Where Did the Time Go?

We are finally getting around to updating our blog, thinking we missed a show or two. Little did we remember that the last time we posted was a year ago! As we prepare to leave for the Big E this Wednesday, we decided to catch up.

The Year in Review

• Following our success at the Big E in 2014, we headed to Louisville for the NAILE in November, where the bright spot was watching one of our ewes owned by Gina Bilyeu win Reserve Champion. Otherwise, we won a couple of classes, a little disappointment after doing so well in Massachusetts.
• As for our breeding season, we've cut back and only had 10 lambs, 5 rams and 5 ewes this year. We sold 2 ewe lambs before they were 6 weeks old.
• It seemed a good year to return to Maryland, where we won 5 out of the 8 classes, but alas, no champions.
  
  
  
• Memorial Day weekend brings us to Wooster and we took only one ram, Jack. He won champion ram and was the top selling ram. He was purchased by the Barney family of New Hampshire. Perhaps we'll see him at the BigE?
  

At the same time, we sent TP, one of our rams who had sired many winners to New York with the Knappenberger Family.

• Then life became very busy as our son Zac and his family moved to Amherst, Massachusetts, this summer (of course, we were delighted since Amherst is a short drive to West Springfield). We even timed a trip to stop in to see the Northeast Youth Sheep Show and expose our grandkids Lucia and Theo to the world of showing sheep.
• August rolled around and we made it to the Michigan Fiber Festival in Allegan. We enjoy the show mainly because of all the wonderful Michigan Sheep Breeders we have met over the years.  I love my workshops - this year 3 baskets and some alpaca spinning - and look forward to Jerry bringing the sheep for the weekend show.
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A Good Year!

Reserve Champion Ram Natural Color Wool

As much as we enjoy the sheep business, we still are hoping to sell our flock in the near future. Spread the word!

The Big E - 2014

Hurray!

We had another enjoyable time at the Big E in West Springfield, Massachusetts. This year we took ten sheep and had a lot of success!

• In the ram show we had the second yearling ram and the second senior ram lamb. 
• Our pair of ram lambs were second.
•  The first place junior ram lamb, which was also the reserve champion, was out of a ZNK ram Barbara Thompson had purchased from us.
• We won first and second in the yearling ewe class and second and third in the senior ewe lamb class.
• The yearlings won the pair of yearling ewes and the lambs were second in the pair of lambs class.
• We had champion and reserve champion ewes.
• We won Breeder and Exhibitor Flocks, Get of Sire, Best Fleece, and Best Headed female.
• To top it all off, we won Premier Breeder and Exhibitor.
• In the final all-breeds fleece competition, we were pulled out in the top four.

Of course, the Big E is not all work and showing sheep. We had a great time reconnecting with other sheep breeders from all over. We especially enjoyed hanging out with Lydia and Hannah Smith from Vermont. 

            

Best Headed Ewe

Reserve Champion Yearling

            

Breeder and Exhibitor Flock

Champion Yearling and Best Fleece

See you at the NAILE in November in Louisville!

May, 2014

We took a quick trip to the Maryland Wool Festival to deliver 2 ewes to Lydia Smith from Vermont. We just happened to arrive in time to see the natural colored Border Leicester show. The champion ram and ewe were purchased from us at the Wooster sale last year. The ram was shown by the Sands family and the champion ewe was shown by the Bilyeu family, both from Pennsylvania. 

Wooster was pretty successful. We had the top selling natural colored ewe, and our ram was the reserve champion. It was great to see old friends and meet new ones interested in the Border Leicester breed.

We feel lucky to have sold quite a few sheep in the past month. We hope the sheep will do well for their new owners.

Now we look forward to the Michigan Fiber Festival in August. Hope to see you there!

NAILE 2013

Success in Louisville!

Our luck in the show ring this year continued at the NAILE in Louisville. In the Natural Color Border Leicester ewe show we had the first place yearling ewe, first place senior ewe lamb, and second place junior ewe lamb. The senior ewe lamb was also Champion Ewe and Best Fleece. 

We also won all three pair classes and flock, which was undefeated this year.

We have had a lot of help showing the sheep throughout the year . We'd like to thank Brian Larson, Emma Hopkins, Colin and Artie Siegmund, Don Drummond, Jill Morton, David Freds, Tyler Myers, and Alisun Watson.

