Sorry for another earworm; that song was on one of my old aerobics tapes and it popped into my head when I saw this photo of Brava sniffing Braveheart's bum!I'm still doing the sheep suit shuffle, trying to get everyone in the right coat size. I think I need one more E, but first I'll check what Dinah is wearing. If she's in an E, I can put her in the F I just took off Braveheart and put the E on Bramble. If not, I'm going to send the other G I have back to Rocky in exchange for an E.
Braveheart is in a size G suit now, which is a lovely shade of "3rd cutting orchard grass green" and a bit too big. The trade-off for having to do the periodic "suit shuffle" is getting a look at the fleeces underneath the coats, and Braveheart's fleece, as always, nearly takes my breath away. It is so incredibly consistent and crimpy all over, lustrous and has a wonderful hand. If I didn't have the cold, hard numbers to tell me he microns over 30, no one could convince me! (The last photo showing larger crimp was taken behind his flank.) Now I don't think crimp is the be-all and end-all in fleece, but it IS eye-catching and produces a lovely, elastic yarn. I still have some of Braveheart's roving from this spring's clip available for purchase, BTW.
That's it for now from . . .
14 comments:
He does have eye catching fleece! I am trying to buy some coats right now, but havent heard back from the dealer yet.
Which parts of bravehearts bodie are the photos from? The middle photo looks pretty good.
I'm using one of my polled rams lambs for breeding this fall. He was born with no horn buds, but has little tinny nubs that break off every so often. He is Inky's great grandson.
Did you ever do a micron for Inky? I really would like to get some testing done this fall. So far I use things like crimps per inch and close visual examination of the fibers.
One of the things that might make Braveheart feel so nice is it looks hike he has great unifornity of fibers.
How many crimps per inch is he?
-Susan
Thanks, Becky! I sent you an email about coats....
Susan, that middle photo is from Braveheart's mid-side. I'll have to take a ruler with me to measure crimps/inch. Yes, his fiber is VERY uniform! And yes, I DID test Inky this spring, as well as all my other adults. She is 28.9/6.4/22, which I thought was very nice for an eight-year-old. And her ram lamb looks GREAT. Her great-grandson that you are using this year sounds interesting; tell me more about him in case you decide to sell him in the future. I am looking for Braveheart's replacement
Gorgeous fleece under those coats! I'm in the process of getting a couple and trying them for the first time. I would love to keep my black fleece from bleaching out. Two of my lambs are black, black and stunning right now.
I can attest to the fact that Braveheart's roving is VERY nice :)I have been surprised by a few that microned over 30 as well.
ps - You were right about my little hen - thanks!
Wow,
I Garret just got back to me with the microns from the girls I sent over to him and they were in the same range! 28-29 I was totally expecting Inky to be higher than these girls were.
What do the other numbers stand for?
You guys have inspired me. I coated my sheep and took fleece samples that are ready to send of, when I can figure out which lab to send them to.
I wonder if they were refering to the younger(under 2) shetlands as being Fine? Inky was in the 22 micron fleece class as a lamb and won first! Should we really be expecting the older ewes to keep the low microns? I've herd that they gain 1-2 somtimes more microns a year as they age.
-Susan
Those fleeces look great. I need to do the sheep suit shuffle too. However I think I need to order some larger sizes. Poor Amelia and Sabrina are exploding out of their E's right now.
Always love your sheep! :) I have some new sheep coats that I never put on my sheep...I should see what I have and offer it to the Shetland folks.
Hi Michelle,
Wow are your sheep looking nice. I just got hooked back up onto internet tonight - I moved, and had a heck of a time getting a new service, but I think I'm back.
It was like re-connecting with an old friend - looking at your blog again. It was the first place I went after being "offline" for several months! As always, I was blessed!
Heather, you couldn't have paid me a higher compliment! I've missed you, friend, and glad you are back on-line.
Michelle,
Is that Browning in the very back of the picture...or is there another ewe that I've forgotten about?? Hope everything turns out well with your husband 'little problem'. Take care,
Tammy
Yes Tammy, that is Browning in the background. No new ewes!
Rick conveniently got the flu this weekend, so the doctor can check him for that today as well....
You know, Michelle...microns are a great "tool" but only one of many in determining a nice fleece. Many of us have seen fleeces that spun beautifully and felt like butter, but micron higher than we thought. I always think of micron counts as just one of the "tools" in my "toolbox" for the flock. Just don't throw the fleece out with the dip water. :) If he's got a great hand, crimp, and is a dream to spin he's a keeper.
I agree with you totally, Kathy. Braveheart's roving is noticeably less soft than that from most of my other sheep, so although I like his many wonderful qualities, I will keep looking for a suitable replacement. But that ram will have to have as good a structure, polled genetics and all the good fleece characteristics that Braveheart has AND be softer/finer to be worth moving this boy out!
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