New Cows

I don't have pictures yet, but I have bought three new cows. Two are 5 year olds ... Amber-Dawn Ramona and Amber-Dawn Razzle Dazzle. The third one is an older girl at 12, Seven Oaks HoneyBun. Interestingly, one of the cows I looked at is due to calf and is 19 years old and very healthy looking, so I am hoping for a few more calves out of HoneyBun.

Razzle Dazzle is a HoneyBun daughter out of Eliden Magic Man, and Ramona is a granddaughter out of the same bull. I expect that one or both may be for sale once they have calved and are ready for someone to milk.

Exciting times here. Life is good!

p.s. ... for those who didn't notice, I played around with the new blogspot edit features. Kind of fun, but the look is almost the same as it was. I just like the simplicity ... so much like me ... LOL

Gold Laced Wyandottes

A few weeks ago, I went to visit my friend Michele Minty. I had brooded some chicks for us both and was delivering her half of the group to her.

I came home with this little flock of totally beautiful Gold-Laced Wyandottes. I'm going to keep them together over the summer and hope for some eggs to hatch. Of course, as soon as I got them they stopped laying and went into a molt. I'm getting about two eggs a day from them now, so they'll soon be back in full production ... :-)

Thanks Michele!

At/At

This guy, WillowGarden Toronto is out of a ewe that is both gulmoget and katmoget with the gulmoget being the Tisket type ... and Wintertime Red Velvet, who is a Dillon gulmoget. Since this guy shows no sign of katmoget, he must be double pattern gulmoget.

I like his tail and conformation ... but what strange facial markings he has! He is also half polled and will have scurs rather than horns.

I was really disappointed in his fleece when he was born, but it is coming in really soft and crimpy ... :-)

I wish that I had the time to work more with this guy's genetics! Maybe I'll try to work him into my Cormo X program ... unless someone in Canada wants to work with the two gulmoget patterns to determine what makes them appear different.

Sudbury ... Revisited

I am soooo growing to like this boy! Below is a poor quality photo of a fleece that I think will be awesome. When I named him Sudbury, he had no crimp, no lustre, no hand, and I thought ... no hope! This picture doesn't show it well, but this guy is coming in with an even crimp from front to back, an awesome lustre, and a wonderful hand.

Horns sure look like they'd be good ...

And he is out of North Wind Holiday, who microned finer than any Shetland ram I have ever KNOWN. His dam is out of Underhill Thelonius Monk (a ram I REALLY liked) and an F1 Orion daughter to boot.

Do I keep him or sell him? If you are on this side of the border and interested ... let me know if you are interested. I just want him to be used ... and I KNOW that I won't be able to use him this year with my Cormo X Shetland project just starting.

Life Is Good!

Last weekend my sister in Guelph threw an awesome party ... as only she can ... with help from her friends. My niece graduated last week from college, her 'promised' graduated from university, and nephew had just gotten his phd ... oh ... and I turned 60.

Here is my new licence plate frame ... Life is good ... Do what you like. Like what you do. Thanks Betty!

And how cool is this bottle of wine??! Thanks Debbie and Sebastian!

V Creak Leo - No Longer For Sale!

This ram is from Maureen Koch's breeding in Wisconsin. He is not tall, but is solidly built.

He is a Dillon gulmoget without the side dusting.

Again, his horns are close, but the shearer had no problem shearing under the horns.

Leo is three years old. Histogram results taken when he was two years and four months ... AFD - 26.53 ... SD - 4.81 ... SD - 18.1 ... Spin Fineness - 25.5 ... Comfort Factor - 82.5%.

UnderTheSon Two Bars For Sale - $300

Two Bars is from Theresa Gygi's flock in Indiana. His horns are not as wide as I'd like, but they are clearing enough that the shearer had no problem shearing this guy.

He is registered as mioget, but is darker than some.

He'd be an awesome herd sire for someone.

His lamb's fleece was AFD - 22.8 ... SD - 5.2 ... CV - 23.3 ... Spin Fineness - 22.6.

