'Finallys!'

Several 'finallys', actually. Finally posting again, for one. While I'm on here, I might as well say everything, right? Just can't seem to ever blog, what with school and having to get Mom off first!
First finally-I’m on my way to becoming a Shetland Sheep judge! While at Jefferson, I did an apprenticeship with judge Letty Klein during the Shetland show. It was actually her idea, and I jumped at the chance. Many, many thanks to her for teaching me! I really learned a lot on how to actually judge a show, and learned some new traits to look and judge for -I ‘judge’ all our sheep on an almost daily basis, but I don’t always feel them or get to compare them with each other, etc. I had a great time helping Mrs.Klein, and I’m ready for more-I really do like judging. I think I’ve completed most of the other requirements to be a judge, but I probably need more show-ring trainee experiences. However, that doesn’t restrict me from my own flock! They had better shape up! :)
I've been waiting for microns for about a month and a couple weeks, and I'm very excited that they just came this week. Naturally, I expected some sheep to be really bad, but I was actually surprised that they weren't as bad as I had thought. Nice surprise!
Here is my whole flock, excepting lambs and one ewe I'm not keeping anyway, ranked in order of age. This includes microns that I just got today, and an overall profile of each ewe. I also put who they're going to this fall - only a few of mine can go to the pure, as my numbers can only get so high (which is a bummer, but oh well).
Names (all S'more unless otherwise stated)

Joyce- 27.7 6.5 23.6. Joyce is a modified fawn/mioget '05 ewe out of UTS Heath and Gloria. She is a big girl with great hocks and tail, and a nice intermediate fleece, but horned (which I don't care for.) Blue.

SheltrgPines Corina- 26.6 4.8 18.0 Grey kat’05 ewe, Underhill TS Eliot x Claystone Pansy. Corina's micron is low, but she also had trips this year, so that probably brought it down. This is my best all-around ewe so far. She always produces great lambs, with good conformations and fleece, which she passes on from herself. She has a gorgeous variegated grey fleece with a great handle and lots of luster, and a big framey body that's excellent all around. She also carries polled, which she may or may not pass on in her daughters (I know Spunky carries it, obviously.)I'll put her to UTS Broderick (I think) to see what happens.

Aster- 29.4 6.1 20.9. Grey smirslet 3 year old horned ewe, with great hocks and tail. UTS Galway x SheltrgPines Starlet. What makes her stand out is her fleece. She might have a higher micron, but it is gorgeous! Very lustrous, kind of BFL-type, soft. She also possesses what I've heard a very experienced fleece judge call a rare pattern- she has a dark grey fleece during the summer and fall, but it grows a pure white tip in the winter! It really is cool. I'd really like a grey spotted daughter out of her, but she has to go to the BFL this year. At least her Mule lambs will be gorgeous.

Smily - 26.6 6.1 22.9. Mioget smirslet '06 ewe out of UTS Brandon x Joyce. Everyone that saw this girl wanted her when she was a lamb, just for her fleece! She does have a gorgeously golden, crimpy, very soft fleece, and she throws nice lambs. She, in my opinion, has the prettiest head of all my sheep (and many others!) She also throws nice lambs-and again, a mioget spotted! However, to Blue she goes. Just not enough room!

Spunky - 29.0 5.2 17.8 White, '06, UTS Connaught x SheltrgPines Corina. This ewe is the example of how Shetlands can develop! Born at 2 pounds, she was small until her second summer, when she finally grew up! She is now the biggest ewe in my flock, and the biggest barreled Shetland ewe I've ever seen (probably don't want them bigger!) Not that she's terribly fat. She carries polled, evidenced by the fact that she produced Courante, a half-polled ram. This girl has my favorite fleece. It's an intermediate, and not the finest, but pearly crimp is beautiful, and it's my only white fleece! I really have too many browns- I like dyeing, and you can't dye a dark moorit, and it would be a shame to cover up a mioget, or even a dark grey! She will definitely go to a pure, but I can't decide if it's going to be Dreamie or Broderick! She's either white/kat or white/solid, and so is Broderick, but I'm not breeding her to a moorit to find out what she is! lol: ) All well- here’s hoping for a white ewe (better yet, twin ewes!)

Petal - 29.7 7.0 23.4 Grey smirslet, ’06 ewe, UTS Connaught AI x Lillian. This girl has conformation nailed. Her head, body, and tail are a great package. Unfortunately, she is fairly primitive and double-coated, though her fleece is soft and silky. She’s also double Ag, but she’s spotted. I really want a daughter from her, as I sold the only one I got. But, she goes to Blue, again.

Coppelia - 25.7 4.8 18.8 Moorit,’07 , UTS Brandon x SheltrgPines Corina. Now this girl surprised me! I really did not expect her to be this fine, especially since she is a very dark red moorit. Ringlet-y, pearly fleece, not very dense, and soft. And she is (was?!) up for sale! She also has faultless conformation, including all the details. She is going to Dreamie. That was a change of plans!

Gypsy Legend - 30.6 8.4 27.4 Emsket gulmoget , ’07, SheltrgPines Gullant x Gloria. Okay, she’s bad, but better than I thought! She is a modified gulmoget, but not exactly what I want, so to Blue she goes.

