Summer, 2014

Good News from Vermont

We received good news from Lydia Smith from Vermont who had purchased a ewe lamb and a yearling ewe from us in early May. At the North East Youth Sheep Show,  the yearling won Reserve Champion, best fleece, and best head.  Lydia is a natural, as you can see in these pictures!

Sheep Lead-In

Who knew we would ever be involved in the sheep lead-in competition again?!

At the Madison and Fayette County fairs and the Ohio State Fair, we were well-represented by four-year-old Alli Knecht in the lead-ins. Alli's parents, Angie and Matt Knecht, bought two of our lambs so that Alli could participate in the lead-ins. I knitted a dress and hat from our wool for Alli. She named her sheep Katie and Sparkles, and she quickly became friends with them. Above is a picture of Alli modeling her outfit. As you can see, she's knows what she's doing! Alli and her cousin showed both lambs in pairs, winning first place at the state fair.

Michigan Fiber Festival in Allegan

ZNK Border Leicesters had a successful weekend in Michigan. First of all, we took the white ewe lamb that failed to sell at Wooster. She won Champion White Long Wool Ewe and found a new home in Virginia with Cathy Shiff.

In the Natural Colored Long Wool division, our ram lamb was champion.

 And our ewe lamb beat our first place yearling for champion Natural Colored Long Wool Ewe.

In all, we had 9 first place ribbons, 2 second, one third and 1 fourth. We also were awarded Premiere Breeder for Natural Colored Long Wools. Not bad!

Workshops

I also had a chance to take a couple of workshops during the week. I attempted to weave again, this time on a rectangular continuous strand loom from Hillcreek Fiber Studio using yarn that I spun. I wove a divided work basket in a workshop with Bev Larson, The Basket Lady.

A week in SW Michigan with friends, new and old, is something we look forward to every August. 

ZNK Fall Update, 2012

Michigan Fiber Festival, August 18-19, Allegan, Michigan

We made our annual trip to Allegan for our favorite sheep and fiber show.  We took 7 natural-colored Border Leicesters and felt pretty successful with the results. We had Reserve Champion ewe and won Premier Breeder in the Long Colored Wool show. Not only did the show go well, but we were happy to see friends from previous shows. Everyone is so nice. Sadly, one of our favorite restaurants, London Grill in Plainwell, closed soon after we ate there with friends Brian and Jennifer Larson. In the meantime, we have found Salt of the Earth in Fennville, an excellent place to eat with our friends Janet and Tim Thieme who live in Kalamazoo. And we made new friends like Susan Munson from Fennville who loved a fleece on one of our ewes and put in an order for it. We look forward to returning to Allegan in August, 2013!

Ohio State Fair, 2012

We didn't show at the Ohio State Fair this year, but one of our white ram lambs made an appearance. He was the Grand Champion white long wool ram. Here he is being shown by his new owner Travis Johnson.

The Big E, Sept. 23, West Springfield, Mass.

Yes, we returned to the Big E in West Springfield, Massachusetts, this year. We enjoyed the venue - even camping in the parking lot in our little camper - so much the previous year, we decided to give it another shot. We took 6 natural-colored Border Leicesters and came home satisfied. We had four firsts, four seconds, one third, two fourths, and one fifth...all placing in the upper half of each class. We were just one point behind the premier breeder award...not bad! We also came home with a new ram, trading our first place ram for Emma Morton's reserve champion ram. Of course, the food is great at the Big E where there are places to eat in each of the replica state houses for six New England states and the Storrowtown Tavern (lobster bisque, crab cakes, and so on). And you can't top the home cooking at the potluck following the show! There is really no reason to leave the fairgrounds.

Jerry with first place early spring ram lamb.

NAILE, November 14, Louisville

While one of us took off for a week in Florida (Dena), the other (Jerry) headed for Louisville with 7 natural-colored border leicesters. We did well, coming home with two silver julep cups, reserve champion ewe and reserve champion ram. Also, another white ram sold to Callie Taylor of Pennsylvania won its class and was reserve champion in the junior show.

And so...we've had a good year. We've met some wonderful people along the way, had success showing the sheep and fleeces, and improved our flock. We look forward to 2013 and a new crop of lambs.