Sunday, February 17, 2013

Hello,
  It is an exciting time here at Rocky Top!  This week is set to bring warmer temperatures and Rachel and I spotted several robins on a walk today.  I will take these signs to indicate that Spring is just around the corner.
  In a bit older news, we have expanded!  Our purebred flock grew by four ewes earlier this winter, bringing our total number of purebred animals to seven! Visit the the "Sheep" page for more info about these lovely little ladies.  They were a rare find being young and from fairly close.  Even more amazing, they are tame.  Not just 'barely-tame' as in, "I can feed them without them trying to kill each other to get away," but actually tame.  They will come up and eat out of our hands.  Their bravery has inspired the rest of the un-tame flock to calm down just a bit, and has resulted in Bucky eating out of our hands as well.  I think with each new ewe his head gets a little bigger, but that may be just the horns.
  We will be expecting lambs sometime in the next month.  It is always an exciting anticipation, waiting to see what we will get for the year.  Hopefully the girls lamb a few ewes.  It is easier to expand a flock through breeding than through buying.
  I have not heard how the wool spinning has been going.  I will need to check on how well it spun up and hope to find more consumers for the coming years!
  I do know how the lamb tastes, because I have had it several times now!  For our Christmas meal in Northern Minnesota, Rachel and her mother made roast lamb shoulder with mint dumplings.  It was absolutely delicious.  If you've never tried lamb, I encourage you to indulge yourself with one of Earth's most tender and flavorful meats.
  I don't think I have stated it before, but if you are interested in wool, lamb, or purebred breeding stock, please don't hesitate to let me know.  I may not have anything "in-stock" as my production is limited, but we may be able to work something out for the future.
  That's all for now.  Remember, as all good shepherds know, "Keep those you love close, for their health, and yours."

Joe