Waltz - 27.9 6.6 23.6 Black ’08 ewe out of Chaparral Snowshoe Hare x SheltrgPines Corina. I was slightly disappointed in her micron, but hey, her fleece still placed second, first (Grand Champ), second (would have been first in a handspinners’ class, but it was judged as a breed), and first (and Champion) at 4 different shows, under 3 completely different fleece judges! Not to mention the 20+ people who wanted to buy it! Waltz is my only black ewe, and she’s a good one at that! She has great conformation, nice breed-standard ewe. Going to Broderick, as I don’t want double blacks from Dreamie.

Fantasy Dance - 24.5 5.4 21.9 Modified light moorit/fawn ’08 ewe, UTS Cleggan AI x Aster. Wow! I’m liking this ewe, even if she is brown. Great rear end, her tail, at only 2.5-3 inches, fluked, is the tail to have-perfection- and a cute face! Then there is her fleece, which is similar to Coppelias’, only denser. She also carries spots. Going to Dreamie, hope for an anything – other –than – moorit ewe!

Danza- a pretty shaela gulmoget lamb out of UTS Apache and Gypsy, more primitive, though soft, is for sale.

My flock average is 27.8, 6.1, for micron and SD. This includes everybody, but without my two primitive/double coats, it goes down to 27.4, 5.7, though my math might be off. Since the biggest thing to me is softness, I’m pretty happy. All the ewes going to the pure have good conformation, with only a few things wrong with them. They’re going to the rams that I think will most help them in whatever area they need it. My main thing now is color – as I said , I really like dyeing, and I only have one white Shetland! So, if I get some nice ewe lambs, I’ll be moving my less than ideal adults out. Here’s hoping!

S'More Courante - half poll & for sale

This is S'More Courante out of Bramble McDreamie and S'More Spunky. His mother is directly behind him. Juliann confirmed that this boy is a half poll coming from Spunky's side. He was born with flat patches and both tiny tips that have emerged have been broken off already. He is a huge ram lamb (first born of the year) with a very soft and silky even fleece. Square and great conformation.

Tori is showing him in the fair this summer but Courante is for sale and will be available in Aug (this is Mom reporting as she is doing homework at the moment). Please encourage Tori, if you get a chance, as I'm sure it is going to be extremely tough to show this boy next to big horned, big primitive fleeces at our county fair.

S'More Lambs!

Here is a list of all my purebred lambs:

S'More Spunky X Bramble McDreamie : a super grey kat ram

SheltrgPines Corina X Bramble McDreamie : moorit ram, moorit ewe, fawn light badgerface ram (all are superb, and should be show quality)

S'More Smily X UTS Torvus : dark mioget ram, champagne mioget krunet ram (the 'champagne' mioget boy - he's a light gold - is extremely silky. You'd just have to feel him! But his bro is great too.)

S'More Coppelia X UTS Torvus : two nice, soft moorit ewes

S'More Gypsy X UTS Apache : dark blue emsket ram, emsket gulmoget ewe

Pictures!



Isn't she cute? This is Gypsy's emsket (pretty sure, Mom and I both checked) gulmoget ewe. She has a good structure and a silky-soft fleece. I'm sure she's a keeper. I've already spoiled her!



This little bear-face is Gypsy's emsket ram. He will be a dark blue emsket with a soft, silky fleece. I hope he has good horns, to match his conformation (because it's nice.) He is taking after his dad, UTS Apache. Great boy, but why couldn't he be a nice little girl?



A shot of Corina's light badgerface boy. He'll be nice! He has a very soft, crimpy fleece - like both Corina and Dreamie. Great conformation and good body, too.



Corina's middle child, her moorit ewe. This girl has an outstanding structure already, and a crimpy fleece. Nice straight topline, good deep body, and a square backend with a perfect tail. Now why couldn't I get a picture to show all that? She was either sleeping or bouncing. All well. More pics later.

Corina's moorit ram has, as you can see, a great conformation (can you see his tiny tail?) He will be a nice moorit ram with a good fleece, definitely show quality.

Coppelia, my moorit ewe, had two very nice, cute brown girls. This is the first one, who is bigger than her sister. She has a very silky, soft fleece, and a great conformation. Depending on what Corina's ewe looks like, she will be my replacement for somebody. But it's still way to early to tell.

Coppelia's second ewe. She is also very soft, with more crimp than her sister, at the moment. She looks like she'll be a square ewe too.

Triplets! (and twins!)

These SheltrgPines Corina x Bramble McDreamie triplets were born yesterday. There is a moorit ram, a moorit ewe, and a fawn moget ram (actually, neither of the parents carry a grey gene, so he can't be moget. Mom says he's a 'light badgerface.' It involves complicated genetics. So... Whatever:) Anyway, I am very disappointed I didn't get a grey kat girl! I mean, what are the odds? A grey kat x a grey kat, and they both throw the opposite gene. Oh well. They are all very nice, even if they are not exactly what I wanted. The fawn ram is extremely crimpy and lustrous.

Two more rams :( They are out of S'more Smily x UTS Torvus. Of course, both are mioget, and they will most likely be very fine, as both mother and father are. The first one (on top), is a darker mioget, while the second one will be an extremely light champagne color (he also has a krunet.) They will both be high-quality boys, hopefully with good horns (they have huge horn buds.)

I'll try and get more photos up soon, hopefully with some more ewe lambs (working around the 40+ ewes yet to lamb!)

New Lamb!

This is S'More Spunky's grey kat ram lamb out of Bramble McDreamie AI. He was born 3/8/09. He is dark grey, with a very crimpy, lustrous fleece, which extends all the way to his tail. Conformation is excellent.