These two photogenic guys are Cyrano, a brown Merino, and Steenie, a white Bluefaced Leicester.

The rams have been turned in with the ewes November 1, and will stay until mid December. I keep back the 2009 replacement ewe lambs, away from the rams until they are over a year old and fully grown. I separate the ewes by color, breed, and fleece type, then pair them with a ram that is unrelated, and well matched. The ewes are bred for fleece type, purebred blood lines, growth and vigor. This is the last year I will use multiple rams, since I have so many really nice ewes I will keep them and change rams every two years instead of replacing the ewes.

These lovely girls are a couple of the brown, or moorit, ewes I especially love for the color of their fleece. I keep covers on the sheep year round to keep the fleece free from sun damage and fading. Handspinners appreciate the naturally colored clean wool to create beautiful yarn with.

Lambing will begin around the end of March 2010, and I will be dreaming of dancing lambs throughout the winter months. I will begin shearing in mid February and work my way through the flock in three weeks. As I shear each sheep, I take time to trim hooves, replace missing or damaged ear tags, replace the old coat with a fresh one, then skirt and label the fleece as soon as it comes off the sheep.