This week at the Salty Ewe Farm . . .

New lamb! Mama Rita gave birth last week, and  on April 9th I got to visit with darling, curious, and daring little no-name-as-of-yet ewe lamb. Nothing like having ones fingers nibbled by such an innocent little sweetie.

The following morning (7AM-ish), other members of the flock were looking as if their turn at lambing was just around the corner. The sounds of birds chirping and sheep baaing was a pretty near-perfect soundtrack for my viewing pleasure.

It couldn't have been a more memorable spring visit to the Salty Ewe.

The Salty Ewe Farm in November

The pictures speak for themselves. Another lovely day of visiting with the flock, this time with a new stud on display. Hercules came down from Romney Ridge Farm in Wiscasset, ME. Big Bill moved on to Shearbrooke Farm, due west of Portland, where he will surely keep a new group of ewes happy, and lend his glorious cocoa coat to the farm's fiber production.

Big Bill

Big Bill is indeed.

Hercules is handsomely mottled over his face and body with browns and creams, and has a long tail. Two of the Babydoll Southdown ewes have enjoyed his company in the specially-created "love nest" -- three is definitely not a crowd for this bunch!

Little Hercules

The other light and dark ewes munched peacefully in the groomed field, keeping a wary eye on me and my cameras. Though I brought apple slices to lure them in, they are tough to convince that I am harmless.

See more images at the Walking Wool facebook page. 
Maybe this is the winter when I will shoot sheep in snow. Fingers crossed.

Friendship

Had a nice breakfast at The Friendly Toast in Portsmouth with my dear Sara yesterday. Some laughs, some tears, and comfort food on a chilly but sunny day. She has interesting plans for the Babydoll Southdown flock at The Salty Ewe Farm this year, and it is great fun to share thoughts and ideas and encouragement.

Last year's mother and child duet.

Peeking into the sheep barn at The Salty Ewe.

Olde English Babydoll Southdown roving I have spun.

A little pee stop.

Oh, just a few more . . .

Couldn't help but post a few more scenes from recent wool-and-dog fun-and-games.

Here's Jeric with new-ish friend Beate in ME, and Jeric keeping an eye on our dye pot.

More sheep shots from the visit . . .

And, volunteer work at Worcester Animal Rescue League. Liz is a great dog adoption coordinator. Tulip and Zeus think so, too.

Ok, this is so bad . . .

My friend Sara's new blog The Salty Ewe is a wonderful read. Puts me to shame. Here it is AUGUST, and I actually have been fiber-busy, but who would know it? So, back to posting.

Some of my July and, now early August activities have included:

Meeting with the Guild women and experimenting with a new large drum carder, and a rather intimidating (think medieval!) wool picker. We made beautiful batts as you can see . . .


And, some nice mother-daughter time at the Hillsdale farmers' market . . . something we both enjoy doing together.


Of course, spending a few days a week volunteering at the Worcester Animal Rescue League remains important to me, and so rewarding. One of my favorite girls is Bobbie Lee, a banshee in her kennel and a doll on the leash. Just a gorgeous girl.


And,yes, time with dear friend Sara in ME last month was heavenly.Jeric and I slept in her camper, went for nice walks with Sara and Beate, and enjoyed the sights and sounds and smells of the sheep and their wool. Dyeing and washing on her porch in some the nicest summer weather we've had, was, in my opinion, a gift of a day.




Big plans for August include another dye day with Sara, giving a workshop with the Guild at NOFA/Mass' Summer Conference 2010, and much more picking and carding!

Good news from Kennebunkport

A little ram lamb was born early Saturday morning in my friend's barn. Mother ewe and baby ram did well, enjoying the unseasonably warm temps all of New England experienced over the weekend. We congratulate the shepherd and the Babydoll Southdown flock!

Happy Holidays

Making the rounds with the holiday phone calls, I was updated on Sara's new handknitted hat venture. She just delivered her first bulk order of 10 locally-grown, hand spun (and in some cases, hand-dyed with natural dyes), and hand-knitted Maine wool hats to her customer. A chief contributor to the Babydoll Southdown wool knitwear was this guy, Rollie the Ram, chief sire of the growing flock, the guy who started it all with Sara's Southdown's.

Rollie's flock are producing a beautiful fleece in colors of cream, oatmeal, and chocolate brown. His offspring are sweet, fuzzy creatures (including Little Bill in the photo above with me). So exciting to see Sara manfest yet another facet of her creativity and shepherding skills.