I started with her, Delilah, my Jacob / Romney sheep.
Delilah was sheared, her wool was skirted, picked, washed & carded into rovings, meaning the wool was turned into strips ,( shown above) then woven into rugs on my loom.
Here you can see the roving becoming a rug on my loom.
Done!
Turning the wool from my sheep into rugs seems like magic.The wool was simply washed and "brushed" to make it ready for weaving. Nothing was added, the wool is still all it was before it was sheared off the sheep ( minus the dirt & debris) , yet it bears little resemblance to the sheep now. I never tire of working with the wool from the sheep I love.Each fleece is as unique as the sheep the wool comes from.I think Delilah's wool makes a pretty nice rug.
"Transform:to change in outward shape or semblance ." Webster's
"..be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect." Romans 12:2
Little lamb, is this your mother ?
Little lamb, are these your brothers ?
Little lamb, is THIS your mother and sister ?
Little lamb, they won't claim you...
...so I will be your mother. ~
I am so happy with my newest lamb, she is sooooo cute! I am so thankful for her too. Last year Delilah's lamb died. I believe it was my fault, I should have been home. I had noticed her showing all the signs of lambing but as usual we had obligations away from home and in spite of my reservations , I went away for the day and came home to find a beautiful, full term lamb, dead on the ground with Delilah guarding it. She had not cleaned the birth sac off from around the lamb's face. Had I been home I could have easily done this and also made sure the lungs were clear of fluid, and the little lamb would most likely have lived. This was one of those times I got frustrated with so many aspects of my life conflicting with one another. Friends and family are important, but to me, my flocks are too. I cannot do a good job shepherding my sheep if I take them no more seriously than a casual hobby...to drop it when it is inconvenient and then pick it back up when I FEEL like it and it fits into my busy schedule. The little lambs are the fruition of months of planning, waiting, feeding and caring for the ewes when they are pregnant...joy when the lambs are born and then the new year of watching the lambs grow and deciding which lambs I might keep. Lambing time comes for a brief time every year, what kind of a shepherdess am I if I take this too casually , and what does this say about my stewardship of the flocks God has blessed me with?
I am thankful and comforted my Shepherd, THE Shepherd, is not at all conflicted about His care for me and you ; "Like a shepherd He will tend His flock, In His arm He will gather the lambs, and carry them in His bosom. He will gently lead the nursing ewes." Isaiah 40:11
And look, my husband made fudge this weekend, it is delicious! Don't you just want to reach into the screen and help yourself to a piece of this?A very nice weekend, a new lamb , lots of yummy food to eat while we watched the Super Bowl, and fudge!
~"Little Bo Peep has lost her sheep and can't tell where to find them. Leave them alone and they'll come home, wagging their tails behind them." . "Do I look like Little Bo Peep to you? Goodness, such a fuss and ruckus about tails ? Who needs a tail anyway? I don't! " says Delilah.
~"Then up she took her little crook, determined to find them; She found them indeed, but it made her heart bleed, for they'd left their tails behind them." Goth ( above ), ever proud of himself and knowing he is fully entitled to respect and admiration...says " I have a perfect tail! Short and covering a very important part of my anatomy. After all, who wants flies messing around in some very sensitive areas. They might lay eggs there and cause all sorts of distress that might distract me from pursuing my beloved ewes and ramming fences! I am perfectly pleased with my short tail!" ( he is looking a little pudgy here , I think)
~Here is a Jacob lamb with her tail still intact. There is a very tight rubber band on her tail, about 3 inches down from her spine, and it is cutting off circulation to the rest of her tail. It will wither and drop off. Sounds awful, but is necessary as far as I am concerned. " The tail in Jacobs is long, round and woolly reaching to the knees if un-docked.( you can see that this lamb's tail is even longer) Most people prefer to dock for the sake of cleanliness. Although Jacobs are fairly good at lifting their tails up, if they happen to get soiled--especially at lambing time or in the spring when the grass is lush and green-they can get heavy with dung tags. An owner would have to witness fly strike only once in their life to be convinced of the necessity of tail docking." Ingrid Painter JACOB SHEEP IN AMERICA
~" It happened one day, as Bo Peep did stray into a meadow hard by, there she espied their tails side by side, All hung on a tree to dry." Nursery Rhyme (above: lamb tails that have fallen off)
~Here is the posterior of Black Bart. He has a long tail. His tail has not been docked. The shearer needed to shear him to the end of his tail. Black Bart is an easy keeper and he says"My tail is quite beautiful, and I love the curls that grow out as my wool grows. Any cleanliness is your duty as a shepherdess to take care of. Just don't be expecting me to volunteer to stand still while you do that, or make it easy in any way for you to catch me!"
