Baa Baa Black Sheep, have you any wool?

Yes Sir, yes sir, three bags full...

 This year has been a hum-dinger!  I've had much going on in the last five months, but everytime I've thought I should put out a post it's either been too late or I've been short of time (i didn't make the time).

Above photo shows what I have left of my 2020 wool clip that I have finally sorted through and made three bags to be processed into combed top. All together about 45 - 50 pounds of wool.

The bag on the left will be a grey blend, the middle a brown and the right a fawn color.

Planning to send it out the beginning of January and hope to have it back in five months, in time for the 2021 Great Lakes Fiber Show. 

 

Through out this summer I was determined to have more clean wool!!  This is a priority for a hand spinner.  So making several fabric purchases we have make enough sheep coats to get ALL of the sheep coated.  We have played around with the "sheep coat design" trying different things.  

 

Various sizes of coats and even trying to perfect one coat that will work for a sheep during the whole fleece growing season...still working on that one!

Our flock size has increased a bit.  At this time our ewe and ewe lamb group is at sixty.

This is a large number of sheep, But these are not all mine.  I am also keeping my friend Dave's flock in with mine.

Above are most of the 2020 ewe lambs eating off the hay bags. All summer they were out in their pasture and they had access to these bags, so they continue to like eating from them rather than the hay feeders.

So the adults have access to four hay feeder, plus the hay bags if they choose.  This year we have made some really nice quality hay and I decided to take all of them off grain after weaning lambs.  This has worked out really well.  The body condition of all the sheep is very good.  

This has helped to cut the cost of buying grain, but has increased our hay consumption.  Our field has produced a record amount of hay this year, but we did also have to buy an extra 20 round bales to see us through till June, 2021.

But the sheep have paid their way...even this year.  Private sheep sales, early in the year raw wool sales and many of the cross bred lambs and ram lambs sent to sale, bringing in excellent prices this year too.

This is the only ram lamb that I kept this year.  He is a superfine ram.  I was really impressed that we got a superfine considering his sire, who was not so fine, although his dam is.

We spend many, many hours figuring out our breeding groups this year.  Down to actually figuring out percentages of the genetic pool of each ewe and potential sire.  We needed to do this because we were putting some breeding groups together that were pretty closely related (we are trying to produce more of this particular pattern in the shetland breed).

We put our breeding groups together for the Month of October.  Separating them a week earlier than planned due to having the ewe lambs outside in a temporary shelter during a week of rainy weather and I just didn't want to keep them out in those conditions any longer.

So all of my ewes may not be bred this year, but those things happen...I'm sure that we will have a nice lamb crop with our first ones expected on March 1, 2021.

This fall I submitted some photo's of our English Shepherd "Red" to the SHEPHERD'S CALL, the newsletter of the English Shepherd Club.  They put a call out this year for photo's of the various breed colors and have shared them in the bi-monthly newsletter.

Red is considered a clear solid sable, his photo should be in the January, 2021 issue.

 

Being involved in a Spinning and Weaving Guild, as a group, we tend to get donations from generous people to utilize and care for precious old equipment that has been saved from being destroyed.

Recently a bunch of "old equipment" was recently donated, many parts and pieces.  Some in decent condition and some not so much.

I had asked if their were any parts that could be put together and that needed some work to make a working spinning wheel.  I had a young friend in mind to give this to if so.

Two dusty off wheels were dropped off at my home. Both had a true wheel, not warped.  Both have some parts missing and need some TLC.  I decided to clean up the one that looked to be a better option.  First wiping off the layers of dust and grime with warm soapy water, then wiping off again with clean water.  Scrubbing the orifice and guide hooks with a small wire brush.  Then oiling all the metal and moving parts, along with the original leather bearing that hold the bobbin and flyer.            Finishing up with tung oil over all the wood.

As I turned to the front of the wheel, at the tension screw to rub tung oil across the bench I was surprised to find the makers initials! MNS

What a find!  I quickly snapped a photo and sent to my friend!  This wheel has the makers mark!        So I thought I better look at the bottom for a signature...no signature.

I continued to rub tung oil across the bench and only then did I notice the date!  1832!!

This was so exciting!  To comprehend that this spinning wheel is almost 200 years old and has been held onto and saved by so many people along the way.

Notice the leather bearing that holds the orifice.

Although this wheel is not original to this particular spinning wheel as it is a bit larger than would have been on it. 

So this was quite an exciting find, but then I was a bit apprehensive of giving this particular wheel to a young person to actually learn to spin with.

This wheel belongs in a museum or historical society.

So the search will continue for an appropriate wheel for a young person that wants to learn to spin.

 

Have a MERRY COUNTRY CHRISTMAS,

from our Family to yours,

DLS Shetlands

Swealter hot weekend

 First off, time flies....I cannot believe that I missed making a blog post in June.

So here a quick catch up.....

I have been working from home since April 10th and loving it.

I wish we could make it a permanent thing, but twice now Management

have tried to bring all of us back into our building and then delayed 

it due to the Covid19 still increasing in our county.

As of now we are scheduled to go back into the building the end of August...we will see.

Here at home we are having a heat wave.

The girls are loving our new crop of first cutting hay.

It was just easier to put out a round bale for them to eat as 

much as they want.  I've not given any grain to the ewes or rams, just this hay.

Their body condition have really improved by allowing them

all the hay they want to eat.

Although they will not continue to get their hay this way.

It is easier to feed this way, but at this rate I will need approximately  

90 round bales for a years worth of hay....YIKES!

(right now about 50 ewes and their lambs are going through 

one round bale in four days!!)

We did get 43 round bales of first cutting and just made second 

cutting only getting 18 round bales. So we are a bit short 

right now and working to secure the extra hay we will need to see us through

May, 2021.

