Sunday, July 27, 2008

So Long, Farewell, Auf Wiedersehen, Adieu!


Yesterday I think I was able to help create another enthusiast to join the Jacob Sheep ranks, (although she did admire Bella, the Shetland, too) :)


Debbie Payton is the proud new owner of Showphar Lana, Green Water Ingrid, Green Water Agnes, and Shadow Mountain "?" (out of 4 Horn Farm Dream and Green Water Ingrid). She has some acreage and was looking into different sheep to occupy it. She was also going to look at Katahdins and go to the Enumclaw auction but she came by my place first. :) I actually got choked up looking at my girls, and thinking of them leaving, but I know they are going to a home where they will be loved and well cared for.


This brings my Jacob headcount down to 6 ewes (including Mud Ranch's Constance who will be arriving from CA in Aug), 1 ram lamb and a wether. And temporarily I have one Shetland, soon to be 6 ewes and a ram.


Here I feel I should thank everyone that has help me acquire some lovely Jacobs, and started me well on my way to my sheep addiction. :)


Mary Tonkin, who first got me "hooked". I got Showphar Lana, Green Water Ingrid, 4 Horn Farms Dream, and the wether Carl from her in the beginning and recently Painted Rock Janelle and Shadow Mountain Sasha (one of her 2008 ewe lambs). She answered all my questions, spent time showing me her sheep and encouraged me to contact Shannon Phifer of Kenleigh Acres when I was looking for other lambs within driving distance.



Shannon has also been a great source of information for me, and I purchased two ewe lambs from her 2008 lamb crop, Kenleigh's Symphony and Kenleigh's Pacifica, both two horn black and whites. When she found out I was looking for a lilac ewe lamb she put me in touch with Joan Gross who had just what I was looking for....and I sent a deposit for Mud Ranch's Constance, a 4 horn lilac.


From there I started lusting for more lilacs and decided to look for a lilac ram. I offered 4 Horn Farms Dream to Mark and Cathie Williams of Swallow Lane Farm, and off to his new home he went. Mary Tonkin sent me a link for Oregon Wool dot com and said there was a nice lilac ram lamb on there. A few e-mails later and I had an agreement with Sandy Van Liew of Windy Acres to purchase her ram lamb, Windy Acres Lawrence, A 4 horn lilac.



From here it goes to my beginning blog entry for the Black Sheep Gathering where I picked up Lawrence, Pacifica and Symphony, and fell in love with Meridian Gypsy and met her owner, Robin Lynde from CA. not to mention my "start" in Shetland sheep, Bella. That's it for now....

5 comments:

goatgirl said...

Hi, Thanks for visiting my blog. I had to come by and visit yours. It is great to find another animal/farm blog in Washington.
But shame on you. I am now lusting after a Shetland sheep. I have Shetland Sheepdogs so why not a sheep? I always look at them at the fair.
I too have an animal addiction and loved what Michelle said on the first comments. She is dangerous.
It was interesting reading about your llama. I have two and both have very different personalities neither which are overly friendly. Was that a lady named Kate in that one picture? I swear it looks like the lady that brought out my llama last spring.
Your sheep are very lovely. I'll be back.

Michelle said...

Sounds like you may have a market for some of your Shetland lambs next spring! (Look out, Goatgirl!) Oh, and Goatgirl may want to look at this blog (http://silveraurorashetlandsheep.blogspot.com/) by a Shetland breeder and herding dog trainer has successfully trained several Shelties to herding titles.

Yes, it is hard selling one's "babies." Rechel is making it very hard to let her go, but like you, I know she is going to a great home.

Gone2theDawgs said...

Yes, goatgirl, it sounds like you NEED some Shetland sheep to go with your dogs! :) (My first dog (45 years ago) was a Blue Merle Sheltie, got me hooked on herding breeds and I've never looked back!) The lady in the picture is actually Niki of JNK Llamas. She has a great website, info and an awesome llama named Eagle!

Laughing Orca Ranch said...

Oh wow! What a small blog world! I've been reading Mud Ranch's blog for a long time now, and had wondered where Constance was going.
How cool! You got her :)

Jacobs are gorgeous! If we had some real pasture here I'd probably be getting some, too.

So, for now, we only have our churro and karakul sheep.

But you've got a serious sheep addiction!
Will you be using all that wool or selling?

Laughing Orca Ranch said...

Oh wow! What a small blog world! I've been reading Mud Ranch's blog for a long time now, and had wondered where Constance was going.
How cool! You got her :)

Jacobs are gorgeous! If we had some real pasture here I'd probably be getting some, too.

So, for now, we only have our churro and karakul sheep.

But you've got a serious sheep addiction!
Will you be using all that wool or selling?