A few new sheep

I wasn't able to get ALL of the photographed but here are a few:


Sheltering Pines Fleur de Lis. She is a grey katmoget smirslet yearling that Stephen didn't breed as a lamb. She is out of Underhill Thelonius Monk and Justalit'l Too Unique.



This is Sheltering Pines Nessebar (which is an ancient Bulgarian City). She is a grey katmoget ewe lamb out of Sheltering Pines Starry Night and Sheltering Pines Morgan le Fey. She is a stunning ewe lamb and I'm so excited to see what she can produce!



Sheltering Pines Myra (which is an ancient greek city) is a beautiful fawn katmoget ewe lamb out of Sheltering Pines Starry Night and Canosia Farm May. May is mioget so Myra should carry the modifier. She is also quite stunning and Stephen will slap himself next spring when he sees her lamb out of Jazz :)



Here are two photos of Sheltering Pines Burma (another ancient city/country...Stephen's theme this year...ancient cities/countries). Burma is a natural colored "English Blue" pattern. He is out of the Carry House/V2 line and is fine fleeced and quite the center of attention. I'm excited to see what he will produce with some Shetlands and the BFLs in the future!

Thanks Stephen! More photos of the others sooN!

MFF, good times

This post won't have any pics. Just a few stories or tidbits of my weekend.

I left Wednesday morning at 4am with little White Pine Rye in the trailer, with 9 other sheep that found a new home! I met Sue at 8am in the same Target parking lot I always meet Mary Ellen in! After a quick exchange and a washing of the hands, I was back on the road. Stopped at Cynthia's house to pick up a ewe for Stephen named Alafair and then continued on. Little did I know that there would be triple the price of a normal 'toll' with a trailer in tow. One way was almost 30 dollars instead of the 8 or 9 dollars it would normally be.

I got in to stephen's just after 10pm Eastern Time (9pm my time) and we left the girls in the trailer over night after feeding and watering was done. We sat up and talked a lot before I had to crash. driving wears a person out!

The next morning we got up early and headed up to Brenda and Marks' farm to see the BFLs, and take my girls back to stephen's, along with some hay and straw for the show. They had a full trailer as it was! What started out as a short trip, was over four hours long! My head hurt afterwards having learned so much in such a small amount of time. We were able to look at tons of photos from their trips to the UK, were able to see all the yearling rams, their mature ram Titanium (who is amazing by the way) and their lambs, both show and stock. All amazing, all nearly cookie cutters of one another. Then out to the ewe pasture. I immediately found Blackwater Dee who last year had me falling in love with her.......and then we found the mother's of the ewe lambs I purchased. Thanks again for the great fountain of information and education!!

Stephen and I were off again to his house and I couldn't wait to see his sheep. He has amazing conformation and the structure of the fleece is very crimpy with little britch wool. He has come a long way in a few short years! You should be very proud!

I was overwhelmed again and my head hurt from all the new sheep that I had seen that day. Juliann arrived shortly after and we all agreed to go out for a few drinks and some great food at an English Pub in Plainville. After a ton of hearty laughs and good times we headed back to get a good nights rest before an early morning the next day.

Bright and early we headed to the fairgrounds to unload our sheep, get the pens ready and say hello to everyone who was getting there! Chris and Alan Greene were already penned in, as were Steve and Carol Densmore. Shortly thereafter the Ludlam crew, Gail Former, Carol Bator and the Lelli's all arrived. Soon it was mass chaos with people getting their pens ready, sheep unloaded, cleaned and the bonds of friendship renewed as everyone caught up with each other.

Friday night a large group went out again to a restaurant called Sam's Place and after we pigged out on good food and drinks, we headed next door to a neat bar called 747, where we all had amazing desert! Some of Stephen's spinning friends came along and MAN are they a HOOT! I wish they all lived closer to me ...I'd be out with them every night! :)

Saturday AM we were up again early and prepping the sheep for the show, pulling VM out and cleaning heads and legs. I was not surprised to see that the judge (same as last year) hadn't learned anything and was still placing, larger, longer fleeced (primitive) and coarse sheep in the first spots, instead of the FINE wooled shetlands of more moderate size. The ram lamb class was a surprise as she placed two smaller sized rams (smaller is relative to the size of some of the other lambs) with nice crimp and luster. After that it was all downhill and she even mentioned that although they were coarse, were of the proper fleece length. Sheesh. To each is own, right?

