Lambing is Done - Whew!

Barabas and Barbaros - twin moorit ram lambs

We are all done lambing on Harmony Sheep Farm. We ended up with 4 rams and 4 ewes. Was hoping for more ewe lambs as I had a waiting list for some ewe lambs. Since I have a small flock and only want to have 10-12 ewes with a few rams at breeding season, we will be retaining the ewe lambs to evaluate as replacement breeding stock for the following year. We do not breed first season ewes, so we have a while to let these gals mature.

We are going to sell some of the ram lambs at a reduced price. I just have a hard time thinking about eating my own sheep (I know, I'm a wimp!), so I would rather sell them at market value and let someone else enjoy them as a possible flock sire, fiber pet or dinner. Pics of all the lambs can be seen on our webpage: http://www.harmonysheep.com/. You can also follow us on Facebook under Harmony Sheep: https://www.facebook.com/HarmonySheep

I was very surprised at the amount of flashing and spotting with this year's lamb crop. Every sheep is either spotted or has flashing. Last year was the complete opposite and I used the same ram. The color genetics is so facinating in the Icelandic Sheep breed. I love it! My favorite patterned lamb is the ewe lamb from Heather - lots of flashing with beautiful coal black fleece mixed in.

Brianna

The flock was sheared last week and ended up with some pretty nice fleece for winter fleeces. I have started skirting and surprisingly there was not much felting on Heathcliffe's fleece as his was a year's worth of growth. Not sure what I am going to do with his fiber as it is very long. Maybe I need to look into some felting projects. :)

Greg and I have started trail riding locally and Greg has been riding Harlow, our 9-year-old MFT mare in addition to Major. Major gets a little bit of a reprieve as Harlow needs to go back to work instead of living the life of leisure! She is doing well and can keep up with Betsy Sue....in fact Betsy Sue and I get passed frequently now. That rarely happens with slow and steady Major. HA!

Last Saturday Greg and I went to Rock Creek Park and came upon a trail that was not marked on the provided map. The trail was called Spirit Trail. It was very nice and someone had handpainted livestock skulls in Indian and Western themes. They were all nicely done! It was fun to see how the next skull around the bend in the trail was going to be decorated.

For those of you waiting on my young hens to start laying, here are a few updated pics. They have started venturing outside now.... not to far from the coop, but they are getting braver each week. The Golden Laced Top knots are comical and fun to watch peck the ground. I have always enjoyed top knots!

Let me know if you know of good felting project websites or blogs. I like looking at this site for neat "free" crotchet patterns: http://freecrochetpattern.weebly.com/crochet-patterns-horses-and-ponies.html

-Tammy