RIP Fine Fettle Sasha

It was hard for our farm caretakers to break the news to me over the phone a few days ago. It was hard for me to hear. I had a couple of days to imagine which ewe had died after getting her horns tangled in a wire that the caretakers forgot to hook properly after feeding.

It never occurred to me that the ewe was Sasha. I thought about Marilyn. I thought about Magnolia. I thought about Gilda. It was shocking to discover Sasha's body waiting for us when we got home.

She had broken some horns and she had a primitive wooly mane. The rest of her fleece was lovely. She was a brave ewe but not pushy. She wasn't afraid to meet your gaze.

She was a good ewe and a great mother. Last spring she gave us two lovely four horned lambs: a ewe lamb and a ram lamb. Both found loving homes -- one as breeding stock and one as a wethered pet. I'm glad to know that some of her offspring live on.

My dear RNB harvested her skin at my request, and we will send it away for tanning. We will keep that one, not sell it as we often do.

Sasha, I'm so sorry your life was ended early by our human-made environment.

I will miss you, Sasha. I imagine you finding some young lambs on the other side who need your good mothering. Thank you, sweet girl.

Pics of Sasha's lambs

Sasha's lambs are featured in previous entries. Her ewe lamb is Sandy, and her ram/wethered lamb is Scotty. You won't have to search far to find pictures of them.

Sheep pictures

I'm so pleased that we've sold some more of our lovely Jacob ewe lambs, headed for breeding homes.

I must admit I have been naive about the quality of our sheep. The appreciation of some of my newfound sheep friends is helping grow my discerning eye and gratitude for the lovely ones we have. And with the current ram's super soft fleece added to the flock offspring -- well... amazing.

So, our spring lambs are looking more and more adult. Here are some pics of the gals who left this morning.


Fine Fettle Willa


Fine Fettle Tina


Fine Fettle Sandy


These lambs were all born in March, and are the last of our 4 horned ewe lambs from this year. We still have some 2 horned ewe lambs with nice markings and great fleece and hopefully will sell them, too.

Here is one of those:

Fine Fettle Lynda


One of my next endeavors is selling more of our sheepskins. Each is different of course, and here are pictures of a couple of them.






And who is this?



It's little Scotty who lives as a pet with some friends in Maine. This picture is from way back then when he was a little tyke. He ain't so little anymore!

Sheep, etc. for sale

We have some lovely register eligible Jacob sheep for sale -- our lambs from last spring as well as we will sell a ewe, bred or not. Our ewes all descend from the Lasseau Jacobs.

We also have sheepskins for sale, and may or may not have some fleece leftover after the Vermont Sheep and Wool Festival coming up soon in Tunbridge, VT this year.

And 'locker lamb' for those of you who love the taste and texture of pasture-raised lamb.

If you are interested, leave me a comment and I'll let you know how to reach me directly.

Jacob lambs

We have 18 Jacob lambs from this spring. What a hoot to watch them romp and frolic! Really nice fleece thanks to our new ram. Soft!!

First lamb of 2009

Our first Jacob lamb arrived! We have a baker's dozen ewes and so are expecting more lambs, any day now.

Here is the lamb, Betty (named after my Jacob sheep mentor who shares a birthday with this lamb!) and her ewe mom, Mandy.




Here is the whole flock. If you look carefully, you can count heads. This is how I learned we have more than 12 ewes!

Winter farm activities

Many of my winter farm activities are in my head.

Like renaming the farm. After struggling with an icy drive, acknowledging we are going through fire wood at a much greater rate than expected, and hauling hay from the new farm to the old farm where we all (humans and animals alike) are still living, I think the farm would be more aptly named: Fine Folly Farm.

RNB laughed but nixed my suggestion for change. Perhaps that idea will become a 2008 memory, and this new year will bring more moments of delight than discouragement.

Some of my winter activities are indoor activities. Painting the interior walls of the house we are finishing. I have become quite the skilled house painter! The main ingredients to success include: attention, breathing, focus, patience. Oh yeah, the right tools and color choices help! How quickly I became protective of my favorite tools -- especially the paint brush I use for doing the edges, and the little hammer I use for closing the paint can.

Other indoor activities include knitting and crocheting items with the Jacob yarn I mentioned before. I am having fun mixing the Jacob yarn with other yarns. A couple of scarves should adorn some family necks soon -- 1 strand of Jacob yarn with 1 strand of a commercial -- and very soft -- colored wool yarn. I am experimenting with colors as well as hook and needle sizes. I have a lap blanket partially finished as well -- 100% Jacob yarn.

A few outdoor winter activities... The less pleasant ones are the repetitive ones, like walking to the various spigots to make sure the water is running enough to keep from freezing. Especially important when it's below 10°F, or like last night, below 0°F. I had to use the heavy metal rod to open the surface of one water trough but the water was still flowing in all.

Keeping the new Red Star pullets watered is a challenge as they are not yet integrated with the other fowl whose watering needs are met by a pan heater and a 5 gallon waterer.

This morning I did another outdoor farm activity. I stood around near the sheep, watching them, seeing if I could recognize the growing-up ewe lambs we kept. When they are younger, it's easy to tell who is who because they stick close to their momma ewes. As they grow up, they mingle amongst the adults less discriminately. I did manage to figure them all out before my toes got cold.

I carry a long-term SHOULD on my shoulders. I SHOULD get proper photos of the ewes and lambs so I can register them. I got the farm name registered (Jacob Sheep Breeders Association) and gave each ewe and lamb a name last year, and named the spring lambs (last year, ehem!), even took a half a kazillion digital pictures. But never sorted through the pics nor enlisted someone's help to hold them still while I got the views needed for registering them...

Meanwhile, for the record. The lambs we have now are: Zinnia (out of Granny Z), Mimosa and Marigold (out of Mandy), Magnolia (out of Marilyn), and Begonia (out of Bettina). Can you guess what naming theme I chose last spring?

Now that I am enjoying using the yarn from their wool, I look forward to finding out who produces the softest fleece!

Ok, you sheep! Stand still while I take your pictures!