Pictures For Sale List

WillowGarden Wooler ... SOLD

WillowGarden Woodstock ... SOLD

WillowGarden Whitby ... SOLD

WillowGarden Waterloo

WillowGarden Sudbury ... NO LONGER FOR SALE

WillowGarden Snickertini (in fleece photo to follow)

Hopeful Sarah (in fleece photo to follow)

WillowGarden Salem

WillowGarden Picton

WillowGarden Opal (in fleece shot to follow)

WillowGarden Macaroon ... SOLD

HarmonyMarsh Lily with 2010 ewe lamb ... SOLD

WillowGarden Kitchener

WillowGarden Jodi Foster (in fleece shot to follow)

WillowGarden Jane Fonda (in fleece shot to follow)

WillowGarden Burlington

WillowGarden Baltimore ... NO LONGER FOR SALE

Updated Sale List ... Without Pictures

Willow Garden Shetlands 2010 Sale List

As is usually the case, there is a $25 per animal discount for purchases of three or more animals

MATURE EWES - I have to keep to 25 or fewer breeding ewes, so some on my best have to go!

1. WillowGarden Gin ... a 2008 black katmoget ewe, out of V Creek Hummer and WillowGarden Kagera AI. I suspect that this ewe is homozygous katmoget so all of her lambs will be katmoget. She has an awesome crimpy, fine fleece that is always one of the first to sell. She has thrown her awesome fleece on to her lambs consistently. I am retaining this ewe’s dam, and several of her sisters. … $350

2. HarmonyMarsh Lily ... a 2008 grey katmoget ewe carrying spotting genetics, out of HarmonyMarsh Archimedies and WillowGarden Hattie McDaniel. This is an awesome ewe. I am retaining her dam and two of her lambs. … $350 ... SOLD

3. WillowGarden Absolut ... a 2008 smirslet, sokket, black katmoget ewe, out of Underhill Thelonius Monk and Shepherdwds Linga AI. This is an awesome ewe and an F2 Orion. Her fleece is silver, fine, crimpy, even, and always sells on shearing day. I love this girl ... NO LONGER FOR SALE!

4. Hopeful Sarah ... a 2008 grey gulmoget, katmoget ewe, out of Beulah Land Duncan, and Hopeful Candy. I purchased this ewe from my friend Michele Minty, who has been selecting for spinner fleeces for many years. Her fleece is silver, even, crimpy, and very dense. She’d be a nice ewe to add pattern to a flock as every lamb she has will be gulmoget or katmoget. … $350

5. WillowGarden Macaroon ... a 2008 white ewe, out of Bramble Nick, and Great Plains Sara. This ewe is a perfect white you, carrying solid black as well (Awt/Aa). She was going to be a keeper, but I am buying a white ewe from Alberta and will be breeding with a white Cormo ram this Fall. This ewe is an opportunity for someone! … $350 ... SOLD

6. WillowGarden Opal ... a 2008 black katmoget ewe, out of V Creek Hummer, and WillowGarden Linyanti AI. This ewe has a fleece nearly identical to Gin’s, and it sells just as quickly. I am retaining her twin ewes from this year. … $350

7. WillowGarden Snickertini ... a 2008 grey gulmoget, katmoget, out of V Creek Hummer and Great Plains Isabell AI (Greyling daughter). This is another special ewe that would add wonderful genetics to anyone’s flock. Great fleece, wonderful fleece, and tame. … $350

YEARLING EWES - I sold three last winter and only have these two that I can make available!

1. WillowGarden Jane Fonda ... a 2009 moorit katmoget ewe, out of North Wind Holiday AI, and Hopeful Kaluha. This is a smaller ewe, like her sire, but very correct in every way. Here fleece is to die for and sold as soon as it came off of her on shearing day. She is a wonderful chance for someone to own a Holiday daughter. … $350

2. WillowGarden Jodi Foster ... a 2009 black ewe, out of North Wind Holiday AI, and Hopeful Karen. This is an awesome ewe with a great fleece. At first shearing, there were NO iset fibres! … $350

EWE LAMBS - With a smaller flock, there are fewer lambs. The lambs are the best I’ve ever produced. I am trying to keep my ‘no breed over winter’ list to 10!

