this yarn with coordinating colors, or rich blues/greens and it's stunning!

Next, we move on to Esther's yarn. Per customer request, from loving her fleece and yarn last year, I've worked on Esther's fleece this last week. Her yarn has excellent Shetland handle to it, and lovely, rich color with amazing softness! I wish I had a picture of Esther, but I don't. :( Her wool is five inches at the front shoulder, and over nine inches at last rib! Longish, wavy wool works! This ewe had been bred from stock following strictly the 1927 Breed Standard without any add ons. It sure works!!!!!!!!!! Sometimes, it's hard to part with our yarns, for as I work with it, I often think of the clothes I'd make with that yarn. Esther was no exception!

More Esther

This is a closer view, showing again, the natural heathering hand spinning brings to the finished yarn. That heathering disappears with milling. The eye intreprets this lovely color as very interesting and unique...pleasing. Heathering also brings great fun in paring complimentary colors with the yarn!! The fun with Shetland natural colors is never ending, for there are so many possibilities!

Lovely natural colors in Shetlands!

Hope you enjoyed seeing these lovely colors! More will be coming!

Shetland Textile Museum is AWESOME!!

2011-07-15T22:50:00.000-07:00

Go to Youtube and search for Shetland Textile Museum! You'll see all the lovely colors on my sheep in that video! Lots of blacks, grays, and browns with some whites. Notice the beautiful weaving? Again, lots of blacks, grays, and whites with a little brown. Such beautiful stuff!! How could a person ever get bored with Shetland sheep?

Colorful Flock

2011-07-14T13:01:00.000-07:00

So many lovely colors!!

One of the many joys of keeping Shetland sheep is the natural colors! Shetlands have a variety of colors to them: black, dark brown, many shades of grey, many shades of brown, and into many shades of 'white'. This photo shows some of the colors in our flock. We absolutely love the solid colors that fade as the sheep ages. The color dynamics are outstanding and endless fascination for a busy handspinner like me! Our flock is very similiar to the very first sheep that arrived in North America 30 years ago, all solid colors with varying fleeces of longish, wavy wool. (If you've heard all of the original imported Dailley sheep were all single coated or less than four inches in staple length, someone changed the facts.) The white sheep who's tail is facing the camera is not a pure Shetland, though. She's our half Shetland, half dairy sheep, Posie! Notice her cute tail! Longer than a Shetland's, with a little wool on it...makes a great flyswatter!

Anyway, this picture above has some moms, lambs, and one sheep who was not placed in a breeding group this year.

Below is Honey, with her lamb, Hap. Honey's fleece is very popular and sells out fast. Hap is her first lamb. He's growing remarkably fast! Under his mooritish brown color is bright white and a little soft grey in spots, for Honey carries spots.

Honey with ram lamb, Hap

Hap was named for the famous hap shawls, those working women's shawls that were made from Shetland wool for centuries, and worn by crofting women. The women were responsible for raising their families AND doing the work about the croft (farm) in summer while their husbands were out at sea fishing. To this day, many people in the Shetland Islands will refer to themselves as fishers first, before shepherd. I love this photo, for it shows the closeness a ewe shares with her lamb, even when it grows. Lil'Rainbow and Lacey are inseparable, as are Claire the dairy ewe and her lamb Posie. Mona is much more casual with her parenting. She is excellent in her mothering skills, but lets her lambs take on more responsibility for themselves. For example, her ram lamb Whirly (the one born just before a tornado ripped through a community just northwest of us) will occassionally mistake Lil'Rainbow and Lacey as his mother and sister...while Mona carefully watches and waits patiently for him to figure out he has the wrong family!! Poor little Whirly!

Lil' Rainbow with lamb, Lacey. Maewyn in background.

Here is Lil' Rainbow, another ewe who's yarn sells out every year, fast! Her softness and coloring are very unusual and hard to replicate with commercial dyes, for the color is very rich and heathery. Her ewe lamb, Lacey has very soft, longish, wavy wool, too! We are so happy for how this turned out for Lil' Rainbow, the ewe who lost her first lamb to vicious weather on another farm. She has absolutely TREASURED her little ewe lamb! Maewyn, the little moorit ewe in the background is Mona's girl. She also has gorgeous longish wavy wool that is very fine! Lot's to look forward to in next year's fleeces!! (Posie is the white sheep in this photo.)

Finally, who says weeds can't be beautiful?!? Here is a little bouquet that was made for me a couple weeks ago...yes, our peonies were blooming at the END of June...the latest I've ever experienced. Isn't it beautiful??

Next time, yarn and fiber photos! Wink's moorit, Esther's fiber, and others!

Pink peony, asiatic lily, obedient plant, smoke tree, 'pinapple weed', bouncing Bet

Catching up!

2011-07-12T20:28:00.000-07:00

Things sure have been busy around here! Our days are long, warm, and sunny...great grass-growing weather! The sheep have been rotated to a place with shade during the late day heat, plus they've been getting an occasional rainwater bath here and there. Next year's fleeces are growing in nicely. Meanwhile, the lambs are growing so fast, I can hardly recognize who's who! It's not so easy to complete our head count any more, as the lambs and moms blend together, nearly the same size now, even though the lambs will need another year and a half to be fully mature.

The garden is also growing rapidly in this great summer weather. You can practically hear the corn crackle in growth when the heat and humidity crank up. Then a nice shower comes along, cooling everything off. We had such a late, wet spring, I'll just be harvesting our peas in a few days. I don't think I've ever harvested peas so late into summer before.

On a sad note, we lost our ducks. They disappeared in the middle of the afternoon one day. The neighbor's cows were getting chased around lately, and another neighbor has been losing hens, roosters, and guinea hens at an alarming clip. The evidence left behind points to a stray dog. Hmm....think I'll keep the sheepies IN when we go away!!

Today, I was spinning Wink's fleece, a rich chocolatey moorit brown so deep and lovely!! Pictures will be coming soon so stay tuned! Shetland sheep have the most amazing colors in their wool, with depth and richness unmatched by anything else I've ever spun. I'm also spinning lots of Coopworth. Coopworth is a lot like Shetland for me, for both are very easy to spin...a joy really.

That's our quick update...stay tuned for beautiful pictures of lambs, fleeces and all their rich colors!

Why our farm rejects Appendix A

2011-06-30T17:43:00.000-07:00

We are fortunate enough to have in our possession very interesting materials from the early days of Shetland sheep being in North America. An American breeder gave us the materials as a gift when they retired their flock. This breeder never used AI, for it was not available back then. All of their sheep were descended from the original Dailley import. This breeder's flock had a reputation for lovely, soft, colorful fleeces that were treasured and sought after by handspinners and knitters.

First, I will say that the sheep I've seen out of descendants of the Dailley bloodlines are not only super special in a number of ways (esp. because they most closely match the standard), but also, because they so closely resemble Mr. Bowie Senior's tup (young) ram in a photo in the Shetland Museum Archives. In fact, there are many, many pictures showing sheep that are very recognizably like that one tup. Note: Mr. Bowie Senior was the key writer of the 1927 Breed Standard. If that type of sheep was what HE OWNED, and wrote the standard for, good enough for me! I would think he'd have people take pictures of the sheep he was most proud of, or most wanting to protect, or make the best example of what he was trying to describe. I'm so thankful he did that, because the pictures we've seen lately in the midwest of Shetland sheep, don't look anything like that!

But that is just the fun stuff. The real stuff comes from the old paperwork we have. One piece, I will share with all of you! It comes from the Shetland Sheep Breeders Group, a group in Scotland, but not the Shetland Islands. In fact, the contact person's name on my piece of paperwork, is in England (that's not the Shetland Islands, either).

Our 1927 Breed Standard calls for wool to be extra fine and soft texture, longish, wavy and well closed. Great! That's exactly how it feels and looks! The fineness and softness of it is outstanding! Memorable! Very tactile! You can make any number of types of garments with it (which I do). You can knit with it, weave with it, and it spins easily because it's so fine and of such soft texture. It does not felt easily, nor is it of much grease. It is so extremely comfortable to wear, you don't want to even think of taking it off on a cool or cold day. It's extremely light and has just the right amount of ease. It's the hallmark of Shetland fleece. You can see that in the photos...the tup has longish and wavy wool, billowing tips in the breeze (remember...Mr. Bowie wrote that if the staples don't have tips, they are not Shetland!), draping around his body. Awesome photo!

