Whew! It has been a long hot summer and I am glad that the weather has become cooler. It is much easier to add a sweater or a jacket than it is to sit and sweat it out in the hot sun on Saturdays at Farmers' Market. Just two more Saturdays at Fair Oaks Mall from 9a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Then we have Hackman's Market, The Street Fair in downtown Columbus, and St. Mary's Christmas Bazaar in North Vernon. That will wrap it up for the season.
I have been playing a lot with my Corgi, Michaela, and have found her to be relentless when she wants to play. Don't believe me? Then take a look at the video. The video was taken after she had already hassled me 5 other times and we played. She doesn't get tired as easily as I do. She is still a puppy. I have many more years of fun ahead!
I still have Cormo/Shetland/Finn cross sheep and natural colored Shetland/Finn sheep for sale. I don't have the money to feed them this winter and I hope I can get them sold. My prices are more than reasonable and these animals produce wonderful fleeces that I am going to miss. I have about 10 natural colored that have to die for fleeces.
Well, tomorrow is Farmers' Market so I need to move on for the evening. I hope you enjoy the video. Feedback is always great.
Finally, I have completed my portion of the Hoosier Hills FiberArts Festival website. I've never done anything on a website (excluding ebay) and getting text to stay put wasn't easy. I guess I need to to become more technically inclined and create a website to sell my sheep, roving, alpacas and anything else on the farm that needs a new home.
I should dig out my little notebook of passwords and go to ebay and post my Patrick Green Deb Deluxe carder. I need the money and there isn't a better time than now to sell it. I'm trying to think of other things that I might be able to sell, but nothing comes to mind. I know that there is, I just need to be organized in getting things ready to post.
Well, since my carder needs listed, away I go to ebay.
I have hesitated long enough. I have a beautiful 4 year old Border/Bluefaced Leicester ram that handles well on a halter. I can no longer use beautiful Galahad because I want to keep 2 of his beautiful daughters. Their fleeces are so luxurious and fine that I prefer to keep them and look for a new ram. I am up to 5 ewes now, all BL/BFL X. If you are reading this and have a friend with sheep, I would really like to trade with another small breeder like I am. Galahad throws beautiful lambs, but I cannot breed him to his daughters. Pictures are forthcoming. Galahad is white and very broad across the back. As a yearling he had beautiful pencil curls. His fleece is still just as gorgeous now as then. With all the rain we are getting on a daily basis, it is also snowy white.
Do not hesitate to respond to this if you know someone who might trade me. It would be a travesty for Galahad to become freezer fodder.
My digital camera and I spent some time together the other day to snap some photos of curious sheep. I thought it would be hard to get pictures, but not the way it was. I found it hard to get good photos because everyone was curious what the "Great Food Meister" was doing among them. My one little ram (babydoll/Finn/Shetland) wanted to nose the lens and since he is a ram in training, it wasn't real safe to squat down. I have been gently butted, but only because I wasn't doling out the candy corn fast enough. So I went back into the house and when I came back out, I rounded the corner of the house carefully and got this side view photo of him before he saw me and came running to me looking for a handout. I am planning on using this little guy on my 50/50 Shetland/Finn ewes this fall. That should improve the crimp and productivity in preparation of using a higher percentage Babydoll ram next fall. So what do you think of my little guy? He is stocky, small, short crimpy fiber, easy to handle, and a big baby.
Here it is a day away from October and I'm not ready for winter. I have 3 shelters to build for the sheep and goats and a hen house to winterize. I also have about 8 extra ewes and 2 rams to find homes for. I really hate to part with those ewes as I am really pleased with the fiber I'm getting. I have a 2-fold breeding program.
The first program I'm breeding a 50/50 blend of Border Leicester and Bluefaced Leicester for a silky long lock for durable yarns. The next program is more complicated. I love Babydoll sheep but only have 3 but they are mixed with a percentage of Finn. They still have the babydoll type fleece. The only problem is that the fleece is short. Now I'm not complaining about the crimp, mind you, only the lack of length. So I introduced a 50/50 Shetland/Finn to my Babydolls last fall. I didn't get the typey fleece from my older ewe who is 50/50 Babydoll/Finn. However, her 2007 twin daughters who are 75/25 Babydoll/Finn presented me with very crimpey/longer-fleeced youngsters. The feel is luscious. The little ram even has close to a babydoll face and the size is just a fraction more than the original babydoll breed. I will get some pictures to post this week. I want longer fleece with the babydoll crimp and softness. I am continuing my breeding program this fall to improve on what I have. I want fibers that yearn to be next to the skin. Let's see how well I do. Until next time......kate of WindSong Fibers Farm