Of interesting note, both the Champion Shetland Ewe and Champion Shetland Ram were LARGER by at least 1/4 again as big as the CH Icelandic ewe and ram. Amazing considering Icelandic are supposed to be much larger. I couldn't believe it, I have truly seen everything. I'm not saying that you shouldn't or can't raise bigger sheep but when they are bigger than the Icelandics, isn't that saying something?

Saturday afternoon I finally picked out my picks for sheep at Stephen's and we loaded them up and got ready to go to the Ludlam's farm for the hog roast. Heather and Mike are two of the nicest people I've ever met! So inviting, considerate and fun to hang out with! Mike makes his own beer and it was truly wonderful! The pig was great and I even got to go out and see their sheep in the pasture. They have an amazing set up for the sheep and their pastures were amazingly green and healthy. To only have a fraction of that green right now here in the dust bowl! It was nice to chat more with Theresa Gygi about fleeces, sizes, production and such, as well as see Gail Former and Maureen Koch, Tim and Jen, Carol, Laura Matthews, Elizabeth (one of stephen's beer drinkin' spinning friends) and Char, the friend of Stephen's who breeds Cormos. Heck she even bought a BFL fleece of one of my lambs I had just purchased......for next spring...amazing huh?

Sunday morning I got up extra early and got to the fairgrounds to load up my sheep. Most everyone else was sleeping or not at the show yet and i quietly loaded my guys and headed out. Stopped at Cynthia's again to pick up my girls and I was home and unloaded by midnight sunday.

Of an interesting point or two:

One of the spinner's in Stephen's group claimed " Its not bad for Shetland"

A fiber mill gal asked what breeds I raised and i said "Shetlands and BFLs" her lip curled when I said Shetlands and immediately went into hysterics when I told her BFLs. Is there something wrong here? Shetlands are to be the softest and finest of the British breeds, not the BFL whose main purpose is to be a terminal sire, not a fleece animal! The BFLs I have, have microned lower than I bet 90% of all North American Shetlands. That is truly sad. Let's correct that everyone! I want people to WANT to spin shetland, not be forced!

On a stupid note: I stopped in Rochelle, IL at a Wendy's to get some food. The pop machines did not have mello yellow or Vault, but they had other coke products like diet coke, coke, etc. I asked her if they had mello yellow or vault and the girl behind the counter who looked to be my age (28 for those wondering) looked at me in disgust and disbelief and said' UM NO! We only have coke products here!"

I had to stop and shake my head. I was too tired to fight it. Honey that's why you are working at Wendys............

MFF, people

Meeting of the minds: from l to r : Juliann Budde, Maureen Koch, Gail Former, Carol Bator, Tim and Jen Carrey (spelling could be way off on that last name!)


Here, Theresa Gygi steps in to listen to what is going on!


Jen, Juliann and Maureen



Here are Stephen and Juliann outside of the restaurant we passed (as we were talking yet AGAIN!)



This was taken in the dark as we waited for a 5-way traffic back up in a small town called Plainville, MI. I kept saying we needed to do a Chinese Fire drill but no one else wanted to play :(

Back seat are Juliann, Stephen and Karen Valley. Middle row are Jen and Gail. Luckily Tim and I were not in the photo ;)
I didn't get a ton of people photos, but wow did I laugh a lot! My throat and jaws were sore from laughing so hard and so often! I wish MFF was all year round! How fun would that be?!

MFF, Shetlands

Why yes, there were Shetlands too!


Here is my great friend Juliann Budde of Lil'Country showing off one of her boys :) She has amazing smooth polled rams, single coated, soft, crimpy and structurally correct! WOWZA!

Her smooth polled fawn kat and moorit boys ready for the show!

All serious in the ring.....

Pair of lambs...can't remember if they were rams or ewes...sorry!


One of Carol Bator's gulmoget ewe lambs. I was really hoping to get one of them but just didn't have any more trailer room! Honest! I'm glad that Juliann got her....at least she's "still in the family"

MFF, farm visits

Stephen Rouse is an amazingly funny man. He makes me laugh constantly! He is also very talkative like myself and before I knew it I was asking him repeatedly how to get to Mark and Brenda's farm. Every turn, every road, he would say " I'll remember it when I see it. TRUST ME". That is now my new official slogan! He used it all weekend for a host of things, it was too funny.