However, I have here a copy of a ram inspection from the Shetland Sheep Breeders Group dating back to the year 1997. Each part of the ram was checked over by someone, with check marks indicating what the ram was like. I read it the first time....head...hmmm...wool on forehead, checked "absent". Hmmm, interesting....I would think a ram being inspected for breeding should have wool up there, for that is what our breed standard calls for, and it's easy to get/keep. Wool on top of the head is considered as important as a correct tail. Ok....eyes....the category "bright , alert" is NOT checked! Hmmm....Shetlands are famous for their bright, alert expressions! It's easy to pass on, and is a defining characteristic. Most other breeds do not have this, and lack of it might indicate either crossbreeding or poor health. I would think a good breeding ram should have proper expression. I started thinking he wouldn't pass.... I read on.....

Body....medium...ok looks good.....carriage and movement, checked "good..." ok (Shetland sheep have outstanding carriage and movement, very smart, strong, bright)....ok....down to fleece.....

Fleece has categories. Is it short (defined on the inspection as short being less than 2 inches, medium (2-4 inches...why would short or medium be on a Shetland inspection...'cause it's not on the standard... but those staple lengths are needed for other breeds....) and long (4 plus inches). They identify long as FOUR PLUS inches. That's good. Our standard, written by Mr. Bowie says LONGISH: that's the word long (4 plus inches), with -ish a suffix meaning not needing to be specific; vague. So longish means at least four inches, to any length of which is not as important. Both short and medium wool allows body definition to be seen, certainly not of beautiful drape, like Mr. Bowie's tup. The inspected ram was marked as having medium wool length (2-4 inches).....ok, hmmm.....the date on the inspection is early May. Since Shetlands have to be sheared near the summer solstice due to their rise and rooing, (if you shear them sooner, you get a mess...) I would suspect this guy was near a 12 month clip. Really? Two to four inches at a 12 month clip?? Medium length (2-4 inches) just before clip doesn't sound desirable for breeding, for longish (four plus inches, of which length is not needing to be specific) is what makes the famous Shetland fleece and variety of textiles. Medium doesn't match our 1927 Breed Standard, Mr. Bowie's tup, the Dailley sheep imported 30 years ago, or my own experience with my own sheep! Hmmm.....I read on. Further down, it says fleece in a new category:

straight, crimped, or wavy. I 'bout fell off my seat with laughter!!!!!!!! This ram was checked as having CRIMPED wool, with handwriting next to it saying '7 crimps' (per inch)!!!! So YES, the people in the United Kingdom DO know the difference between crimp and wave (we all know that already, for they DID write the English language, after all), because they have separate categories for them So YES, the tup in the photo has wave. Yes, our Breed Standard uses the word wave, because that's what they needed to create a Shetland sheep. But YES, this ram was checked as having NO wave!!! If he is a good breeding ram, he should have had WAVE marked, for our breed standard says WAVY, not crimp! At this point, I was thinking surely he would fail....

So this report says this ram had medium wool that was in between 2-4 inches in May, probably just before clip, and that it had crimpy (7 crimps per inch) wool. WOW!!! He didn't have wool on top of his head, and he was lacking a bright, alert expression. Hmmmm.......but wait! He is checkmarked as approved as a suitable Shetland ram for pure breeding, with a signature on the bottom!!! WOW!!! Then, I noticed that written at the top is a handwritten note in all caps that says "RAMS FOR AI" Hmmmm......! That clinched it!

Now, he may have been a nice sheep with a fleece someone wanted to get more of. That's ok! But that doesn't make him a good choice for a good SHETLAND ram. Nor does he match key language on the 1927 Breed Standard, in key areas.

And so there was my really good giggle! Rams in Scotland (not in the Shetland Islands) were passed for having the wrong wool! (...and wrong expression...and absent wool on top of head.)

Hmmm....

So I visited their website (this was awhile ago). They have very nice looking sheep. Many had much better conformation than we've seen in the midwest of the United States the last few years. But something was really super queer to me. The sheep had someone else's fleece on them. The fleeces were skin tight, and the people were dressed in short sleeves. I've not seen (skin tight) in any of the Shetand stuff I've researched, except right after clip/roo when the wool starts growing back out (in the case of rooing, with fuzziness). If the photos were taken a few weeks after clip, why would they do that, when you can't see what their fleece is like? They must be nice fleeces, or they wouldn't be growing that. How would you hand shear such a short fleece?? (Shetlands have long been hand sheared with scissors-type tools, or tin can lids, or even sharp bone knives...in fact, crofters were well known for being slow to accept power plant clipping. Or roo it?? What would be left?? How would you make socks that would stand up with so much crimp?? Let alone stockings that rose above knees?? Would a fisherman wear such stretchy, elastic crimp in his sweaters out at sea, while pulling big ropes through huge pulleys, hauling in a big net full of squirming fish? How would you efficiently hand spin so many short staples when you need to buy food and supplies for your family? Where are the staple tips Mr. Bowie Sr. wrote about? How would those sheep survive 100 inches of rain without some pampering??

So do they roo those "short" fleeces? I'd like to see that! In the midwest, where I live, people who have short wool on their sheep shear in Feb. and March. How can that be? What a mess for the next year's clip!! The only way you could shear so early is if the rise has been bred out. I sometimes get too excited to get a fleece, so I shear it early...as an exception to my usual method of waiting. But I always have to go back and re-shear that fleece because of it's rise, which I do around July.

So back to this ram. He had the wrong wool (length and staple character), he lacked a bright, alert expression (was he crossbred or not feeling well?...in fact, in between his lack of bright alertness and shorter wool, I would have worried he was possibly ill if the breeder said he was purebred?), and he lacked wool on the top of his head. My point? Other groups have more modern day production dreams/needs/markets. They've designed their ram inspections and specifications for those needs and markets, as this inspection clearly shows. That's ok! But that doesn't make for good Shetland sheep breeding in an organization devoted to preserving and protecting (the group I belong to, NASSA) the genuine Shetland sheep; the sheep responsible for the famous textiles over hundreds of years, the sheep we want to raise on our farm. We drool over those extra fine, soft textured, longish and wavy, well-closed fleeces, and we appreciate how little feed they take to produce! Since Appendix A had been around for the breeder of this inspected ram, is this what it produces?? Is this how the sheep get evaluated?? We've been so happy with the instructions on conformation, expression, gait and fleece the 1927 Breed Standard, without Appendix A, has given us. The Standard, standing alone in it's amazing simplicity, WORKS!! I've learned so much more about spinning and knitting because of the fleeces the Standard alone gave me. By the way, the Shetland Sheep Breeders Group wrote Appendix A (outside the Shetland Islands). That's why our farm (and our breeding program) rejects Appendix A.

Facts don't change.

2011-06-29T09:45:00.000-07:00

Shetland sheep have not changed, although there are people out there trying to change them. Shetlands are a very diverse breed full of variety. That's a fact. They exhibit lovely, long, wavy, flowing fleeces. They are small when placed near a typical meat sheep, and even smaller yet when sheared. However, they are not tiny, miniature, or fragile. Shetlands are very personable sheep that are easy to train. They thrive here in the Midwest, where I live.

If someone tries to tell you a longish, wavy fleece is a "throwback", they are changing the facts. If someone tries to tell you to "cull" or not register or breed such a lovely animal, they are changing the facts. If someone tries to tell you Shetlands have short, crimpy fleece head to tail (or even just short, crimpy fleece), they are changing the facts. This breed has always been, and will continue to be a breed with short wool under the neck with delightful crimp, longish and wavy wool midside, and long, usually without crimp wool along the britch.

If someone tries to tell you that long fleeces on a Shetland are coarse, they are changing the facts. Long, soft, wavy fleeces are the very definition of the fleece of Shetlands. It is a pleasure to work with, and to wear. Extra fine, soft textured, longish, wavy wool is what has produced the many types of famous textiles that have made this breed famous. If someone tries to tell you super short, super crimpy wool was used to make such a huge variety of textiles, they are changing the facts. If someone tries to tell you Shetland fiber was only used for delicate lace shawls, they are changing the facts. Delicate lace shawls are only one tiny component of the Shetland textile story. If someone tells you Shetland fiber was never used for household items such as table cloths or rugs, they are changing the facts. If someone tells you Shetland fiber was not used for weaving, they are changing the facts. If someone dismisses the importance of the Shetland textile history and facts, they are changing the facts.