1. WillowGarden Kitchener ... a 2010 black katmoget ewe lamb, out of WillowGarden Gin, and V Creek Leo. This lamb is exquisite and close to perfection in every way. She carries solid and is likely homozygous for black. Her fleece is a dark silver colour, very fine, even and crimpy. … $400

2. WillowGarden Wooler ... a 2010 grey ewe, out of North Wind Holiday AI, and Great Plains Isabell AI. This is another awesome lamb that I would be retaining if I didn’t have a cap on my numbers. … $400 ... SOLD

3. WillowGarden Woodstock ... a 2010 moorit ewe, out of WindyMeadows Columbo, and WillowGarden Liberia AI. Yet another amazing ewe lamb and one of the few moorits that I will be selling this year. She is carrying spotted and modified colour genetics. … $400 ... SOLD

4. WillowGarden Salem ... a 2010 moorit ewe, out of WindWater Rolo and North Wind Holiday AI. This is a solid ewe lamb, but she carries both spotted colour and modified colour genetics. Another ewe that could easily be on my keeper list. … $400

5. WillowGarden Baltimore ... a 2010 mioget ewe, out of WillowGarden Juice, and WillowGarden Shallot. This ewe has an awesome pale gold fleece that is even and soft. She will be retained if she doesn’t sell. … NO LONGER FOR SALE!

MATURE RAMS – These boys are listed as I always get requests for mature rams. Leo will likely be removed from the list at any moment … J.

1. V Creek Leo ... a 2007 black gulmoget, out of V Creek Diesel, and Justalit’l Hollypop. This ram is AWESOME. He is shorter and has horns that are closer than I’d like … but … he has a fine, even, crimpy and even fleece with NO white fibres in it. I may remove him from my sale list and I will NOT discount his price ... NO LONGER FOR SALE!

2. UnderTheSon Two Bars ... a 2008 mioget ram, out of UnderTheSon Torvus AI, and UnderTheSon Ellie. This boy has closer, clearing horns as well and an awesome fleece. He threw consistently awesome lambs when used last Fall by a friend of mine. … $300

RAM LAMBS - Out of the entire ram crop, these ones are the ones that I think will measure up as flock sires. I am over wintering 5 others.

1. WillowGarden Burlington ... a 2010 moorit (mioget) ram, out of FirthofFith Aman AI, and WillowGarden Amaretto. This boy broke a hind leg and I was going to cull him ... BUT his leg has healed well ... AND he is awesome! His fleece will be even, crimpy, about 5" long, and fine. His price is reduced due to his mishap. … $200

2. WillowGarden Waterloo ... a 2010 black katmoget ram, out of V Creek Leo and WillowGarden Gin. This ram is PERFECT in every respect. His fleece is fine, even, and crimpy! He would make a great flock sire. … $300

3. WillowGarden Sudbury ... a 2010 black ram, out of North Wind Holiday AI, and WillowGarden Absolut. This guy was a 'sleeper', named Sudbury because he appeared to have little going for him. But today at 11 weeks of age, he has large sweeping horns, a short fleece ... which is growing in with an awesome, even and consistent crimp! He is black, but also carries moorit and spots. … $450 (Can you tell that I'd happily keep him :-) ... NO LONGER FOR SALE

4. WillowGarden Whitby ... a 2010 moorit katmoget ram, out of WillowGarden Garnish, and WillowGarden Kazinga AI. This guy is big, and square with wide sweeping horns and a crimpy and even fleece that is like butter. $300 ... SOLD

5. WillowGarden Picton ... a 2010 black katmoget ram, out of V Creek Leo, and WillowGarden Helen Hayes. This guy is very square and correct with horns sweeping nicely and an awesome fleece. He will also carry a 'solid' gene. … $300

New Berkshire Boy(s)

Today I picked up an 8 week old Berkshire barrow. He is very cute! His mom's name is 'Kate' ... so I wondered about naming him 'Kate's Boy' ... or 'Tim' (hehehe) ... but have opted for 'Ham' (short for Hamilton ... ;-).
He is also MUCH smaller than my Large Black gilts, which are just a month older.
I am thinking that I should have brought along a brother for him to hangout with. I have called the breeder to see if one is still available ... Life is good!

PS ... there is still one available, so I will pick up my second choice, 'Hawks', short for 'Hawksbury', in the morning! In keeping the Ontario towns naming theme for the year, the two Large Black Pigs are ... 'Smoky', short for 'Smoky Falls' ... and 'Pork', short for 'Pork Rapids' (an Ontario ghost town). Yah gotta love the internet ... hehehe

Did I say that life is good? ... oh yah ... just above ... but it REALLY is ... :-)

Registered Cormo Rams

Somehow ... I have to select just one of these three registered Cormo boys to import into Canada ... *sigh* ... Life is good, eh!