You might have noticed I tend towards tail docking in my sheep. Like any other topic, this can be controversial and I have read up on this, and seen the sheep of people who feel strongly that a sheep should not have it's tail docked. I respect their right to do as they wish, but I will continue to dock the tails of my sheep because there are hot and awful summers when flies are pretty pesky and sheep have wool. Wool does not shed like hair on a dog's tail will. The woolly tails of sheep get woollier and manure clings like sticky tar to it. Flies LOVE this gunk. They spread the word and before you know it, you have a thriving fly community in a very unhappy sheep's tail! And that's my sheep tale about tails today. My sheep do have tails wagging behind them, but they are SMALL tails!
Blessings: sheep, lambs, sunny spring days to watch lambs play
~We have mended the breaks in the fence, tied gates firmly, and replaced tarps to help prevent Goth from seeing the ewes ( girl sheep) on the other side. When he sees the ewes he tries to get to them, ramming and ramming, and ramming!The tarps do slow him down just a bit.The ram mask also helps by obstructing any straight-ahead vision he has and eliminating the full force straight on ramming. However, Goth still rams , or butts, or runs head on into anything he feels like ramming.He is , after all, a RAM! Rams don't do a lot of thinking, just what they are hardwired to do, RAM! Isn't this just a lovely photo? My oh my, tarps are just what every red neck family needs in their landscaping.
~Goth is checking out his repaired pen. Hmmm, tarps are secure. There is a board in place to lessen the force of a head-on ram, but still.....Goth knows there are ewes and ram lambs on the other side of this tarp. He is not THAT stupid to think they are gone, because his nose knows.
~Goth finds a place to peek at the ewes feeding close by. This is the gate Hubby just secured.~
~Goth is pretty restless. We have just pulled him out of the pen where he reigned supreme over the ewes. Now he is alone and he checks out every possible entry back into the ewe pen.
~Fortunately, we have a secret weapon! We have pastured one of our ewes, Delilah (half Jacob, half Romney ) at the home of Hubby's sister and her husband who live next door. Delilah was not helpful in our attempt to walk her next door to our home, and as she is a bit too heavy to drag over, Hubby and brother Thom hauled her in a wheel barrow. Look at Goth ! He is interested. He is waiting, and we release Delilah into Goth's pen.
~There you go. Goth is happy. Delilah is happy.There will be late spring lambs, and hopefully Delilah will keep Goth company long enough to spare our temporary fix on the fencing so we can do a really good job of it. Anyway, the secret weapon is working for now.
~The happy couple, Goth and Delilah( above ).~
~But be warned, he is still checking out his options and escape and destruction are only a head butt away!
~ Thank-you everyone for your comments and concerns regarding Goth. You are right, he is very dangerous. He is dangerous because he is a ram. Any and all rams are dangerous, tame or not, horned or not. Their sole purpose is to reproduce and get to the girl sheep any way possible. I do not, and never will, trust Goth. I do not enter into any pens containing Goth. We have worked out a system of feeding and penning Goth from the outside of his pen. He has not actively sought me out to ram, and I do not intend to give him a chance. However, if he does, or becomes too much more destructive he will be making the appointment at the taxidermist's, where his father is right now. Yup, Goth's father Torque became too aggressive and dangerous...Hubby dispatched him to the joy and relief of our grandchildren, and he should be coming home within the next few months, ready to be mounted on our wall.