If someone tries to tell you our breed organization, NASSA, was set up to protect and preserve super short, super crimpy, consistent head to tail fleeces, they are changing the facts. NASSA was created out of worry that the Shetland sheep would face the same crazy alterations other species have been subjected to here in the U.S. Protect and preserve means being sentinels for extra fine, soft texture, longish, wavy, and well closed, with bright expressions and good conformation. That means protecting and allowing those lovely long, drapey fleeces to flourish.

If someone tries to tell you all the Shetland sheep on the Shetland Islands today are real Shetland sheep, they are changing the facts. What fact about the Shetland Islands is most true? There has been much change. If someone tries to tell you their market is the same as our market, they are changing the facts. We have freedoms. They don't.

If someone tries to tell you people hate longish, wavy fiber or that it's "scratchy", they are changing the facts. Long, drapey fleeces are the hallmark of the Shetland sheep. Extra fine, soft texture, longish and wavy produces garments you don't want to take off. People love both longish, wavy fleeces and the garments made with them, adore them both, and treasure them both. Extra fine, soft texture, longish and wavy has been a huge contributor to the surge in handspinning, handknitting, and weaving here in the U.S. Shetland sheep and their hallmark longish, wavy fleeces capture people's hearts for life. We are extremely lucky to have them here in North America.

Fishy book blunder

2011-06-28T03:03:00.001-07:00

I've recently been reading a new book out called The Fleece and Fiber Sourcebook: More than 200 fibers from Animal to Spun Yarn, written by Deborah Robson and Carol Ekarius. Inside, is a review of many kinds of sheep, including Shetland. Upon reading the Shetland section, however, I have some serious questions!!

1. Why is the reader steered to a private individual's website for information about Shetland sheep with no mention of our national breed organization?? Seems fishy to me that the reader is not given the information to find NASSA, where accurate and credible information about the sheep can be found, especially since the title of this book uses the words "sourcebook".

2. Why is a breeder description of fleece used that doesn't use Breed Standard language? Why is said breeder not identified in the segment? The breeder describes Shetland fleece as silky and crimpy. Our standard demands longish and wavy. (Neither the word silky, or crimpy is used on our standard) Fishy. Using incorrect words misleads the reader.

3. Why is there no mention of the Doanes, Col. Dailley's daughter-in-law, Linda Zuppan and her vet, or others who are CREDIBLE, reliable sources for Shetland sheep? (People who will go down in history as largely significant to the breed's early years on the North American continent.)

4. Why are the staples as short as sheepy arm pit wool and really crimpy when our standard demands of us longish and wavy fiber?

5. Why do the authors claim matte fibers felt easily? Our breed standard demands of us extra fine and soft texture, longish, wavy, and well closed. The scales on Shetland fibers should be close together, fine, and smooth at the arc of the scale, hence soft texture. These qualities make Shetland fiber hard to felt. No genuine Shetland fiber should felt easily.

6. Why is the emsket lock brown?

7. Why is there virtually no mention of the importance of Shetland hand textiles to this incredible handspinning breed?? Hummmm, fishy, for you cannot separate the fiber characteristics from the rich hand textile history!

8. Why are Shetlands referred to as British sheep, when Brits and Scots had nothing to do with the development of the breed?

9. Why do the authors refer to beaver coats as coarse when our breed standard demands of us extra fine and soft texture, longish, wavy, and well closed? Longish and wavy is very soft, fine, and a pleasure to spin, knit, and wear.

Food for thought. Remember, Shetland Sheep: Rich in History, Rich in Textiles!!

Wink, Swifty, Hap, Posie, and WILD sheep!!

2011-06-27T18:16:00.001-07:00

Time sure flies! The last three weeks have been very fun and busy. We wrapped up shearing, washed fleeces, and prepared for our sales season, plus tried our very best to keep ahead of the weeds, trimmed hooves, mowed, mowed, mowed, mowed.......add a little traveling and well, I'm sleeping good at night!

Wink here, in the photo below, is a really pretty moorit color. Shetlands have such outstanding colors! I had him sheared with a clipper since his wool is too short to handshear decently. The skin line was a brilliant moorit rich chocolate brown that we all drooled over. He is SUCH a nice ram, but not breeding stock. His baa is distinctive...very deep, raspy, and short. Here he is waiting in a stall for his shearing moment.

Winky waits...

For those of you new to our blog, this is our farm dog, Swifty (purebred Border Collie). He's just one year old now and a HUGE delight to have around!! He brings life into new perspectives of joy. Here, he continues to watch the sheep even though he's hot and needs a quick rest in the shade.

Swifter waits...

Next, comes Wooly Bear's Posie! Can you believe she's out of a little black/grey Shetland ram?!? Gives me giggles. Her wool is going to be so much fun, and she's growing very sweet. Another WILD addition to our flock! Such a reputation to have! Posie is easy to take pictures of, always watching me for an opportune attention time.

Posie waits...

Let's see...who's next? Oh! That's another WILD sheep in our flock! Hard to catch! Watch out! Whew!! Oh Maewyn! You're so unsocial! Please, don't tear my jeans! Notice her LOVELY longish and wavy fleece? Nice woolly poll, too.

Maewyn doesn't wait...for attention!

And last, comes little Hap. He is sooooo cute! Hey spinners out there, did you see that awesome article in the latest issue of Spin Off magazine about the Soay sheep (Summer 2011 pages 86-91)? Check out the fleece samples (p. 89, especially sample number 2)! You can definitely see where the Shetlands get the fleece characteristics with soft, fine undercoats and very distinct hairier tips to shed the constant onslaught of rain. I again (this happens all the time) found that what the campers are saying about Soay sheep to promote their cause (of a shiny new shetland sheep) is unfounded in other areas! Notice that the Soay fiber is NOT super crimpy, super short OR super consistent??? It's (GASP!) longish and wavy!! And HAIRY! Is it possible that hobby farmers in America, who don't spin, or knit, know soooo much more about the Shetlands that they are credible redefining the breed and making everyone else breed for that?? Or should we believe all the rest of the well-researched, consistent information from the rest of the world, over a period of hundreds of years that reiterates over and over, Shetlands are what we've HAD in the US for the last 25 years (well, before AI that is)? I'm going with history, not the camp! I'm not culling longish and wavy, I'm keeping them, because that's what's right. Longish and wavy is beautiful. The camp and their changes will either fade away or start their own breed organization, and we'll all be able to get back to normal.

Back to Hap! Hap reminds me of the little lamb in the photo on p. 86, bright, sweet, with upright horns and a beautiful Shetland expression! You can see Shetlands do NOT have huge, wrinkly noses and super broad heads, but rather more refined and expressive faces. You can see the alertness. I think Hap has excellent Soay/Shetland expression, something we strive for here on Wheely Wooly Farm. Hap is out of a spotted ewe (my only sheep with spotted genetics, so to say). He was born with moorit tips, but just below that is lots of light whites, creams and some light grays over his hips. Upon his first shearing, he'll look totally different!

Hap waits...

...wait....what is Hap waiting for? For the pasture to be under control! I can testify, reed canary grass brings FAST growth, soft fleeces, and very healthy lambs, er, if you can find them that is!

Happy summering everyone!

Twilight goes to school!

2011-06-06T20:24:00.000-07:00

Ok, THAT was fun!!! I LOVE doing these educational presentations! The kids were GREAT and were full of awesome and meaningful questions! And little Twilight was a GREAT ambassador for the breed tonight...on this, his very first outing.

I was worried about how it would all go. Turns out, today was very hot and humid...which snuck up on everyone. The poor sheep were really heat stressed out on pasture today. Thankfully, we set up the ram pen near trees so they were fine. The trees are outside their fence with plenty of root clearance, yet the way the sun moves across the sky, the pen is nicely shaded all afternoon.