 We'd like to wish ewe Happy Holidays!

The Big E, 2013

Jerry soloed at the Big E this year with much success. He took seven sheep and came home with a lot of ribbons and smiles. In all he had eight firsts, two seconds, one fourth, one sixth, and a tenth.

The ram lambs had a perfect day. They won the senior ram lamb, junior ram lamb, and pair of ram lamb classes. The senior ram lamb was picked champion ram, while the junior ram lamb was reserve. The first place yearling ram was one that we sold to Barbara Thompson last year. He also sired the reserve champion ewe lamb.

The yearling ewes didn't do as well, placing sixth and tenth. However, they did place second in pairs (you figure that one out). The senior ewe lambs were first and second in their class and paired up to win the pair class. The final ewe lamb placed fourth in its class.

Jerry also came home winning Exhibitor's Flock and Breeder's Flock. The champion ram lamb also won Best Fleece. Just before leaving the show, Jerry was awarded The Big E Shepherd award, topping off a great week.

See you all in Louisville!

Michigan Fiber Festival, 2013

The Michigan Fiber Festival Workshop Experience

For the past eight (or maybe more) years in mid-August, I’ve been going to the Michigan Fiber Festival in Allegan, Michigan, for several days of workshops. Each year I come home with a new or renewed passion for a craft. Over the years, I’ve improved my spinning and knitting skills, learned to make baskets, rugs, and paint yarns. I especially enjoy the workshops when I come home with a finished project. This year was special. I signed up for the Continuous Strand Weaving workshop, led by Carol Leigh from the Hillcreek Fiber Studio in Columbia, Missouri. The workshop lasted two days, although it took me three and a half to finish, and I came home with a beautiful shawl. What really made it special is that I used all natural yarns from our Border Leicester fleeces, white and natural colored.

The Michigan Fiber Festival Sheep Show Experience

Jerry arrived in Allegan on Friday with a trailer full of sheep and fleeces. This year he brought a yearling ram, 2 ram lambs, 2 yearling ewes and 2 ewe lambs, all natural colored. The sheep show was on Saturday morning (btw, the weather was perfect...cool and sunny). The judge was Sam Wiford from Ohio. One yearling ewe won her class; we won pair of yearling ewes and pair of ram lambs; and we won first in flock. The yearling ewe also was champion natural colored ewe. This all added up to winning Premier Breeder in the natural colored show. We were pretty happy with the results. Even better, we came home with no fleeces, having sold them all. We also came home with one less ram. We  found a new home for Emmit at Clearwater Farms in Coldwater, Michigan, where he will be well-taken care of. 

We highly recommend the Michigan Fiber Festival  - we haven’t been disappointed yet!

New Crop of Lambs - 2013 

Out of ten ewes, we welcomed seventeen lambs by the end of February. The biggest surprise was the fourteen pounder! There were five rams and twelve ewes, which is a good thing:) 

We're headed to the Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival with eight natural-colored sheep and three white the first weekend of May. At the end of May, we'll be bringing some to sell at the Great Lakes Fiber Show in Wooster. We're looking forward to reconnecting with fellow Border Leicester sheep breeders this spring from Rhode Island to Montana. 

Below are a few shots of the lambs:

Flock For Sale!

We're ready to downsize (and spend more time with our granddaughter). If anyone is interested in investing in a great flock of Border Leicester sheep, mostly natural-colored, let us know. Hope to see you in Maryland or Wooster in May.

Update - 2012

Other than a quick overnight trip to Maryland to pick up a new black ewe (champion at Maryland the previous year), things have been quiet around here since fall. Lambing in January and February went well - finished by February 16! Half ewes, half rams - total of 16. We've had luck in selling too. In December, we sold sheep to people in Delaware, Ohio. We then sold more to the Taylors in Pennsylvania. We sent fleeces to Maine and one to Alaska. In Athens, Ohio, there are 2 ewes who with the help of our ram had 5 lambs. Needless to say, it's been a good year so far.

Wooster - 2012


We were happy with the National Border Leicester Sale in Wooster Memorial Day weekend. We sold four head for over $1800. And we bought a ram lamb from Tiffany Deakin (can't go home empty-handed!). The weekend was fun getting together with other border leicester breeders. On Friday evening, there was a potluck put together by the Fogles (in spite of Marilyn's shoulder injury). Saturday night was a lovely dinner at the Olde Jaol in town. People brought things for a silent auction (representing sheep or their state). We made contacts to sell fleeces along the way, so all-in-all, it was a successful trip.

