~~~A basket of wool from my Delilah, my Jacob / Romney ewe who started out as a very black sheep and is now a charcoal gray sheep. I spin the wool up and this is what I have for my effort.
It is 2 ply, and yes, she is a black sheep. Her wool is getting lighter and this year I think I would call the color of her wool 'charcoal brown '. I do not think her wool is a true black and it appears to be fading into a nice brown as she ages.~~~ 
~~~This is my new lamb.( below ) Bartholomew. I am sure my daughter and grandchildren will shorten his name to BLACK BART. I am sure I need black fleece to spin black yarn, and Bartholomew was a necessary addition to my flock, don't you think ? Well, maybe Hubby could have been very happy and content without one more baa-ing , woolly, hay chomping animal on the place, but he DID haul little Bartholomew home after all. Isn't he cute ? He is the same age as the other lambs he is confined with. Bartholomew is a Black Welsh Mountain ram lamb...soon to be wether, a fancy term for 'castrated male sheep', shhh......don't tell him.
~~~"
Baa baa black sheep have you any wool, yes sir, yes sir, three bags full." Yes indeed, my Delilah gave me at least 3 bags, or to be precise, one BIG bag of black wool which I think is quite nice.
~~~"BLACK WELSH MOUNTAIN SHEEP : The black Welsh Mountain is a small, black sheep with no wool on it's face or legs below the knee hock. The rams are typically horned,and the wool, always black, can be used un-dyed for many cloths."..." The wool is black , short, thick and firm to handle and does not require dyeing."
quotes from Wikipedia. So, here again is little Bartholomew. He is very easily handled, and becomes calm when I pick him up. Very unlike my Jacob sheep. Very nice and I just might halter train him so he can be easily handled by our grandchildren.
~~~When you hear the term,' the black sheep', you usually think of someone who stands out in a group in an unfavorable way. BLACK SHEEP is an "
English language idiom which describes an odd or disreputed member of a group, especially within one's own family. The term has been looked upon either positively or negatively depending on the era and culture which the term was used. " Wikipedia
~~~"The term originated from the occasional black sheep which are born into a herd of white sheep, due to a genetic process of recessive traits. Black sheep were considered commercially undesirable because their wool cannot be dyed, as white wool can. In 18th and 19th century England the black color of the sheep was seen as the mark of the devil." Wikipedia
~~~The black sheep in my flock have NOT been my troublesome and unruly sheep. The black sheep have not needed to be dealt with in any extraordinary way. The black sheep stand out simply because they are black ! They are different in appearance. Really , the black sheep are desirable to me. I want the black fleece and I want to spin up the black fleece.
~~~I don't want to pontificate on the scriptural and spiritual comparisons and analogies of white / black sheep. I do want to say that because the black sheep stand out in appearance from the more common white sheep ( in my case, spotted sheep ) their behavior and tendencies readily call attention to them.
~~~So maybe my analogy or comparison is not the typical one we might see and hear about so often. If we as
Christians, meaning 'Christ Followers", stand out because we call ourselves such, and call attention to ourselves because we are
Christians, do we really and truly represent Christ, The Son of God,? Do our attitudes and behavior stand out as truly
Christian, or just STAND OUT ?
~~~"
All we like sheep have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; But the Lord has caused the iniquity of us all to fall on Him. He was oppressed and He was afflicted, yet He did not open His mouth;Like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that is silent before it's shearers, so He did not open His mouth." Isaiah 53: 6,7
~It is snowy and cold outside here on Cedar Pond, but the kitchen is warm and busy and smelling of good things to eat. Hubby had to postpone his 'event' before Christmas because of the weather, but he is humming away in the kitchen Friday night as he prepares the food and snacks on his menu. He has set aside some fine wines and foods to complement the wines for a wine tasting and "teaching". I wish you all could see the days and days of thought, research, and application that go into these events he LOVES to put on.
~We have endeavored to host a special night for the many friends and family we love. We still have a few more special people to have over for one of these events, and hope 2009 allows us the opportunity to have others partake of Hubby's passion. This night we have over some old friends ( as in friends of many years) to enjoy Hubby's work of love.We are so thankful to have been able to have the Andersons, Millers , and Rolands over to share our meal and fellowship. "Old wood best to burn, old wine to drink, old friends to trust, and old authors to read." Athenaeus
~Of course, after the meal and tasting we enjoy catching up on what is going on in each other's lives, and laughing with each other about the things that bring us joy. "Forsake not an old friend, for the new is not comparable unto him. A new friend is as new wine, when it is old thou shalt drink it with pleasure." Bible
~"God in His goodness sent the grapes, to cheer both great and small; little fools will drink too much, and great fools none at all. " AU Fortunately we do not have any little or great fools here, but dear friends through "thick and thin".
~"At the shrine of friendship never say die, let the wine of friendship never run dry." Victor Hugo
~and about the man in my life, my love..."Men are like wine, some turn into vinegar but the best improve with age." Pope John XXIII Hubby, you're only improving with age!
~"We hear of the conversion of water into wine at the marriage in Cana as of a miracle. But this conversion is, through the goodness of God, made every day before our eyes. Behold the rain which descends from heaven upon our vineyards, and which incorporates itself with the grapes, to be changed into wine; a constant proof that God loves us and loves to see us happy." Benjamin Franklin
~Give strong drink unto him that is ready to perish, and wine unto those that be of heavy hearts. Let him drink, and forget his poverty, and remember his misery no more." Proverbs 31:6-7
Blessings: abundance of food, good friends, good wine, fellowship, Hubby
