First BFL Baby

It's a girl....and a big one too. First baby BFL of the season. 24 hours old in this picture.

Triplets

Madeline (yes, all my sheep have names) my oldest ewe began our 2011 lambing season with her first set of triplets out of a BFL ram. It's so great to go out and find a ewe with lambs all cleaned off, nursing and content in spite of a temperature of 3 degrees. I love not being needed.

Herc

Another foot of snow . No lambs but I trudged to the barn to find my llama dead in the large feeding area. Herc was old and getting frail and thin so the bitter cold winter we have had was bound to take him. Of course the ewes stood right on top of him while I fed and tried to figure out a way to remove his body. Getting an old plastic sled and Tim, we rolled Herc onto the sled and slid him into the barnyard to the awaiting tractor. It seemed like a less than dignified end for a guy that took his guard job seriously and never asked for special attention.

Everyone that drove past the farm looked for him and visitors always wanted to walk Herc on a lead until he got close and his imposing size changed their minds. He walked elegantly for those brave enough to try and spitting was something he seldom did. I loved the way he checked each newborn lamb in at birth until he determined it was part of his flock and could stay. If I forgot to close the storage hole in the barn wall Herc would get his nose in there and pull everything out.. .records, pens, medications etc. I never figured out wether he was bored or just trying to be funny. And he was great at finding "not quite" hooked gates, opening them and taking the whole flock for walks on Potosi Road. Roundup time was done easily with a bucket of grain but I swear I caught Herc smiling.

Last night as I left the hole in the wall open , a tear dripped down my face and quickly froze. Herc's spirit will be in the barn with me as the lambs come, but I'll miss him looking over my shoulder wanting to be first to smell the newborn.

Getting Ready For Lambs!

It's sunny but oh so cold and windy today. Working outside the barn is rough on the skin so Tim helped me get lambing pens ready in the barn for expected Bluefaced Leicester babies next weekend. Hopefully they will wait until the arctic blast has past but lambs seem to like to arrive when it's super cold. I'm usually more miserable than they are. My former farm helper, Sam, got me a new hypothermic lamb blanket that has a microwaveable lining that heats to 110 then tucks into the blanket wrapping around the cold lamb. Hopefully I won't have to use it, but it sure will be good to have it since every lambing season brings at least one or two cold lambcicles.

The Shetlands love this weather. This morning they were all lounging in the newly fallen snow very content to just be. There are only 20 Shetlands in the pen now so feeding is so much easier than it was last winter with a larger number to battle through with grain and hay. Shetland babies are expected later in February and March.

Thanks Tim for helping me get the barn ready. Having help sure makes the job go faster.

New Yarn

Here's the BFL natural colored yarn I finally got from the mill. Lustrous and sooo soft.It's not gray but more of a brown tone, which is very interesting. I want to put it in my private stash instead of putting it out for sale but my stash is getting beyond the time I have to get into it so it will be for sale at Maryland.

Rooting through my last few 2010 fleeces I found a Shetland moorit lamb's fleece that I had set aside and forgot about. My goal for 2011 was to spend more time preparing fleeces before spinning so this fleece has been washed, picked annnnd I even cut all the tips off each lock.That was a labor of love but I think it will make a big difference in the finished product. It is unbelievably soft. Maybe I can get to carding it tomorrow!

PA Farm Show Sheep to Shawl

Yes, Pennsylvania has a huge indoor farm show in January. Rational for the timing is that it is the season when farmers are less busy and can take time to attend.

For 32 years, one of the most eagerly anticipated events is the Sheep To Shawl. It is highly competitive and the auction afterwards always leaves local folks stunned at the prices paid. Last night was no exception. Shawls ranged from $600 to $2200. for some of the most beautiful works of fiber art I've seen. This year I was not judging, just watching . My biggest problem was not being able to FEEL the fibers and the shawls. The fiber world is the only place I know where everyone needs to touch and no one is offended when a total stranger "feels" what you are wearing.

Six youth teams participated in a fleece to shawl in the morning. I was really impressed with the 6 shawls produced. Pictured are the six shawls on the finished table. The pink one was the winner. It was beatifully done made with Bluefaced Leicester fiber in the warp and sold for $650. All proceeds donated to Breast Cancer Awareness. Second place was a surfing themed shawl with a gorgeous hand paintd warp. Third place took the spinners award.(pictured) They were spinning a Potosi BFL/Shetland fleece, making me really proud. The 6th place team had an Autism theme and donated their $800 to autism awareness. We will be having teams for farm shows for many years to come from the enthusiasm and talent of these young teams.

Eight adult teams spun and wove shawls that were works of art. Potosi fiber was in two of them. BFL in one and Shetland in the other.The BFL getting the spinners award. The winning shawl(pictured) was a Bluebird inspired shawl getting a winning bid of $950.Soo pretty! Second place (Pictured) was shades of Blue using Bluefaced Leicester fiber. It got the spinning and shearing award. Fouth place commanded the $2200. figure bid. It received team choice and fleece (corriedale) award. Their theme was Native American and their costumes and choice of pattern were so suited to the theme.

The eight adult team shawls were all incrdible works of art! Wish I could have taken one home.

Whose Flowers?

Elisabeth left her beautiful bouquet of roses on my kitchen table. Was it because she forgot them OR was it because when she came in with them I pulled them from her hands, arranged them in my favorite vase and set them on my table that she was afraid to claim them? Guess I got carried away with their beauty. Well anyway. this morning those gorgeous roses inspired a tea party. Lillian was delighted to wear her purple formal and heels but complained that my flannel shirt wasn't appropriate. My favorite formal is either at the cleaners or 2 sizes too small. (all right so it's the latter of those two options.) Tea time melded into lunch.... ramen noodles. We decided since we were being festive, we'd use chop sticks.This was new too Lillian but after lots of laughter she caught right on. Judy lurked under the table catching noodles as they fell then cleaned the table with several swipes of her tongue when we weren't looking. Thanks for leaving the bouquet,Elisabeth. They made a dreay day mirthful.
Posted by Potosi Sheep Farm at 10:14 AM