Summertime 2011

ZNK Border Leicester Summer Update

Great Lakes Fiber Festival - Wooster, Ohio

Memorial Day weekend is the traditional kick-off for summer, and ours began with a successful weekend at the Great Lakes Fiber Festival in Wooster which hosts the National Border Leicester Sale. We sold three sheep. The black ram lamb won his class and was sold to Sarah Jakeman of Some Day Soon Farm, New York. The white ewe was second in her class and was sold to Montana Aerie along with our other yearling ewe in the sale.

June and July on the Farm - West Liberty

In spite of a very hot summer, it was a good one. As soon as Jerry arrived home from Wooster, our granddaughter Lucia's 2-week visit began. Zac and Rebecca took off for Spain, and we gladly offered to entertain Lu while they traveled. We introduced her to the sheep, hoping that she'll get to feel comfortable around them and help her Pappy show them someday. Her favorite activity, as seen in the photo, was helping Pappy mow the lawn.

In the meantime, I started renting a booth at Hidden Treasures in West Liberty. I have hand-painted yarn, hand-spun yarn, roving, and hand-knitted items for sale. I'm hoping the sales improve in the fall when people are looking for woolen projects to do, as well as hats, scarves, mittens, and wrist-warmers to keep them warm this winter. Look here for future listings of fleeces for sale.

In July, Christine, a dear childhood friend, visited us from California for a few days. She thoroughly enjoyed the small farm experience, including helping Jerry wash and trim sheep.

It was time, of course, to get them ready for the Ohio State Fair later in the month.

Speaking of the state fair, we had a second in a class of 5 and a 3rd in a class of 12. Two of our fleeces placed second and third. We had hoped to do better. Unfortunately, the ewe we thought could be a winner didn't get entered.

Michigan Fiber Festival - Allegan

Mid-August brought us to the Michigan Fiber Festival in

Allegan where we were very successful.

In the yearling ewe white long-wool class we had a first

and third. Those 2 ewes then won the pair of yearling ewes.

The first place ewe went on to win champion white long-wool ewe and then supreme champion ewe.

In the natural-color long-wool show our yearling ram won

his class and was reserve champion NC ram. The NC yearling ewe and the NC ewe lamb each won their class with the yearling being the champion and the lamb being the reserve champion NC ewes.

We also sold a lot of fleeces, so it was definitely a successful year in Michigan!

What's Next?

We're headed to the Big E in West Springfield, Massachusetts, to show for the first time. We look forward to seeing familiar faces at the Border Leicester Show and meeting new breeders as well.

Wisconsin Lamb Joins Our Flock

Looking like she belongs in Ohio!

Jerry found a natural-colored ewe lamb with a beautiful fleece from www.thistlewoodborderleicesters.com, so three days after Christmas, we headed north through Chicago and continued northwest of Madison Twenty-one hours later we arrived home (on our 37th wedding anniversary) with our new ewe lamb.

Spring Update

Okay - I am ashamed for not keeping up with the blog. I really thought I would do it, but life just gets in the way! Anyway, here are updates on what we've been up to in the past several months:

-It wasn't until mid-March when we were finally done lambing. We ended up with 16 lambs.

-We went to the Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival the first week of May (should've known it was going to be a hot summer since the temperature reached 90 that weekend). We took the camper for its first trip and had a great time. No sheep showing this year!

-Our nephew Brady was visiting with us for several weeks and we got him involved in a lot of projects, including washing sheep and painting the barn.

Here is Brady washing sheep - not sure who got wetter!

- At the end of May (Memorial Day weekend), we headed up to Wooster to be bystanders again at the National Border Leicester Sale. We did find a rack to put in the back of the truck at the equipment auction, which later this summer came in handy when we took sheep and the camper to Allegan.

Here are Jerry and Brady at the Wayne County Fairgrounds

relaxing at the camper after the sheep show.

First Lamb of 2010

Finally - the first lamb has arrived! The mother is a natural color ewe we bought in New York (already bred) in October. The sire is also natural color. They came from Seldom Seen Farm (Barbara Thompson). Surprisingly, she is the whitest lamb we've ever seen - not what we expected!