But that's not where little Twilight was today. He was out grazing with all the other lambs and ewes...and Wilber. So I had to make a decision. It was just too hot to put him in a kennel for the ride in. It's a short ride to the school, where the meeting is held (5 minutes), but in this heat, it'd get to be too much pretty quick. So I decided to halter him and let him ride by the air conditioner under my feet. First, I haltered him, then let him explore that out on the lawn. He wasn't too fazed by it! The key to success here was that I was there the split second he was born. He has come to know me as the friendly human who is always there for him. I can catch him, pet him, and he follows me around. So I knew he'd be just the right candidate for tonight's job! Besides, he's just plain cute!

Wheely Wooly Twilight goes for a ride, to school!

Not fazed! He rode along very nicely. I talked to him, but I don't think he needed that. The cool air from the air conditioner did the most convincing that all was ok!

When we got there, our presentation was bumped up to the beginning so that he wouldn't get too hot in the building. We were grateful for that. As we walked into the gym, the kids instantly took to him! But I had asked that they all wait, and I'd give them a chance to pet him in the presentation. What GREAT kids!! They all listened so great! So we went up to the front and I gave the presentation. Twilight was positioned around lots of new stuff...not fazed! The floor was slippery. Not fazed! He quietly stood by my leg and looked around. He didn't leap or get worried or even baa. He just waited patiently for what was next. Look familiar? Wooly Bear (Twilight's Rampa) did this with me at the Sheep and Wool Festival MSSBA show a couple of years ago. Must run in the family! (giggle, giggle)

Ready Twilight?

The kids all came up to the front of the room, very excited to see him. Some sat directly in front

of us, others sat on the floor, on the side. They learned about the Shetland Islands, the sheep, the fiber, and I spun for them for a few minutes. It was a jammed packed presentation as I had only 20 minutes to give it! The kids were super fascinated with my spinning wheel! They asked lots of great questions on how it worked. Even the adults were asking great questions! Out of the whole crowd, questions were asked about the wheel, sheep, fiber, yarns, knitwear, and the islands. I never dreamed we could get so much content and dialogue in 20 minutes! I also passed around several skeins of yarn in different natural colors for everyone to see (as well as the Cat's Paw lace scarf and a crocheted flower). One of the skeins was dyed bright green from Kool-aid. I briefly joked that if we mix Kool-aid in the sheep's stock tank, their wool turns that color when they drink it (I meant to say like our tongue's do when we drink that stuff...but I forgot that part). Got some good giggles out of that one! Then I told them how I really make the yarn green. More giggles!

Then, I taught them how to "pet" a ram, and why. No hands on the head or horns! EVERY kid listened and did as we had asked! GREAT KIDS!! The whole room got to touch his fine fleece. Twilight never twitched or squirmed. He seemed fine with it. I think one Mom wanted to take him home...

This is what a Shetland sheep feels like.

We ran out of time long before we ran out of questions. The whole thing lasted 24 minutes...only four minutes over. Not bad! I hated to see the fallen faces when time ran out yet arms were still up, but other important business needed to be discussed as well. As we walked out, I let Twilight "walk". He has virtually no experience on the lead, yet he walked out as though he's been doing it all his life! (giggle, giggle) We took it 20 or so feet at a time, then stopped for positive reinforcement and a look around. He seemed so grown up! Once home, we put him back in the pen with the ewes, and all was back to normal! Thanks 4-Her's for being such a great crowd and listening so well! Hope you learned a lot and had fun! We really enjoyed sharing Wheely Wooly Farm with you!

Thanks Tovah Martin!

2011-06-05T22:03:00.000-07:00

Sheepy people seem to have had an interest in Tasha Tudor, that famous illustrator who was a very interesting person. Tasha's illustrations were absolutely enough to draw people in; lovely violets, primroses, oak leaves, garlands, forget-me-nots...and so many others! Yet that wasn't all with Tasha. Turns out, most of us would have barely known what Tasha Tudor was like, until Tovah Martin and Richard W. Brown came along. If any of you have read Tovah's books on Tasha Tudor, you'll know what I mean.

I've always wondered what Tovah Martin was like, since she did spend a lot of time working on her Tasha books and others with garden themes. I've seen her on some shows doing a little segment on something garden. She must like gardening. It was written in Tasha Tudor's Garden that Tovah had Saanen goats. I thought she sounded like an interesting person in her own right.

Well, wonder no more! The spring issue of Country Gardens has a small, but nice write-up about Tovah, her home, gardens, and goats. What a pleasure to read about her plants and design dreams. I especially liked the round veg. garden. Is that a solar panel on the goat barn??

If you liked Tovah's writings on Tasha Tudor, don't miss out on this little article about Tovah herself! Thanks Tovah, for sharing a little about yourself!

Our 2011 Schedule!

2011-06-02T22:00:00.000-07:00

The lambs are growing and grazing, the garden is in and already weeded a few times, and most of the flock is sheared. I've waited with three sheep to let them get past their rise before I shear them. I have lots of beautiful yarn coming off my wheel so we are very excited about the upcoming sales season!

So let's start with summer! We'll be attending the same markets as last season so we hope to see you there! Watch for our booth. We'll have yarns from many of the same sheep as last year, plus lamb fleeces from last year's lambs as well. We'll be at these markets nearly to the holiday season, so start thinking about your projects ahead of time! Last year, we had yarn going out for relaxing knitting by the lake in July,' holding onto summer' knitting in August, and then the frenzy of fall, holiday and gift knitting of the latter part of the year. Take out your pattern books and get your projects lined up! Remember, only a couple of skeins can make many kinds of projects! If you'd like lots of skeins for a sweater project, let me know. It's good to look over our fiber and order that ahead. And don't forget that Shetland fiber dyes beautifully! I'll have more of the lighter colors which are great for dyeing, but I will also be bringing many natural colors that are so beautiful mix and matched!

I will also be doing a couple of demos this year. The first one is next Monday already at the 4-H meeting. This will be my second time around on request of the club and our leader. We expect nearly fifty people, so be sure to arrive early for a good seat. I guess it's my turn to give my 4-H speech! Just kidding! The second demo is in the planning stages and will be announced at a later date, so stay tuned for that. I may also plan a demo day at each market. Do you think you'd like that? Let me know.

We'll also be at the Wisconsin Sheep and Wool Festival, but probably just as festival goers! Last year, I accidently double booked myself for the Saturday of the festival, something I was not happy that I did. I really wanted to see how my Shetland Showcase (as so many of you know now...stolen and dubbed "Handy Shepherd" by the MSSBA people) would go. Turns out, my sales at my other event were double over my Sheep and Wool Festival sales the prior year, so I think we'll be sticking with our locations from last year, especially since many of you followed us up from the festival the prior year! Plus, with the hostile confrontations that occurred at the Shetland show last year (on Saturday, when we weren't there) I've seriously worried about whether the Shetland part of the festival is a safe family activity. (edit: actually, hearing about those confrontations clinched it for us. We won't be there!) I know we were threatened after our Grand Champ win in 2009, and a different family faced confrontation last year, not to mention threats of lawsuits to others, and angry behavior towards the judge. Considering the anger across our nation, and how quickly things can escalate...like in the case of one now well known congresswoman, it just makes me uneasy when people get that upset over SHEEP!! The 2010 board for our organization really tried to slam dunk changes to our breed, and while many of them have now been firmly voted OUT, unfortunately, those people are still trying to force their idea of a shiny new Shetland sheep on the membership, even though the membership has clearly voiced they want to stick with genuine Shetland sheep. It doesn't help when one confrontation was by a board member's family, and it doesn't help that a MSSBA show planner has been asked to step down from one of their national organization duties for failing to carry out their duties faithfully, with impartiality. How can an organization function in a situation like this?? I know there has been talk of extra security by festival planners in the Shetland barn this year because of last year's confrontations; rightly so. I hope they do, and keep everyone safe.

Needless to say, it's NOT what I had dreamed for Shetland Showcase! To make matters worse, everybody has been reminded of the true character of this group in that they stole my idea, renamed it, put it on, but never credited me for it all, even though everyone knew it was my dream to restore our breed, organization, safety and fun, and give us new opportunities to enjoy our sheep!!! That didn't earn the MSSBA people any publicity credits either! It's embarrassing. I know that the hard working early people who created our national Shetland sheep organization, and built it up to where it was just a few short years ago never imagined all this could/would happen, as they've voiced in our many conversations. The organization they worked so hard to develop, share and grow has changed. I'm so glad so many members have gotten back involved to try to take back our good name!! However, we clearly see it's going to take time and work. So we'll see you at the festival, but not on Saturday, not this year anyway!