 Yes we are in a heat wave right now.  These pics. were taken about

7:30 am, already hot and humid and everyone is looking for shade.

 They've ate their pasture down, but I've got to let them out so they can

get out of the barn and into the shade of the trees, which is right where

they are heading.  Spending the day in the shade.

It really is surprising how much cooler it is under those trees.

 Saturday was our regular meeting day for our Spinning and Weaving Guild.

We canceled March and April's meetings with this virus going about.

But with much planning in how to be safe about it we have 

made a plan so that we can gather in small groups (wearing masks), keeping socially distant, 

at least six feet apart and outside, we have been fortunate that the weather 

has been wonderful in May and June for our gathering.

Not all members are comfortable coming, but that's ok.

For most it's the need to be social again.  We have all been 

cooped up since March and we do need to learn to live with this.

It's not going away anytime soon, all you can do is plan and 

try and be smart about the decisions you make. 

 Above is an adult ewe on the left and her ram lamb on the 

right.  He is bigger than her and he still sneaks a slurp 

of milk if she will stand for him....big baby!

We've had a nice group of lambs this year.

I've already sold all the crossbred lambs and ram 

lambs that I knew wouldn't have good horns.

These guys have already paid for my first and second cutting hay.

These are four white fleeces that I have that are just beautiful and fine.

I will be sending these out to Zeilinger's Woolen Mill to be made into combed top.

All of my fleeces that were coated have sold.

All I have left are those that were not coated.  These are really 

hard to hand process and get all the VM out.

So I will most likely combine fleeces to make the weight needed to 

send them out and have combed top made.

That's all for today and I will try to get another post out soon.

 

 

Visitors to my window...

As I have settled into working from home like so many

I enjoy my time spent at home.  Of course the social aspect 

of being in the office is missed.

But I find my visitors to my window amusing.

 

Daily I get a variety of visitors.

They stop and peer into the window.  I don't know that 

they actually see me or just their reflection.

But it always puts a smile on my face.

Giving me the eye.

We are starting to get nice spring weather now.  The ewes and lambs

are enjoying the new grass.

This weekend we will be weaning lambs.

All are over six weeks but one, I will set up a creep feed area so he doesn't miss out

on his grain.  But already the ewe's appear to be weaning the 

lambs themselves and they are all eating grain well.

I am still working my way through fleeces (skirting)

and have posted several for sale on my 

web site:  DLS Shetlands

Unfortunately the Fiber Shows I am involved in have canceled

so we are working to get these fleeces out their for spinners.

I hope to get more fleeces added over the weekend.

Enjoy! 

May be nice today

This is one of the nicest days we have had this year.

Watching the weather forecast you wouldn't have thought it 

would have been.  But I have been out rearranging the 

lamb creep feed area, enlarging it and took quite a few 

pictures today with the girls out on pasture.

 Earlier this morning I had to catch this ewe lamb.

I've been watching her change color.  She was born moorit or appeared so.

Now at six weeks old today she has the copper look that a mioget 

gets.  It is hard to see in this photo, but when light shines on

a mioget's face you can see the color of copper reflected in the hair follice.

Here she is again.  Her Dam, Olivia is a mioget also.

 #192 Thea got a trim today, she was "in the rise" at shearing which 

makes it harder for the shearer to get the fleece off.  He either has to shear above 

or below the rise to get it off.

So it makes for a messy cut.

Much better looking now, sporting a new coat 

for a clean fleece.

I didn't think to take a photo of my creep feed area, behind this ewe.

I've extended it the width of the barn 32 feet by 8 feet.

We have 54 lambs that need access to a space where they

can eat their grain without being pushed out by the adults.

Getting Photo bombed...

Enjoy your day!

#196 Ziva

Late last evening Ziva delivered a single ram lamb.

Ziva was bred to Two Tone.

 This is Ziva's first time lambing and she did a great job all by herself.

This little guy is cute, has a nice crimpy lamb fleece and is spotted.

He also has horn buds so we'll have to see how those turn out, 

although he could have scurs. ...we'll see.

So we have officially finished our lambing season.

I thought we had one or two more but looking

closer it is obvious that they did not breed.

We ended with 54 lambs.  

30 rams and 24 ewes, 13 sets of twins and 28 singles.

Of those we have 13 Crossbred lambs (border cheviot X shetland)

of which 7 are rams and 6 are ewes.

Leaving us with 41 purebred lambs (shetlands)

of which 23 are rams and 18 ewes.

As of now everyone is doing well and we just want them all go grow.

There will be lambs available to purchase but we have

not made any decisions yet as to which purebreds will be available.

The crossbred lambs will all be sold, so if anyone is interested in these drop me 

an email and inquire.  They are still to young to leave but they will be available in the future.

#59 Mia

Feeding in the morning goes much faster now that 

most of the ewes have delivered their lambs.

While I was finishing up this morning Mia had 

moved into the far corner of the barn.

With tail raised and pawing at the ground

I knew she would deliver soon.

I had to go off to work and hoped all went well 

while I was away.

 When I returned home Mia had her little lamb waiting at the gait.

As soon as I finished feeding the bottle babies (those guys don't wait)

I inspected her little ram lamb a spotted moorit and moved 

them into a pen to bond and spend more time together.

 Mia was bred to Shamus, below, the spotted moorit scurred ram.

 Today was the first sunny and warm-er day that we have had in a while.

Below, some of the lambs snoozing and enjoying the warmth of the

sun on their bodies.

On the work front, it looks like they are really trying 

to get us set up to work from home.

Things are moving pretty quick considering 

all that has to be done with computers and security.

But I'm all for it.  We've tried hard here at home to stay away from 

all people.  I haven't gone to a store in 3 weeks, work and 

home only!  

Everybody stay home and stay well....flatten the curve!