Next time Stephen bring your reading glasses! :P


Here is a nifty feeder that does both hay and grain. These are a few of the lambs that they are holding back.


A few of the ewes at Lelli's farm. I believe the one with the navy tag is the mother to one of the ewe lambs I purchased from them.


My favorite ewe, that I fell in love with last year, BLACKWATER DEE is shown here in this photo. She is just to die for!



Here is Brenda with her ewe flock trying to find the mother to one of my lambs that I purchased. You can see in the background the sheep barn with a 'tack/feed' room, five pens, a grooming/shearing area and in the center, a big hay area. It was a great set up!



These are the three ewe lambs I ended up taking home with me. The smaller one in front is a twin from a yearling ewe who fed them both herself. She is out of an F1 CarryHouse V2 and high percentage UK. The natural colored ewe is out of GlennFiddich who is now owned by Carol Bator, and the other white ewe is out of Drambuie, an F2 Barleas Titus (I believe).

The way home was the same thing.......Stephen and I were too busy talking and we ended up missing our turn :)

Once we got back to his place I was dying to see his sheep!


Here is his flock of what seemed like 400 sheep running for what they thought was 'grain'. What it really was, was a ploy to get them into the barn so I could see them. Shortly after this photo it torrentially rained and we ran them into the barn so they wouldn't be soaked. You NEED to biggify this photo as to see the line/steady stream of sheep coming in.

Here are two BFLs with Justalit'l Black Lambo, who I purchased from Stephen for the AI this fall. She is seven.


A group photo of some of the sheep at Sheltering Pines


Here is another group photo. The natural colored ram lamb on the right is my "Burma" aka Bubba that I purchased from Stephen. Ok traded. I brought my little Rye to Michigan in trade for the BFL ram lamb.

This manure spreader is alot like the push fertilizer spreaders we use on our lawns. THis however is pulled, and when the wheels turn, the prop spins and throws the maure out. Its so cute and little. Reminds me of when I was little playing with my little machinery and Tonka toys. Stephen is in the photo...like a proud dad LOL

MFF, BFL post

This is the sheep building at the Allegan County Fairgrounds that puts on the MFF every year. Its a nice sized building with plenty of pens, ring space and spectator seating.


These two yearling rams belong to Beechtree Farms. Handsome devils aren't they?



Two photos of the Junior Ram Lamb class where Mark and Brenda Lelli, Steve and Carol Densmore and Carol Bator are in the ring showing their boys.



Here you can see "Lance" and Carol with matching shirt and halter followed by matching shirt and halter Carol Densmore :)


Here are Steve and Carol Densmore with Steve's daughter and friend showing the four boys that they brought for sale, and to show. A nice consistent bunch of boys!


I'm too tired to 'tweak' this photo, but here is Carol and Steve in front of their farm sign. Its a very amazing sign. I need something like that!


here is Brenda Lelli of Beechtree Farm getting one of the yearling ewes ready for the show. I do believe she went on to win Champion Ewe? Brenda, refresh my memory. And for the record....I assumed the fleece was more coarse due to the type of fleece, I didn't say it WAS :P Its very soft!



Here is BFL lane, where BeechTree, Crosswind and White Pine were all bedded in the same area.



My two ewe lambs that I purchased from CrossWind Farms (Densmore's) before they are shown. You can tell they are stressed! HA!

Flock tested negative!

Just a quick note to let everyone know that my entire flock of sheep tested NEGATIVE for OPP and Johne's. My last four Pygmy Goats (which are for sale) have tested NEGATIVE for Johne's, CAE and TB. I didn't suspect them to have any of these things but its great for peace of mind!

Buddy, 1998-2008

This is a long time in coming. He passed away last Monday and I sadly have had no time to post this.


This was the first day I brought him home. I was 18 and it was the summer after we graduated from High School (1998 for those of you checking). I was at the fair displaying my pigeons and I was in the "children's petting barn". At that time they were still having kittens and puppies in there for give away and Buddy and his brown/white brother were absolutely adorable. We had just a month earlier, had lost our 11 yr old Border Collie, Sammy from cancer. He looked a lot like Sammy (who was a girl) and the entire family immediately fell in love with him. I remember having to decided if Buddy or Charlie was a better name. In a democratic way, we voted 3-1 in favor of the name "Buddy".


Buddy at 7 years old on a crisp fall afternoon.