I was also asked to participate in, and sell yarn at an historical event near our farm. I considered this opportunity pretty heavily, and felt honored to be asked. However, I knew there was someone else who would be more suitable for a historical re-enactment, for she has a wheel with all leather parts and has the right outfit to wear. I really hesitate to do historical re-enactments for two reasons. First, Shetland sheep were not known to be in or utilized by people here in my area back in early times. Secondly, I really struggle with people seeing spinning wheels and yarn design as something people only did "in the old days", thinking it's no longer useful to us today. Nothing could be further from the truth! Spinning is just as useful, needed, and fun today as it was in times past!! I'm TIRED of being cold all winter! I'm sooooooo glad to have my cozy and sophisticated Shetland stuff to wear!! And from what I'm hearing from you, our customers out there, you're glad spinning hasn't been lost, too! I LOVE the photos you've sent in!! So fun to see where the yarn goes and the joy it brings you!

So that's a pretty good overview of our 2011 season so far, as some planning takes being closer to the event to finalize. We really hope some of you WILL be brave enough to create some wonderful Shetland things and take them to the Showcase! It may have a new name but it's up to all of us to make it into what I have dreamed of all along, a place where smiles return and we go back to enjoying and celebrating the genuine Shetland sheep in all it's facets! Remember! Shetlands are rich in history, rich in textiles! See you at the markets!

More Cat's Paw and hodgepodge

2011-06-01T10:45:00.000-07:00

Whooaaoooooaaa! We're getting absolutely blasted by days of ridiculous wind. Good thing Shetland sheep don't blow away. In fact, they're unfazed. Oh, but my poor little tomato and pepper transplants! I have them protected, sheltered, and watered as needed with warm water from the stock tank....but poor little plants! I still haven't planted my front planters, for the wind has just been too much for sweet little flowers. In the meantime, Annabelle (our other sheep dog) just has to suffer. Her contribution to the garden is to give up her favorite window seat for transplants.

So back to Cat's Paw lace for a moment. Did you know the word lace can be used in two different ways? First, lace can be used to describe a kind of knitting. I like to call it...making holes in your knitting on purpose! Lace knitting is open, airy, and warm to wear, contrary to a hole-filled impression.

Cat's Paw Lace...the Shetland Island's version, with added trim

Secondly, the word lace can be used to describe gauge in a yarn. In some parts of the world, lace gauge nearly requires a microscope to see it. Things made from this weight of yarn are stunning. Here in America, most lace knitting is of a larger, but still tiny gauge.

My Cat's Paw lace was made using the traditional Shetland Island pattern and is constructed with a light worsted two-ply yarn. I wear it under the collar of my blue and black coat, now designated as nice barn wear (thanks to Swifty's tooth). This scarf is strong enough for chores, yet very light and soft. It goes dressy with a change of coat. That's what I like about Shetland yarn!!!! It's like a chameleon...always taking on the color of the situation. Need dressy? It does that! Need dining out in cold restaurant? It does that! Need something for church? It does that! Need something for the drafty meeting room? It does that! Need something for the barn? It does that! Need something for a gift? It does that!! Need something for that grown son, or son-in-law, or hubby, or brother? It does that (well, maybe not Cat's Paw :)!! Need something for your boss that will be cherished? It does that!! Our yarns come in many natural colors and would make GREAT fiber for Cat's Paw lace! (That is...THE genuine, real Shetland fiber.)

If you'd like to make something using the Cat's Paw pattern, you can do a search on the internet for a multitude of variations of this pattern. Many knitting dictionaries also carry some version of this pattern. Cat's Paw can be the whole piece, or the pattern can be embeded into a piece with other designs in it.

Now for the rest of hodgepodge. Swifty came in a couple of nights ago reeking of something awful! My first thought before I knew what was going on, was something's on fire! Gunpowder came to mind....but it was just my dog! It was sooooo strong, we thought he'd been sprayed by a skunk...perhaps the one currently dining on our chicken feed in early evenings??? No, it wasn't that. Well, it's been so warm and frogs are everywhere, did he get a toad?? So we shooed him outside and rinsed his mouth out as best we could. What a good boy he is!! He seemed to understand. What we forgot in our worry was that...well.....now WE reeked!!!!! The smell was now all over our clothes! Showers! Laundry AGAIN!!! By morning, his reeking had greatly subsided. I had fretted all night...should I call his vet? Is he poisoned? Drooling? Foaming? Vomiting? Convulsing? Uncoordinated? Passing out? Nothing, just reek! By the afternoon, the smell was nearly gone. So we know it wasn't that skunk....we never found a dead toad.....and Swifty is VERY grateful to go in the safety of his kennel and boy!...he won't go near the woods! Problem solved, never identified.

Dead Chicken?

No, no dead chickens! That's Mable, rolling in the dirt. Sure feels good! I'm very glad chickens do their own laundry.....and that's Penny next to her. I adore Penny (and Mable, too). Penny is six years old now, and still lays some days. She's a beautiful hen. Mable lays beautiful eggs, too.

Mmmm! Early spring grass!

And finally, grass! The sheep love their pasture! This is what it looked like here back in April, as some in my flock gather to graze.

I'm sorry....

2011-05-31T08:22:00.000-07:00

Let's see....powerful whacking machine, full of ability to survive in tough conditions that makes humans shudder and run for cover, defender of girls he keeps safe from roaming intruders, defends to the death. Noble, strong, attentive, a leader, watchful, feeling, short-lived. Rams are amazing creatures. Yet, for all their strength, determination, and aliveness, I can't help but think their horns, when viewed from the back, are just plum cute. I'm sorry.

AARRRRGHHH!!!!

2011-05-25T13:53:00.000-07:00

Sigh....

Cat's Paw Lace from Wooly Bear

2011-05-18T21:25:00.000-07:00

THIS is what all the hard work with sheep is all about! Here is a beautiful lace piece I knitted last winter. It's worked on a circular needle with a light worsted weight yarn. The yarn is very special, for it comes from our Grand Champion ram, Wooly Bear. Wooly Bear doesn't have a fancy show name, because he was very carefully selected and named just for our farm. When we plucked him out of someone else's back yard as a lamb, I had NO idea he'd give our farm so much!!! He has become the cornerstone of Wheely Wooly Farm, both in fineness and softness of fiber, but also in conformation, gentle temperament, and for the awesome lambs he's now giving us!

Wooly Bear's Cat's Paw Shetland Lace

The wool for this piece comes from Wooly Bear's black lamb's fleece, sheared in spring of 2010 (I sheared him). Then, upon preparing the wool for spinning, I spun most of it in a nice light worsted (about 3 or 4) two-ply yarn, for at the time, I wasn't sure what the fiber would be like...I just knew it'd be soft! I didn't have a project in mind, but I knew I wanted to make something that would become a keepsake in our farm collection. Ok, THAT'S intimidating!! After spinning the yarn, I carefully prepared it for safe storage, and began to ponder...and ponder....and ponder what I would do with it! I was really intimidated by that, even though I frequently and quickly knit up lots of other Shetland yarn I spin into many things. But this one was different.

closer view...

The piece measures eight inches wide by about 41 inches long, just perfect for wearing in the open neck area of my winter coat. It's long enough to keep out cold wind, but not long enough to be bulky in the body area under my coat. The width is REALLY nice when the wind is stinging! Lace is notorious for being exceptionally warm, and this scarf has made me a full believer in that!!

The pattern is thought to be the original one used by the women of Shetland. It is designed to have flow in knitting, so that it can be knitted on the go, without having to think much, or having to look back at a pattern. I found that to be a hidden delight as I got going on this piece!! It truly has flow. It would not be hard to walk along with a pony on my arm while knitting this....just like they did....

The cat's paw pattern has many variations to it that can sometimes be subtle. It is GREAT fun trying out these variations!

