Farm visits on route to a DOG SHOW???

A week from tomorrow I head out towards Gettysburg, PA for our Cardigan Welsh Corgi Club of America National Specialty. Over the coarse of 9 days there are herding, tracking, agility, rally, obedience, sweepstakes, conformation and a special "champions only" show called the "Megan". It is going to take me two days to get out there, and two to get back, so what better way to 'kill two birds with one stone" and invite myself to stay over at several sheep friends' farms? >:D

I have NEVER been to any of these farms, so I am VERY excited to be able to evaluate sheep, fleeces and spend a lot time talking sheep and maybe a little (or a lot) of wine :)

I will be heading right to Little Country Acres where I will be very eager to see my good pal Juliann Budde. I've only seen a handful of her sheep at the shows, so I will be excited to see her and her polled stock. I think Juliann has some serious goals with her flock and I've always respected how much work she puts in to her sheep and I think her sheep should tell their wonderful story with their conformation and polled genes.

Friday morning I will leave and drive all the way to Glen Rock, PA to Potosi Sheep Farm and the home of the wonderful Kathy Davidson! She is a premier breeder of the Bluefaced Leicesters and she has a small flock of Shetlands. I'm bringing her a ram and a ewe from last year to help her get her soft, silky, crimpy fleeces that she is hoping for, after having spun a few of mine that she took from me a while back. I'm even thinking we'll take a quick trip to Baltimore and maybe even D.C. as I've never been that far east before, or at least not that far north, and east. I'll stay there a few days and then head to the CWCCA National (which is why I'm really going remember!) I have two intense days of agility and rally planned with Sadie and I'm taking the slough of puppies I have (ok just Ell's litter of 7, and Ava) to have them evaluated by all the long time breeders and my mentors. Should be fun!

On May 2nd I will leave bright and early and head to Under The Son Farm on my way 'home'. I'm very excited about this visit too as I have purchased a ram from here, Arapaho, who is the darkest red moorit I've seen, and he is quite lovely. I'm excited to talk pasture management with them, stocking rates, mules, third tier market lambs, marking fleeces, breeding stock etc and going over sheep. I'm hoping to see something i absolutely must have.... I even get to accompany the Gygi family to church, which I think should be great! I love going to new churches!

I should be gone a total of 11 days, which I'm sure by day 11, will feel like 30. I still have no new lambs and am going to try drastic measures to get them to go into labor before I leave :)

I hope to have a lot of photos taken and I hope to come back with a TON of new knowledge, history and good laughs about the Cardigans AND the Shetlands :)

If you are on my route perhaps, let me know and I'll try and sneak a few hours to visit with you....

Lisa? Kelly? Sandy? Just a few names that come to mind that live out 'east' of me....