Exciting News!

Well ... here is my BIG news ... :-)

In July, I will be importing two rams from the USA. One will be a registered Cormo (white), and one will be a coloured Cormo X.

This is a pictures of James when he was a baby. He was born in early December, so he is a big boy now ... and ready to take on a bunch of Shetland ewes. He is extension dominant, which is how he got the colour out of a white breed. I'll be using him on some of my spotted and modified colour ewes (mioget & emsket) in order to get wildly spotted sheep and modified colours in a Cormo fleece (Cormo sheep generally micron under 23 AFD!).
Above is James' sires fleece. Below is his dam's.
I am also looking at three purebred (and thus white) Cormo rams and will select one to import. He will be used to breed to my extension dominant Shetland ewes, and any others that I can find to purchase.

I WILL continue to breed purebred Shetlands, to be sure ... but ... I am excited to see what comes out of this cross ... :-)

New (Returning) Sheep

Yesterday, I went to visit Maria Weber's flock. That is where Suds came from. I just happened to have a couple of large dog crates crammed into the back of my truck ... ;-) Here is what 'followed me home' ... hehehe

UnderTheSon Two Bars ... an awesome mioget ram, who threw a LOT of awesome moorit and mioget lambs at Maria's. He is a Heights Orion grandson. I like this guy a lot. His horns are closer than I'd like them to be, but as a two year old, they are still clearing. He has an awesome fleece with great lock structure, and some amazing genetics behind him. He will be for sale at $350.
WillowGarden Shallot ... a 2006 black ewe out of WillowGarden Joan Crawford and WillowGarden Cliff Carlisle. This ewe carries modified colour genetics and had a grey lamb and a mioget lamb at her side. This ewe will be retained and used in my Cormo X breeding program. I'm hoping that she'd help add modified colours to those amazing Cormo X fleeces.
WillowGarden Baltimore ... a mioget ewe lamb out of WillowGarden Shallot and WillowGarden Juice. This girl is a lighter mioget with awesome fleece. She will be retained for now.

Another of Life's Lesson's Learned ...

Do NOT go to a farm to look at sheep when they are giving away cute, CUTE white kittens ... when you have never had one and always wanted one.

Meet Suds. He'll work with Bob and Doug, the Mackenzie brothers, as part of Willow Garden's rodent control team.

Life is good ... especially for Suds ... :-)

Too Good To Be True

I have recently been reminded of one of life's rules ... If it seems to good to be true, then it likely is.

I thought that one buyer was purchasing everything on my sale list. Since the sale list was short, this didn't surprise me as I often sell larger numbers of animals to new breeders . But then, 'the post office returned the envelope' containing my deposit back to his farm.

Then I discover that he is 'buying' sheep from many other Shetland breeders I know to establish a flock of 300 breeding Shetland ewes ... but none of the other breeders have ever met him or received payment from him either. He is also 'buying' large numbers of Alpaca, Llama, Jacob Sheep, and the list just keeps growing!

Recently, I gave a date by which I would need the deposit in cash or by certified cheque. BIG SURPRISE ... He is no longer interested in buying my sheep ... :-)

So ... either later today, or tomorrow, I'll post an expanded sales list.

I'll also make an exciting announcement that will involve my extension dominant Shetland ewes. Shhhhh. It is a secret ... at the moment ... hehehe

Oh what the heck ... here is a clue ... ;-)

Last Lamb of the Season

I thought this little guy was going to arrive during yesterday's Shearing/Open House, but he held off until the middle of last night. He is an awesome smirslet, sokket, gulmoget ram ... who appears to have no sign of any horns ... :-).
He is out of a bred, spotted gul/kat ewe lamb that I bought from Sara Scholtes at Harmony Marsh Farm. This boy is a Tisket gulmoget, so will be retained, pending his development. His name is WillowGarden Port Rowan, in honour of my friend Karen, who drove all the way from Port Rowan to visit the farm yesterday.
Quite the way to end lambing ... :-)

Now who can deny that ... Life is good!