My scarf has four repeats of the pattern in it, with some garter on each side to prevent rolling. On the bottom, I knitted a separate border trim on straight needles, just for fun! I had first learned this trim at the beach with my toes buried in warm sand, with Iris's yarn (my favorite ewe....no wait! They are all my favorite ewes!!) The trim was simply sewn on to give the ends a bit more weight. The weight helps keep everything in place while I knock out and smash yet more frozen water from water buckets in winter....sigh. I like the line of transition inbetween the cat pattern and the trim, for I think it looks more professional and finished, with clearly marked boundries where the patterns break.

Even more fun, I was not the only one to work on this piece. I love to get others interested in knitting real Shetland wool by asking if they'd like to knit a bit. One person did, a young family member who is currently taking tough classes at a high ranked private university. After studiously working on it, and finding a whole row quite exhausting, she declared, after another row or two, that this was harder than anything she'd worked on in her classes at school!!! Giggle, giggle! I hope she was hooked! After handing it back to me, she watched with much interest, as I continued the knitting. We followed the chart together so she could see what I was doing. It was another fun moment of sharing that I think we'll both remember for a long time to come.

I hope you enjoyed seeing Wooly Bear's Cat's Paw Shetland Lace, and reading about the special memories that come with this piece! Now it's your turn! Give Cat's Paw lace a try!

Wheely Wooly Splash

2011-05-16T22:27:00.000-07:00

Oh little Splash, you're soooo cute!! Do you have something sweet sliding off your little nose? This little lamb sure surprised me when he was born! His expression is always bright like this, and his fleece is stunningly fine, soft, and lustrous! He was the first to chew cud at 28 days old, so he's maturing faster than I can almost comprehend.

Wheely Wooly Splash
Wheely Wooly Lerwick x Gwendolyn (Ps 23 Enya)
Shetland ram lamb who'll be registered

He is calm (!) but very playful and friendly. He loves to come to the fence and greet people...fools ya into thinking he's Mona's lamb, but he's not. He's actually out of Gwennie! Gwennie is a very good mom with lots of milk...! This little fellow loves people, and the other lambs. It's so fun to watch him out on pasture with the other lambs! He's fast and loves to leap! When visitors come by, Splashy is often the first lamb to the fence, offering a curious greeting. We first instruct all of our visitors on how to "visit" with cute ram lambs. Petting on top of the head is not allowed! To greet our ram lambs, we practice chin scratching and back patting. Speaking of visitors....lambs sure attract them!!

Splashy?...where are you resting, Splash?

This little guy has fiber that is just like Lerwick's when he was a baby lamb! It's definitely longish and wavy! Can't WAIT to see how this fleece grows out! The black in the fiber is definitely black to the skin, but I imagine he'll fade up the grey side as he matures. Grey is a nice color to have for it looks great on men, matches nearly everything in their "wardrobes", and it's fun to dye. His conformation is rock solid and square, with a very nice level topline, just like Lerwick. His horns are growing out beautifully so far!

Wait a minute! Splash!! Your sleeping in the FEEDER!!!!!! Notice his ear? It's half white, with black on the upper half! The rest of his body is all black. I've studied and studied the Shetland markings, but Splashy doesn't fit neatly into any one marking...because the white is sliding off his nose!

Is that really comfortable Splash??

Here's another look at his markings, this time from the other side. He's a few days old in this picture.

Oh little Shetlands sure love their rocks...err...moms! Gwennie was promptly sheared, and her fleece is all spun up now, just off the bobbins today. Some lambs climb on the moms, others don't. Gwennie's fleece this year was the most incredible fleece she's given us so far. It was incredibly soft, and as always, long and wavy! It was a dream to spin and a joy to ply because of it's softness. All of our fleeces are coming off in GREAT shape this year! Maybe because of the long, hard winter and cold, cloudy spring? Not sure, but it's really nice to have nice fleeces.

Splash climbing on his mom, Gwennie. Gwennie looked so big, we thought she might have octuplets in there.....

Hope you enjoyed learning more about cute little Splash! And thanks everyone for the compliments on Lerwick! Much appreciated!

Wheely Wooly Lerwick Grown Up

2011-05-13T12:07:00.000-07:00

Here he is! Lerwick is one of our lambs from last year, so he's a yearling now. He's also the proven sire of Hap, Splash, Lacey, and Twilight...four of this year's lambs (Lerwick covered ALL his ewes!). We are nuts about this young ram! (Well, we have certainly been happy about ALL of our lambs, but we knew when this guy was born that we had something special!)

Wheely Wooly Lerwick, born April 2010
Ch. Wooly Bear (Rocky Swamp Disco) x Mona (Ps. 23 Dewdrop)
Registered Shetland breeding ram

Lerwick is named for the main seaport in the Shetland Islands, where most of the knitted goods trading had taken place over the past several centuries. When Dutch herring fleets came in near the solstice, waiting for the first official day of fishing to start, the port was very busy. Shetland woollen goods were traded, taken back to ships, and dispersed all over the world, so the reputation of Shetland fiber became well known. The Shetland sheep in America today are descendents of those famous sheep (Lerwick is descended from almost all Dailley lines, but Island Skeld was Mona's grand sire) and we are VERY thankful to have them!! I couldn't wait to name a ram Lerwick...for I had planned it for a few years! So nice to see a dream come true!

Lerwick excites us because he follows the 1927 Breed Standard so closely! As you'll see in these next photos, he has many excellent strengths. We wish to follow the breed standard as closely as we can, for I believe that to have the REAL, GENUINE sheep and fiber, you have to produce what SHETLANDERS produced in those famous heydays!! I'm certainly not qualified (or desiring) to change their specifications, so we stick to what they deemed important.

First, notice his fine, crown of glory horns!! While Shetlands can be polled and that's fine, we really like the horns. They are beautiful on him, and make him seem larger than life in full fleece! Also notice that he is woolly on his poll and cheeks. He exhibits wonderful bright, perky Shetland character in his sweet face, without looking wrinkly like merinos or having a mean or dull look. His eyes are very bright as is his personality; perky, alert, and bright. His gait matches his expression...very smart! His expression matches his sire's, Wooly Bear.

Yes, he's vocal, too! ALL of my animals are vocal...my life history. They all know they can tell me things. Lerwick's baa is very distinctive. It ends on an up-note.

His body is actually very, very small! I sheared him after this picture was taken and I think there's only about one third sheep left! He has length in his neck, a goofy topline right now (he's only half grown), but it's historically broomstick straight, and he's square on all four legs. His hips are nice and wide, but not high. That's important in passing good structure down to ewe lambs. His fleece is of excellent length! It drapes over his body so beautifully! His neck wool is shorter, and his britch wool (over the back hips and down outer rear legs) is not too coarse. The legs appear as a good foundation under his body; strong, fine, but not delicate or overly thick.

Check out that perfect tail!!
The hallmark of good breeding.

Lerwick's tail is perfect! Notice also, that he has good bone; not too fine, not too dense. He is a very agile, strong little guy, who can get out of the way of a charge like a twinkle-toes.

Extremely fine, long, silky (a word I really don't like to use), soft, wavy fleece!!

Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy! This is where I get really excited!! His fleece is my dream! Long, wavy, fine, soft, and dense! It was sooooo dense, it took me three times longer to shear him than Wilbur. (Wilbur is a piece of cake to shear!) We select Shetlands for solid colors for ease of spinning. We LOVE the spotted Shetlands, but it's much more time consuming to spin spotted fleeces properly for sale, unless the spots fade out. Lerwick is solid colored. It remains to be seen if he'll fade. We love faders for the awesome dynamics the fleeces give you year to year. When this fleece came off, he was as black at the skinline as can be. Wooly Bear has begun to fade and has some grey in his fiber now, but Lerwick's dam Mona is still black. Maybe Lerwick will remain black? We'll see.

Lastly, both Wooly Bear and Mona have extremely friendly, gentle temperments. Mona is an excellent mother, birthing out twins this year seemingly effortlessly during hail and a bypassing tornado! We rely heavily on Mona as she is our flock matron. Where she goes, everyone goes. She's also our farm mascot, being the first to greet visitors, and last to say goodbye. Everyone remembers Mona! So far, Lerwick takes after his sire and dam in friendliness! He too, is gentle and calm.

Hope you enjoyed learning more about Lerwick, and seeing how he has grown!

Oh THERE you are!

