Meet the newest member of the team

Funny how things work out sometimes. The morning we were getting ready to shear, we startled some mice in the barn. Jonathan immediately began lobbying for a barn cat, but no time to think about that, there was shearing to be done! Fast forward to the next morning...Travis goes for a morning run, and (you guessed it) found a little kitty along the road. Well, you cannot argue when fate steps in, so meet Kismet, the new barn cat.

He has settled right in and enjoys 'playing' with the sheep. They haven't quite figured out what his position in the flock is going to be.

Kismet likes to help the human beings out also. Here he is supervising Jonathan's work on the four-wheeler.

Our new kitty is very busy all day long patroling the barn, chasing stray pebbles and straw, and organizing baler twine. He has a little stub tail, which means (so we have been told) that he will be a great mouser. However, in between all the activity and excitement, every kitty has to make time for a little nap in the sunshine.

Fabulous Fashions

We decided to coat some of the girls this winter: Fiona, Hera, Athena and Sweet Pea. We are hoping to get a 'Santa beard' type fleece from Sweet Pea, with her Wensleydale and Lincoln lineage. Athena and Hera are pictured above in their fabulous new fashions, before joining the rest of the ewes back out in the field.

Shearing Day

What a productive day! Joe Viola did a great job shearing. We sheared all the lambs and a few ewes. Then came the skirting and of course the ceremonial removal of the dung tags. We really have some beautiful fleeces. You can see them on our 'For Sale' page and also on E-Bay.

A Wool Gathering

As part of Preston County's Lights-On Afterschool Night, the Aurora School held A Wool Gathering. Area residents provided visitors (those willing to brave the weather to visit the outside tent) with demonstrations of wool processing.

There was shearing,

picking and carding,

Spinning and knitting

The students were also given a wonderful bookmark:"Ewe" can't beat a good book! which featured a sheep with real wool locks.

New Arrivals!

On Monday we traveled to Deer Run Sheep Farm near Franklin and brought home these beautiful Coopworth X Blue-faced Leicester crosses. Fiona is a 2 yr old ewe out of the silver/blue Coopworth ram, Hatchtown 'Hatch' and Deer Run Eithne a 3/4 BFL ewe. Fiona's daughter, Deer Run 0620, is out of Silver Creek Obsidian 'Sid'. Ewe lambs, Deer Run 0618 and 0619 are also out of 'Sid' and Deer Run Fenella, Fiona's twin sister. The girls have great Coopworth and Blue-faced Leicester bloodlines and the beautiful fleeces that follow from them.

Thank you, Martha, we are very excited about these new additions to our flock!

Lady and Shepherd's Lead

Lena and Hebe did a wonderful job in the Shepherd's Lead. Lena wore a shawl hand knit from fabulous yarn hand-spun by Betsy Viola of Horse Shoe Run. Betsy used wool from her longwool sheep at her Quaking Maples Farm and dyed it in her Aurora colorway. Lena's skirt was also hand knit from 100% wool yarn.

She asked us to knit a headband to add a beautiful accent to her outfit

Hebe cooperated very well with Lena. Her hard work teaching Hebe to lead paid off with a first place in her class!

Congratulations Lena!