After all my sheep juggling this summer, someone commented that they need a primer on which sheep reside at Boulderneigh now. You can see everyone but Braveheart above - a view not unlike the pan of cookies I made and assembled for refreshments at the homeschool co-op today, below!
Oh yeah, sheep. Let's see, from left to right above that's Blizz, Bryden, Inky, Browning, Butter, Dinah, and Brava. Blizz, Bryden and Browning are this year's wethered ram lambs (two of which I still need to move); Inky and Butter are the two I bought from Susan Kimball this summer; Dinah is the first Shetland I committed myself to, and Brava (along with Braveheart, below) I bought from Beryl Baker last summer.
The other day after chores I was loving on and admiring all my sheep, and snapped topline fleece photos of all the uncoated ones. I thought it was a lovely assortment of natural colors and Shetland fleece types! From top are Browning, Butter, Inky, Blizz, and Bryden.
Enough sheep photos for you, Allena? :-)Breaking news: today I got an email from Franna, asking whether I would be interested in taking in a moorit gulmoget half-poll ram for the breeding season before she can get him back to Everranch, where he was born. Would I?!?
This ram (photo taken a year ago) was one I was keenly interested in adding to my flock, but my ever-practical husband pointed out that we really don't NEED a second ram, no matter how well I could see him fitting into my long-range plans. Now I will get to use him without keeping two rams long-term, and if I don't have any buyers for wethers before I pick up Everranch Franjean from Marybeth Bullington-Bury (who bought him from Franna), Marybeth has a good home for two of the wethers as well. I plan to put the new boy in with Dinah, Brava and Inky just as soon as I pick him up after my trip to Texas. The anticipation over next spring's lambing season may kill me. Just think; I could get full-poll black AND moorit gulmogets from this fellow if all the genes line up nicely!Doing the happy dance at . . .
10 comments:
Oh I remember Shetlands well!
Ship him to MN! Beautiful boy! Beautiful fleeces too! :)
OH MICHELLLE HE IS BEAUTIFUL!!!!! I am so excited for next year's lambing too. I just weighed my fawn gulmoget ewe lamb this morning and I don't think she will be in a breeding group this fall, as long as there aren't any fencing breakouts. So I will have to just admire your gulmoget lambs and try to wait patiently....
Wow, what a turn of good fortune! That will help you add some different colors and bloodlines for the long term, without the commitment of another ram. Of course I'm sure Braveheart would have something to say about this, if he knew what was up! I just set up my breeding group this morning, and am so glad to have them sorted out and that job done.
Tammy
WAY COOL! :)You KNOW what I think of Gullys! I can't wait to see your lambs next year. You sure are progressing toward your polled goal at an incredible rate. Wishing you the perfect polled lambs you have been dreaming of!
Oh wow, Michelle, you really lucked out there! I can't wait to see the lambs you get next spring. Your fleece photos look really good too.
WOW Michelle! Congrats on the gulmoget MOORIT poll carrier! How lucky! So will you not be using Braveheart then this fall at all?
I desperately want a Ag/Gulmoget ewe...I love the white boy with the gulmoget head...its super cute :)
No, Garrett, I won't be using Braveheart this year, except possibly as a back-up ram. I plan to keep Franjean with the girls for at least two breeding cycles starting at the end of this month, so I'm not sure I would want lambs conceived later than that. I've been very pleased with Braveheart's offspring, but he'll be here to use again next fall. I wish Butter was a yearling, because I would like to see what she would produce out of an intermediate-fleeced ram. But I'm going to resist the temptation to breed a ewe lamb.
If I get an Ag or modified gulmoget ewe lamb out of Brava (the jury is still out on what SHE is), I'll let you know!
Hooray for you Michelle, carrying the torch for the pollies out there in the Wild West!
Can't wait to see those lambs of yours next spring, I'll be glued to your blog!
Hey, chowder recipe PLEASE PLEASE?????!!! That looks SO GOOD!
I'm excited, too, Juli! Alas, on the recipe, there is none. This is one of my "make-it-up-as-I-go" things. I started by sauteeing onions and garlic in a bit of olive oil, adding unpeeled diced Yukon Gold potatoes and a little water to help them cook, chopped carrots, corn kernals, and yellow straightneck squash. When the veggies had cooked I seasoned to taste with salt and all kinds of herbs (can't remember which; whatever tastes good to you!), then stirred in milk and yellow split pea flour to thicken (you could use whatever thickening agent you want). Serve topped with grated parmesan cheese!
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