Thursday, November 11, 2010

November 11, 2010

Here are some pictures of the gorgeous fleeces my girls and boys are growing this year. This is Naomi, which is my favorite sheep. She is a Border Leicester/Shetland cross. Naomi loves to be petted and scratched under the chin, and is the most loving animal you will ever meet. She has nice tight curls with the length of Shetland fleece. I am working on her fleece from this last spring, and it is hard to believe it is even wool it is soooooo soft. Feels more like a chocolate cloud!

And this is Princess. She is a full blood Shetland. Like every other Shetland I have ever met, she is wild as can be. She seems to think that the nice lady that has brought her food, water, and hay every night for the last several months is still plotting to catch her and eat her! You can't tell it from the picture, but her fleece is laced with brown and black hairs, which makes for the most beautiful natural colored yarn when you spin it.

A crew from the natural gas company is in the area and they came through this morning clearing the gas line that runs the length of our property. As I sat here and typed, I could see the man with the can of bright yellow paint as he walked out the line and painted fence posts that crossed the it. When he got into the goat pasture, of course Oscar, our wethered Boer, had to come check out what was going on and see if he could be of any help. This big, gruff looking man stood and scratched Oscar under the chin for the longest. What is it about friendly animals that bring out the best in people? Oscar stuck to him like glue all the way up the fence line, and watched him as he left. That man will never know it, but he probably made a friend for life. Knowing Oscar, he will have a lasting reminder of his visit before the day is over. New yellow paint is too good to leave alone!