Since Dwynn was in medical school, it has been my passion to spin wool and to weave. I’m sure this interest was sparked by the MANY, MANY hours I was alone, fiddling with my clothing waiting for him to come home. My dream has been to have a flock of sheep grazing in my front yard while I sit at my loom, in front of a huge living room picture window, watching them. When we entered our new rental home, there it was! The house was much smaller than what we were used to but it had a living room with a huge picture window facing the pasture and the snow capped mountains. Being the only spacious room in the house, other than the basement, it didn’t matter; this was the new home for my seven foot loom. The kids weren’t happy but I was. The loom only blocked a seven foot view and there was still a bit of room to sit on a small couch and enjoy my newest project.
Now all we need are some sheep. Before that though, the pasture has to have an electric fence plus a barn for shelter and a watering hole. Being the middle of winter, this could not happen for several months. Inspired as I was, all I wanted to do was start a new weaving project. A small notice in the local paper mentioned information about the next weaving guild meeting held at a nearby church. The perfect avenue to meet new people and to pick up some new fiber!
The program consisted of a sales woman explaining her processing plant and the procedures used to attain the desired yarn from raw fleece. The event was very informative and a great opportunity for me to meet the locals. As things were winding down and we were enjoying a cover dish meal, a lady walked in carrying a small box. Inside was a six hour old ewe lamb. Her mother had died during birth and she needed taken care of. Well, WHY NOT! I told Dwynn I was probably going to bring home some wool. This was the cutest, sweetest, softest thing I had ever seen.
The lamb’s breed is Bluefaced Leicester. They are typically all white with a bare face, not blue however. Their wool (staple) is medium length and they originally came from England. They are often bred with other sheep varieties because their wool has such wonderful qualities.
I drove home with my new baby on my lap. Arriving in town, I saw Dwynn and the kids eating lunch at Subway. I put the lamb in her box and went inside. We chatted about the meeting and I explained how someone gave me some beautiful wool. As we stepped outside, Chloe peeked through my car window to see the wool, and yelled when it moved. Everyone came running. Our next stop was the feed store to purchase lamb formula, bottles and PAMPERS.
When we got home the kids named the lamb Tilly. She could barely walk. There was no need anyway, she was never put down. For about two weeks it was necessary to feed Tilly her bottle every two hours and change her diaper or she’d cry. She always had a bed to sleep in….whoever slept with her, had to feed her. Unfortunately sometimes she wanted me to herself and would butt Dwynn out of our bed and onto that little couch in the living room. She became quite comfortable in our home and quickly became an important member of our family. One habit she became fond of was, we’d be sitting on the sofa in the basement watching TV when all of the sudden, she’d leap from behind and land on our laps. Luckily, she always kept her diapers on and as she grew, so did her diaper size.
Her baa was adorable and not near as shrilling as Weezer’s call, yet they always spoke with each other and seemed to have constant conversations.
Three weeks after Tilly entered our humble abode, we got our pup, Akira. She was a six week old female, Blue Merle Boarder Collie. Collies are known to protect flocks of sheep. Every night she and Tilly would snuggle up together and sleep on their doggy bed. Eventually all the animals needed to be outside pets and the transition was becoming necessary, mainly because of Tilly’s appetite and diaper size! She LOVES the taste of paper. Her favorite game, which she never tired of, was grabbing the toilet paper and running ALL through the house without letting it rip. She was now tall enough to reach the table and computer printer. Our paper was disappearing for a couple of weeks before we realized who the culprit was. The kids could legitimately say at school “My sheep ate my homework” which unfortunately happened.
Sheep are social animals and they need friends before they can be put outside in the dark, cold, scary world. On the weekend, the farm chores began! We started at the feed store purchasing reels and reels of electric line, the electric motor, fence posts and lots of Dr. Pepper. All six of us were digging, pounding and pulling, while the animals ran around and played. With all of this being new to us, it became extremely frustrating when the fence wouldn’t work after several hours. If one blade of grass hits the wire, the electricity won’t conduct. If one wire is crossed or if the current isn’t set exactly right, it won’t work. If the grass grows while we are trying to figure out why it won’t work, a new blade will touch and it still won’t work. We had the boys keep testing it so we could see the strength of the shock. It became a game of might, to see who could hold on the longest. So far, we haven’t seen any benefits yet from the shock therapy. Dwynn, Chloe and I decided not to participate. The electric fence is used more for keeping stray dogs and coyote packs out, as it is for keeping the sheep in. We called our Amish neighbor and he delivered the cutest red barn. It was perfect for Tilly and her new friends to live in.
We bought a set of Bluefaced twins and another orphan ewe. Then we participated in the Montana State Fair where Tilly brought home a blue ribbon, and four new friends, two Shetland and two Romney ewes. We were so proud! All were champions in their fleece division. We now have the perfect weaver’s flock, an assortment of different colors from white to black. All we needed now were a couple of goats. Sure enough, I found two cashmere ewes. I’ve discovered two things, when you have a suburban and a large supply of diapers, who needs an animal trailer and whenever you want to buy an animal in MT, it’s available.
I always make these at the beginning of the summer and keep them in the freezer. When we have guests drop by, I pull them out and serve them. They are so pretty and very refreshing!
Frozen Fruit Kabobs
2 Cans Peach Slices, cut in half
2 Cans Pear Slices, cut in half
2 Cans Pineapple Chunks
2 Cans Dark Sweet Pitted Cherries
2 Cans Mandarin Oranges
Fresh Green Grapes
Apricot Brandy
Marinate all fruit in Apricot Brandy for 24 hours. Skewer fruit assortment on small shish-kabob sticks. Freeze in single layer on cookie sheets. When frozen, remove and gently place in freezer bags. Cherries will add beautiful purple color to fruit. Serve frozen on platter or stuck into whole pineapple. Will last until eaten!
another great story!
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