2011-05-10T22:34:00.001-07:00

Oh, Wilbur! We knew you were in there somewhere, for we heard you tell us so...a lot!

Doesn't that feel sooooo much better, Wilbur?!?

Ta Da! All done.

Wheely Wooly Hap

2011-05-05T22:31:00.000-07:00

Here's a very friendly little fellow! Meet Wheely Wooly Hap, a little ram lamb. Every time I look at him, it seems he's smiling! He has a very calm demeanor about him, and he's very friendly (did I mention that yet?). No surprise!

Wheely Wooly Hap

Wheely Wooly Lerwick x Honey
ram lamb who'll be registered

Hap is a very honored fella. He is out of Wheely Wooly Lerwick, an outstanding Shetland ram born on our farm last year. Lerwick has outstanding longish wavy fleece that is remarkably fine and soft. That fineness and softness comes surely from our Grand Champion Ram, Wooly Bear, who is Lerwick's sire. That makes Wooly Bear a Rampa! (giggle, giggle) (Can you believe it? Time sure flies, doesn't it!) Lerwick also has outstanding conformation, and Wooly Bear's gentle temperament, which he obviously hooved down to his little lamb, Hap.

But that's not all! You see, Hap has Grand Champ. blood on BOTH sides!! Honey is descended from Grand Champion Bluff Country Patriot! After winning the big title several years ago, Patriot went on to sire many lambs. Thus Honey has descended. She, too, has passed on a very soft, fine fleece that has more crimp than many of my other sheep. I think that's where Hap gets the crimp he is wearing. The yarn pictured on the right side of my blog is from Hap's Grand-ewether There are many pictures of Honey's fleece in my blog archives. I could make it easy to read them, but I haven't learned how to pull them up yet!

lambs are: Twilight (left), Maewyn (center), and Hap
ewes are: Sweetie (Twilight's mom, left), Gwennie (center back), and Honey (Hap's mom)

Little Hap was born moorit with white. So is he a white sheep with moorit markings?? (giggle, giggle)....or is he a moorit sheep with white markings? His mother is spotted, which is where he get's his color. His fleece is very crimpy, and nearly white at skin line! His mother's line are faders, so I think he'll mature out much lighter than he is now. I think his grown up regalness is already beginning to show in this next picture...

I can just picture it...his band of ewes behind him, grazing, while he regally looks out over the expanse before him, front hooves confidently on a rock outcrop... checking for any rams down in the distance that might move in on his group. OK! OK! So I'm romanticizing a little here, but he DOES look regal here, doesn't he? I can just see his crown of glory horns curling around....ok, ok! I'll stop!

Hap is named for the hap shawls that were once very common on the Shetland Islands long ago. Hap shawls were the everyday shawls worn by working people as they tended their families and crofts (farms). The Shetland Island Museum Photo Archives are full of pictures of women wearing their hap shawls. We dream our little Hap will grow up to be as useful as those hap shawls everyone wore back then!

Since Honey is a first-time mom and therefore, we cannot be absolutely certain what she produces, we will wait to see how Hap's horns grow out. But as you can see, he is a great lamb in all other respects, and with Wooly Bear's and Lerwick's outstanding horns, we aren't too worried.

Here's what his other side looks like.

No, no, no! Little lambies! Don't do that!!! Isn't Sweetie a good mom! Wait a minute! Sweetie's not Hap's mother! Sweetie is always so gentle, she takes care of all lambs as if they were her own. Just after I took this picture, I was running up to the house for my shears!

Hap on Sweetie's extremely fine fleece this year! Twilight (also guilty!) peaking over Hay Cafe's stock tank.

Hope you enjoyed seeing more and learning more about Wheely Wooly Hap!

Ok, I haven't figured out how to attach old posts here, but if you want to see Honey and her fleece from last year, look up May 6, 2010 titled Color, color, color! and May 21, 2010 titled Fleeces. They both have good pictures of Hap's mom's fleece. Honey was born very dark brown, faded to honey-color as a bieslet (collar of color around her neck), then faded to creamy fawn, just like her own mother! Notice in the photos the lovely lilacs that were blooming on our farm last year in early May! Not this year! It will be at least two weeks yet, maybe longer before we get lilac blooms!

Wooly Bear's Posie

2011-05-04T19:26:00.000-07:00

Wheely Wooly Posie
Ch. Wooly Bear (Shetland) x Claire (dairy ewe)
unregistered ewe lamb

What a surprise! I couldn't believe it when this little lamb was born! Meet sweet little Posie, who's mother is not Shetland, but a dairy sheep! Oh, have we been having fun!!!!

Last year, I purchased a wonderful dairy ewe, whom we named Claire. We got the name Claire from the person who was hired last year to promote and organize dairy sheep in our state! When we told the REAL Claire that we named a sheep after her, she was FLOORED! Fun! Thanks, Claire, for letting us use your name for our dairy sheep! And thanks for your help!

Anyway, fun, fun, fun!!! Our Claire is a very docile, easy sheep. We've been enjoying her immensly. The plan was to breed her to Wooly Bear, to get lambs, and thus milk. I had NO idea what lambs out of a Shetland sire would look like...so we waited anxiously to see what would happen. What happened?? FUN!!!

Little Posie is a very sweet little ewe lamb. We worried that since Claire was, of course, raised on milk replacer, if she would be a good mother. Would we have rejection? The answer is, NO! Claire is an outstanding mother who must have read the manual over the winter! She is very attentive but relaxed, talks to Posie a lot, and keeps her close. They sleep very close together all the time.

You can see Posie wants to be just like her Mom!

I sheared Claire awhile back, since dairy sheep do not roo. Her fleece was washed right away and is now mostly spun. It was over five pounds of crimpy fiber fun!! Since we are in the business of wool, we took care with Claire's wool since she arrived on our farm to get her fleece in shape for spinning. The staple length was five to six inches and very crimpy, and much softer than I thought dairy sheep wool would be. The yarn would be GREAT baby yarn, for it practically bounces itself off whatever it's sitting on. I cannot wait to dye some, and knit some, and crochet some.....

Note her little tail...not too long!

One of the things I worried about, was will the tails need docking? I really, really, really didn't want to do that! Another happy event! Her tail is longer than a Shetland's tail, but not by much, so we're gonna leave it as is. Besides, having no tail is...well...indecent!

What do you think of all this sheepy fun and excitement, Swifty??!??!!?

Sigh!
Ready for my help yet??

LAMB PICTURES!

2011-04-28T19:16:00.000-07:00

Here they are! The long awaited lamb pics are finally up! Hope you enjoy a quick look at Wheely Wooly Farm's 2011 lambs!

Wheely Wooly Splash
Wheely Wooly Lerwick x Gwendolyn (Psalm 23 Enya)
Extremely fine, soft fleece with gorgeous lustre!! Softest fleece I think our farm has produced.
We LOVE the white marking sliding sideways off his little black nose!!
Maybe for sale?

Twins "Whirly" and "Maewyn" were born during the tornado and hail storm...info follows...

Wheely Wooly Whirlwind - he'll add a whirlwind to someone's farm someday!
Ch. Wooly Bear (Rocky Swamp Disco) x Mona (Psalm 23 Dewdrop)
Very fine, soft, dense fleece as well! Beautiful face loaded with Shetland character.
VERY friendly and frisky, playful, social! Has that awesome Shetland gait!
Nearly every time I look, he's in mid-air with heels high, whirling, so he's aptly named!

Wheely Wooly Maewyn
Ch. Wooly Bear (Rocky Swamp Disco) x Mona (Psalm 23 Dewdrop)
She's very frisky, soft, fine, strong, social, playful, and sweet!!!
Also has heels mid-air nearly everytime I look.
Not for sale.

Wheely Wooly Lacey...although won't be registered
Wheely Wooly Lerwick x Lil' Rainbow (not registered)
Beautiful little ewe lamb with very fine, longish and wavy fleece!
Lil' Rainbow is not registered due to lower teeth not on pad, but jaw normal.
Lacey is so far free of this toothy grin.
Not for sale.

Wheely Wooly Lacey side shot...when she was first born, I didn't want to disturb them together. So I took a zoom shot with the camera and was surprised to see fleece color! Note her perfect jaw. Very fine, soft fleece and a sweet, playful personality! She'll produce GREAT lace!