Here is an undated photo of Buddy. I'm guessing he was younger, probably 4 or 5 years old. This was the time of the 35mm cameras, no digital!


Sadie absolutely adored Buddy. He had never had another dog on the farm and was always trained to chase off 'intruders'. While Sadie was part of the family, he never really liked her, but put up with her and she tried her hardest these past 4 years to try and get him to like her. Even the day he passed, she was licking his ears and face and he actually let her. He must have been that much in pain. SHe followed him everywhere, just like a shadow and he dealt with it :)



Sadie again with Buddy after her attempt to face lick ended LOL.


Here is buddy the night we decided to put him down. In less than four days, Buddy had gone from acting like a 5 month old puppy, to refusing to eat, excrete, or move. We found out after a morning at the vet's office that he was anemic, his white blood cell count was 3 times higher than it should be and that he was bleeding from a burst tumor near his spleen and it had gotten into his lungs and stomach. My sister and Grandpa put him in the garage and he had made it to the barn, mostly likely to die quietly away from the family he loved. It was with a tremendously sad heart that I watched the vet and her daughter help to ease his suffering. Moments after he passed, I went to pick him up, just like I did the day I found him sleeping in the petting barn with his brother, but this time I carried him over to a hole that had been dug, next to our last dog, Sammy. In the peaceful rain, in the fading moments of the day, I buried my Buddy, my pal, the who I laughed with, played with, and yes, got mad at. But at the end of the day he knew that he was loved by many, and that he loved us.

I'll see ya when I get there my friend........

Leg of Lamb

So I sent four yearling rams to slaughter last week. They called me with their weights and asked me what I wanted to do with them. I asked the lady. They make NINETEEN kinds of Brats! I thought there were three, beef, turkey and regular LOL. See how much I know?

How much are your hanging weights when you butcher yearling rams? Anyone? Mine were about what I expected as my boys are on the smaller side of the scale. 23-26# hanging weight.

I'm saving 4 leg of lamb roasts and the rest is getting turned into 'fresh' brats and breakfast sausage (bulk, that i can make into patties)

Sounds exciting! I can't hardly wait!

Catching up

Well let's see:

I get up early in the morning to judge my first County Fair exhibits for 4H and Open classes for all types of pigeons. Its my first county level judging assignment, although I've judged Breed Club shows and panel judged several larger shows both here and in The Netherlands. Those kids can be TOUGH, so I hope I do ok.

I'm trying to coordinate some flights for sheep to go to Alaska AND to Georgia. It doesn't help that we are all so busy!

My sister is due with her first child next Thursday. That's the day I'm supposed to leave for Michigan and MFF. I keep getting this guilt trip from my sister, and my entire extended family. Hey it isn't MY kid, and if it weren't a dog/sheep/pigeon show weekend I'd be there! I can't help it that they moved her due date up THREE weeks!

We have another 600 square bales up in the hay mow. It is now around 1000 bales. That should last me an entire year if we don't have any more pasture to graze or drought happens.

I've been halter training my three Shetland lambs I'm taking to Jefferson. They are my older lambs, my favorite ewe lamb Centennial, the gray katmoget, crimpy, single coated girl out of Jazz and Chloe, and a ewe lamb named Sheridan, an intermediate fleeced, very correct structurally, black krunet out of Jazz and Shasta. The ram lamb is Lyons, a shaela krunet with a nice set of horns to him. He's all but lost his krunet now, but his fleece is SO crimpy all the way to his britch. He and Centennial are so tame without the halters on, but try to lead them and they lay down! They do stand nicely when tied to the fence; chewing their cud or trying to graze the grass. Its only my 2nd day, so I'm not expecting the world. Its my first time ever halter training LIVESTOCK so its an experience for all of us!

What have you been up to? I've been checking all the blogs lately and everyone must be really busy. I've been checking, but not leaving any comments...who has time for that?! :) lol

Enjoy your night!

Got any beef?

I have a wonderful yearling bull calf available immediately for purchase. He has been raised as a twin, and been on mother's milk for most of his 12 months of age (so meat is more tender). He can be housed here until transportation to the locker plant or to your farm is made possible. I was planning to eat him myself, but money is tight right before the big trip to MFF and I need to make sure I have gas money and money to pay off sheep with ;) I also have several yearling heifers that would make great brood cows, or steaks, whichever your preference.

Please email me privately at gramsay@arvig.net