Blessings: keeping sheep, fences, lambs, good neighbors we're related to, the cat peacefully snoring next to me as I write this post
~This picture was taken in the lambing jug, a small pen where Daphne was confined during lambing and for a week after lambing. Cupcake stayed in the lambing jug with Daphne. He came and went as he pleased, because being small, he slipped through the fence panels. But he did not stray far , or for long. Why would he, he had Daphne and all the alfalfa he could eat. Here he is , he and Daphne eating their alfalfa side by side.
~Cupcake and Daphne. I think the lamb is in the pen with her, but not visible in this photo.
~Cupcake taking a stroll with Delilah, Daphne's daughter. Really, Cupcake was totally devoted to Daphne and her lambs. I still miss Cupcake!
~Aren't they cute together ?~
~Cupcake was a bunny in need of a family, and he chose Daphne, our big, fat, Romney ewe ( girl sheep) as the target for his adoration and companionship. Cupcake was there during feeding time, eating alfalfa right out from under Daphne's chewing and chomping lips. Cupcake was there , in and around and underneath Daphne while she was lambing. ( having her baby) Cupcake was there while the lamb was tended, when the sheep were shorn, and for anything and everything Daphne and her little ewe lamb Delilah were involved in.
~Cupcake was not a tame rabbit, but definitely not a wild rabbit. He must have been released or have escaped his life as a pet or caged rabbit. Either way, he chose our flock as his family. He also discovered my Hubby's gardens , and I am afraid like Peter Rabbit , our Cupcake ran afoul of the farmer. Cupcake decided he especially loved to indulge in Farmer Hubby's Hostas and bulbs and the flowers Hubby so tenderly cared for . Cupcake apparently thought all this was for him.
~Cupcake lived here very happily for over a year. He actually ran with, fed with, slept with and played with the sheep ! Yes, he leapt around with the lambs, jumped over the sheep while they slept and would especially follow Daphne and Delilah around. He was truly devoted to Daphne and Delilah. But alas, his appetite was his undoing.
~My Hubby is very patient with my critters and has spent numerous back breaking hours building and re-building pens to keep MY animals out of HIS gardens and orchard. You see, he is the gardener and I am the keeper of the livestock and poultry. Often the two do NOT mix well. I am sorry to say that when Cupcake decided Hostas were his favorite food, even though he was able to freely gorge himself on alfalfa, well, his days here were numbered.
~We baited a trap with graham crackers, yes..graham crackers. Cupcake hopped in and CLANG! The doors to freedom were closed forever on Cupcake. I am sad about this. I miss Cupcake. But Cupcake became a pet. We gave him to a bunny lover. Our Hostas are safe. Phew ! Long live the Hostas!
~~~Delilah in the snow~~~
~~~On the way to the porch, after checking on Delilah, I got distracted by this beautiful dragonfly. I am fascinated by dragonflies, and the varieties around here are many. I think having a big pond in our front yard attracts them, and also provides a constant food source for them too.
~~~Here is a basket of Delilah's wool. I think her wool is getting lighter as she ages. Last year her wool was definitely black. This wool does not look black, but I can use dark brown wool too.
~~~It is relaxing to spin my wool on the porch and enjoy my porch company. As my bobbins filled up with single ply yarn I noticed the difference between the yarn Delilahs' wool produced last year and this year.~~~
~~~Do you see the difference ?~~~
~~~The difference is subtle, but the colors are different. If you were to begin knitting a garment with last year's yarn, then proceed onto this years' yarn to finish it, the difference would be glaring.~~~
~~~Candy-Cat sits with me. She is always a quiet companion.~~~
~~~This hummingbird is feeding at a feeder hanging from the grapevines growing along the porch, just 3 feet from where I am spinning. There are 2 feeders hanging from the grape vines and the hummingbirds come and go from dawn til dark. Sometimes the hummingbirds whiz by so close I can feel the air quietly whoosh my face.
~~~Beatrix is smiling at me. She loves me so much. She is happy to spend all her time just being near me. I don't think I am so very interesting, but Beatrix would even ignore food to be by me.
~~~The ducks, ever curious and hopeful there might be edible handouts waddle past, just checking !~~~
~~~There is room on my porch for more company, come on over, bring your needlework ! I'll brew us a pot of coffee and serve us some pie !~~~