Wheely Wooly Hap
Wheely Wooly Lerwick x Honey
Spotted ram lamb with brown "circles" around eyes. Very docile fellow! Playful, social, but calm demeanor. Crimpier than the others. Maybe for sale?
Wheely Wooly Twilight...our little keeper!
Wheely Wooly Lerwick x Sweetie (Psalm 23 Dolly)
Cute, cute, cute! Tiny, soft, frisky and full of himself! Likes to butt the water pail and make it tip over! Also likes to jump up on the straw bale and play king. Follows me around.
Not for sale.

Hope you enjoyed our very fast whirl through our 2011 lambs...but that's not all! We have one little surprise yet to share, but you'll have to wait 'til next time!

Seven Cutie Lambs!!!

2011-04-28T14:32:00.000-07:00

Whewwwww! What a Whirlwind (giggle, giggle) the last two weeks have been! Our farm is still standing, and we have seven extremely cute, lively, social little lambs! This year's little lambing season has taken us through one tornado, one two -day near blizzard that blew in eight inches of heavy snow right in the heart of lambing, and multiple wind and flooding events! Our sub-pump is still working, there is a frog croaking in the basement, and we have one tree leaning, but all is ok! The trek to the barn goes like this: splosh, splish, splosh, splush. YUCK!!! So tired of the mud! The farmhouse floors are constantly in need of sweepingmoppingsweeping, and the laundry pile stubbornly refuses to be gone. Even the ONIONS are sulking!

Speaking of mud, we have one very silly Border Collie puppy that sails right through, err, over the mud, and two horses in gunk up to their knees (which DOES NOT stop them from ROLLING in the muckiest spot...sigh!!)! This mud is NOT good for cute little ponies! So they are stuck hanging out mostly in their stalls, twiddling away the days....and two VERY, VERY happy ducks! This has been a VERY ducky kind of spring! Life is GRAND if you're a DUCK! (I'm not.)

So back to lambs! This is the first time I've had to update everyone, and I know many of you are anxiously waiting for pics of the lambs! (I only have about a thousand of them!) The camera batteries are charging right now, and I'll put them up hopefully today!

Wait til you see what Wooly Bear gave us!! Again, he covered all his ewes and the lambs are very high quality Shetlands (plus one extremely cute surprise!)! They are strong, friendly, playful, and CUTE! And we are very proud to be raising GREAT fleeces on these lambs and GREAT temperments! Lerwick also covered all his ewes and also produced great lambs! Wait until you meet Wheely Wooly Splash! Splashy is the softest lamb our farm has produced yet! And he's terribly cute, and very friendly! He's Gwennie's lamb, a large single. While we did have twins, I think we specialized in large single lambs this year! (giggle, giggle) Lil' Rainbow effortlessly gave us a lovely little ewe lamb...Gwennie-style...in between checks! (Wheely Wooly Lacey) I found them on my check, resting side-by-side and oh so cute!! Rainbow has proven to be an EXCELLENT mom, who follows her sweetie all around the playground. Now the lambs are old enough to be racing about in lamb preschool. FUN, FUN, FUN! Rainbow has realized she can relax and have coffee at the Hay Cafe with the other moms now and not keep such close watch. Honey had a cute ram lamb (Wheely Wooly Hap, named after the working hap shawls of the Shetland people long ago.) who will fade to fawn I think, and he's spotted! Sweetie had a VERY cute little ram lamb (Wheely Wooly Twilight) who is loaded with sweet personality! (He's actually a powerful whacking package currently all tied up in teddy bear cuteness! Wait til you see his little EARS! Sooooo cute!!) He's all black and has excellent fleece and conformation, too! Sweetie is pure sweetness, also a great mom, and her lambs are so special!

So in assessing our lambs from last year, we've come to see our breeding stock is meeting our breeding goals outstandingly! It's a scary thing for me to try to set goals, then spend so much time carefully selecting stock to breed. I hemmed and hawed a lot.... It took us a few years, but the payoff was worth it! We are producing just what the standard demands of us, which is soft, fine fiber that is longish and wavy. Our secondary goal was to produce ultra friendly sheep who are personable. We've got that (giggle, giggle)!! We are handling all of our ram lambs for future halter training, while teaching them how to be good when they grow up...for they WILL grow from little cuties to powerful whackers in time. :) We want all of them to be used to people and handling while keeping them respectful, with our expectations of them always present in their minds. We feel this creates a safer ram to have around the farm, while keeping instincts, which are needed, in place. We also expected no less than beautiful horns on our rams, something else we've gotten! We will be selling two or three (can't decide) ram lambs this year, and they will be sold with a horn guarantee, something you won't find at many other farms. We do have a waiting list for lambs, especially good breeding rams, so we'll know more if anyone is available this summer. If you're looking for outstanding Shetland fiber, great personality, ease in handlability, great personality, crowning glory horns that are guaranteed, outstanding health, and breed standard conformation, you'll find it all in Wheely Wooly Farm's lambs! Pictures coming ASAP!

Wheely Wooly Whirlwind

2011-04-16T23:37:00.000-07:00

Lambs! Photos coming! Day 149 passed with no action, giggle giggle! Mona however, was definitely acting ready to go. We stalled around, waited, checked, waited, watched, waited, checked....

All signs were a go, but no action! Am I imagining that she is ready?? Finally, on Sunday, we invited company over that we haven't seen since last year. Catching up is good, and it WAS a beautiful day! We sat out on the front porch in short sleeves, listening to birds and talking. The sheep were fine and no signs of ANYTHING! Later, we cooked a nice meal and ate together, all while keeping an eye on the radar. Bad weather might move in, and no one wanted hail damage on cars. As we ate, the storm started brewing up. Clearing the dishes, the radar started getting pretty busy... the wind kicked up and worry set in. DH decided to run out and feed the rams before the storm hit. He ran into the shed to get the hay when the storm just blew up out of no where fast! It started gusting, pouring, and the radar really blew up! As we watched from the house, we could see a vortex getting reved up JUST NORTHWEST of our farm!! Oh boy!!! We agreed to divide up. I'd run out and tell DH with some company going with me, while one stayed in the house and went to the basement with others! As we put this plan together, DH BURST into the house and yelled "LAMB!!! LAMB!!!" What? Now??? He was gone, running to take care of the barn as the storm hit. BASEMENT EVERYONE! I'LL RUN TO THE BARN! Then, DH was back! "TWO LAMBS!!", then he was gone again. As we checked the radar, the vortex (tornado) was bearing down just northwest of our farm....was it going to strike here? The radar showed it's path as going right over us! As I threw the door open to run to the barn, I suddenly heard the tornado sirens going off in town!!! OH BOYYYYY!

Long story short...Mona twinned just as the storm hit. They were all fine. We were all fine, hiding out unsafely in the shed as the storm hit. It was deafening! I've never heard wind like that. Then hail! We had just pulled our guest's car into the shed when the hail hit! So Mona's little ram lamb was given the name "Whirly" or Whirlwind by our guest, and her little ewe lamb is Wheely Wooly Maewyn. Whirly is black, just like his full brother Wheely Wooly Lerwick!! He's beautiful!! Maewyn is dark brown and also beautiful! They are really cute! And Mona is a GREAT mom!

The whole adventure made us realize how important it is to review our emergency planning, and our priorities! DH was in the shed, not knowing of the vortex (tornadic activity) on the radar. I wanted to get out there and tell him so we could all take cover. I figured Mona would be a good mom, but I was worried about her being in with all the other ewes. In a time like this, Shetland sheep can handle it! We should have run for the basement.

Considering the damage all around us last weekend, we came out of it damage-free, but with a renewed sensitivity. Storms are serious business. What were we thinking! Shepherds need to be in the basement! You begin to realize how much you love your sheep and want to protect them. You realize how fast you can be pressed into making decisions that could have big consequences. You realize that sometimes, you don't have time to organize a plan; that everyone should just do the thing they all know they should do!

Five more ewes to go! Tick, tick, wait, check, watch, check, tick, tick....

...it's snowing horizontally today....tick, tick, check, wait, watch...

End note: turns out, that day produced more tornados in a single day in April than ever before recorded, thus smashing records for our state.