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!

Flock For Sale

We've finally decided to sell our flock of white and natural colored Border Leicesters. Travel and family will be our focus now. Raising and showing the sheep have been an enjoyable and worthwhile experience that we've been able to share. The people we've met along the way are wonderful, and hopefully some of the travel plans will include sheep shows to visit with friends!

Our plans are to sell the flock as one unit. In the meantime, we'll sell at Wooster - The Great Lakes Fiber Show over Memorial weekend and possibly Rhinebeck - New York State Sheep and Wool Festival in October. 

Please contact Jerry at znkborderleicesters@gmail.com if interested.

We have had a lot of success and fun along the way!

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!

Great Lakes Fiber Show and Sale - Wooster - 2013

As Memorial Day approached, it was time for our annual trip to The Great Lakes Fiber Show in Wooster. We loaded up the camper for its first trip of the year along with five lambs in the back of the truck and headed north. Unlike last year when it was in the 90's, it was a chilly day barely in the 50's.

Once we arrived, it was time for settling in and trimming, while catching up with everyone. On Friday night we gathered at the Great Western for a potluck with the other border leicester breeders. Thanks to the Fogles for organizing and furnishing delicious lamb.

On Saturday it was time to get ready for the show. Judge Judy Moore placed two of the lambs in second and one in first in their classes.

That night we met for our annual Border Leicester Breeders dinner at the Olde Jaol Restaurant in downtown Wooster. We had excellent company and food along with a silent auction featuring wines, foods, photographs, and a quilt.

On Sunday we were pleased to have a good turnout of buyers at the sale. All of our lambs sold at good prices and went to homes in Indiana and Pennsylvania. One even went home in the back seat of a car!

The ram lamb and one of the ewes found their way to Pennsylvania.

What's next? We'll be shearing in July and will have fleeces for the Michigan Fiber Festival, which is the third weekend in August in Allegan. Don't miss it!

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. 

Fall, 2011 - The Big E

First Time at the Big E

Success - Champion natural-colored Border Leicester yearling ewe! Maybe it was beginner's luck, but we were thrilled. 

And what a terrific venue. The fairgrounds in West Springfield, MA is impressive - definitely not your typical state fair. We took our camper and stayed in the lot behind the sheep barn, just steps away from our animals. We found everything to be clean, and everyone was helpful and friendly. There is plenty to do from watching a free evening show of oldies music to wandering through the 6 replicas of the New England states' capitol buildings. We took a day trip through some beautiful areas and stumbled upon Smith and Amherst Colleges nestled in the hills. We thought this would be a one-time trip, but decided we have to return.

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.

Louisville, 2010

Jerry made his annual trek to the NAILE in Louisville last week along with 6 white and black sheep (including 2 yearling ewes, 1 ram lamb, and 3 ewe lambs). The natural-colored ram lamb, the first banner-winner we raised from birth (mother was the 2008 champion ewe and father was the 2009 champion ram), won reserve champion ram. Every year we learn more about how to prepare the sheep and their fleeces and we also learn how different judges look for different things! All in all, it's a great experience and fun to reconnect with friends. John Guffey is helping Jerry out in the picture above with the reserve champion.

Now it's time for shearing, which happens tomorrow. We will have a lot of fleeces (lamb, white, and natural-colored) available. Let us know if you're interested, spinners - only $5 a pound!