Fairlight Farm

A week or so ago Tina over at Blip on the Radar had asked how I came to name my Farm. As usual I'm a little slow on the up take, but here goes. :-)

I'm sure some of you will remember years back a show on t.v. called "Christy". It was based on the novel of the same name by Catherine Marshall. While in some aspects it was a bit silly, I still found it interesting to watch. I had read the novel several years before the series came on. For those of you who don't remember the show or have never seen it, it was based on a young, somewhat well-to-do woman's adventures as a school teacher in the Appalachia Hills. I'm a bit foggy on some of it, but I'm thinking it was set back in the early to mid 1900s. The area she was assigned to was deep in the hills and very poverty stricken. The people's existence was very harsh and they were uneducated for the most part. However there was hidden talents, and a discovery of the use of very archaic English words and phrases. Anyhoo, the series explored the relationship of "Christy" and the people she came to love.

In the series one of the main characters was a fragile-lookin'-but-pretty-tough lady and her name was Fairlight. The first time I heard that name I was taken with it.

Ever since then its been lying around in the back of my mind, a word I pulled out occasionally to think about. For some reason even the first time I heard it, it conjured up visions of the hills in the fall. Picture misty hills, just turning the golds and reds of Autumn, the sun coming up but still hidden behind the curve of the hills. That first dreamy, golden light of morning. The feelings that come from this picture for me are peaceful, serene, full of hope of a new day and blessed.

When I got my first registered Shetlands, I had to come up with a farm name to join the registry. Immediately Fairlight came to mind. I had no doubts or second thoughts, and fortunately the name wasn't taken. I think it fits the tough but sometimes fragile looking little Shetlands, and works well with their history and roots.

So there you go, Tina! Thanks for asking. A bit long of an explanation, but you all know I'm pretty wordy! ;-) Naming anything around here is always a long and involved process, so actually coming up with the Fairlight name that quick was unusual.

I hope you all have a bit of Fairlight in your life today!

Shandrew Rouen

Rouen (pronounced ROW-un) is one of my original Shetland ewes that I purchased. She was actually the third out of four that I bought. Firstly I bought her daughter Rain, and also Willow who was unrelated. Evidently Rouen and Willow didn't like each other much, as they carried on a feud for several years before they decided to call a truce. I can imagine their horror when Rouen wound up here. Not HER! NO!

Rouen came from Malinda's Locksfield flock. I believe that she bought Rouen and her mother when Rouen was just a tiny lamb.

For several years after she came here, I thought her fleece was pretty crummy. But in hindsight, what seemed a rough fleece was in reality just a fleece that consistently matted because of the rise. After the first year or so, this passed and her fleece has been mat free since. Also in the meantime a spinner pointed out to me that Rouen's fleece was in fact a 'primitive' fleece---a true doubled coated Shetland. So although the outer fibers are long and coarse, the inner coat is soft and downy and a rich black. Rouen is also heavily iset but remains very black at the skin level. The colors are so rich and lovely. Her fleece is always the first to sell... always. Spinners are intrigued with its possibilities.

Rouen has added much character to the flock. She is sly and crafty and always on the alert to what I'm up to. She has knocked me flat before, with a skillfully executed full running swipe to the leg. When this worked so marvelously she tried it again the next day on the shearer, (after carefully sizing up the situation) however she didn't take into account that he was over six foot, very solid and she didn't have a running start. So, whump, she hit him. He looked amazed, she looked amazed as she fell back. Hmmmm.... In the end she did escape, by dashing under the gate. It took me a long time to corral her. Now she gets haltered and stays tied during shearing!
In this second photo you can see her playing her wild mustang mare impersonation. She does it well. Lest you think though that this is some wild flighty Shetland, I can assure you she isn't. She is always first in line to get scratches and attention. In fact she will try and bully everyone else away so she gets all of the attention. This never works, but she always tries. I call her little monkey because of her silly ways. She tilts her head like a dog to try and charm me for more scratches, or if I won't pay attention, she'll paw at me. She gets especially sentimental during late pregnancy.

Despite only having half a working udder (I have no idea what happened--she never exhibited any signs of problems)she has successfully raised twins for several years. I have four of her daughters. Two are black iset like her. One, Duckie looks and acts so much like her its spooky. Rain her oldest daughter is a lovely dark blueish grey with an impossibly quirky personality. The flock would not be the same without her. She has a lovely intermediate fleece. Two of Rouen's daughters have her primitive coat --Duckie and Birdie while the other two don't.


This 'plain black' Shetland is a definite keeper, and an example of what makes the Shetland Sheep unique and fun to be around.

My Name is Meshach......

.......and I have an addiction

to Peeps

I like all flavors of peeps--bunnies, chicks, hearts, Christmasy ones, and even these unfortunate pumpkins.

Mom doesn't buy them often enough, only three or four times a year. If it was up to me they'd be on the menu every day. The reason she says she doesn't buy them is because she knows there is no way they can be good for me. And that I drive her crazy if I know there are Peeps in the house.

I can hear a Peeps package being opened a room away. I never confuse, say a candy bar being opened with Peeps being opened. I can smell a Peeps when it comes in the door. Even if its been six months since the last Peeps indulgence.

I'm not very polite about sharing them either. If Mom is trying to eat one, I'll meow and use my most winsome look to get some. If that doesn't work, I'll take things into my own paws and try and snare one. I usually only get a few stingy itty bitty pieces before she puts them away in defeat. If only I could figure out how to open the refrigerator.....

I guess this blows the theory that cats don't have a 'sweet tooth'..... cause I also like cream filled little cakes, oatmeal cremes and a few other select sweets.

But I don't have a problem... I could quit anytime if I wanted. I just don't want to.......

One Year and a Few Days.....

Sage as a babe--yes he is biting his own foot.
You can just see the orneriness! What was I thinking?

Sage at a year--and oh yeah, you can still see it--the orneriness!

But once and awhile you get to see a glimpse of the noble, mature Sage

I missed a very important date! Sage is a year old and counting! I'm not sure of course exactly how old he is, but I was going to post his one year anniversary when he came in the house. However I'm way late. So don't tell 'em. Last year on August 29th, Sage officially became a member of the family. You can read about it in earlier posts for September of 2006 if you aren't sure who Sage is. Of course back then he didn't have a name and was often called "Bad Weed".

It's been a year fraught with kitten antics, kitten proofing the house, broken knickknacks and much SAGE NO! However we have survived and actually he has turned out to be a pretty decent fellow. He isn't a cuddle in your arms cat, but loves attention on his own terms. He often seems torn about being the aloof cat or the big attention craving softie. He has learned not to bite (much), to be careful about scratching me (mostly) and also how to run really fast when I yell at him. He still, on occasion, harasses Meshach beyond reason, but it's not nearly the constant meanness of yore. He has two teddy bears (one blue & one brown) that he carries around allot and puts on the bed every night. He and Meshach both keep their noses in my business, and its a rare moment when there isn't two tubby cats trailing around after me.

Sage is closing in on 14 lbs and is a very huge fellow. Now that he has me, I mean I have him, broken in, I wouldn't trade him in for nothing. Although there are still those moments....... ;-0

Happy Anniversary/Birthday Sage Grass Cat!!

Oops, excuse me, gotta run--SAGE GRASS! GET OUT OF THERE!

Peaceful Pastures

Lovely little Luna

Shetlands at Sea

After a long, hot, dry summer, the skies suddenly opened up and we've gotten several major rains in the past few weeks. Where there was hardly a blade of grass is now lush and growing rapidly. In the shepherd's world, this translates into happy sheep and no hay feeding! I've been letting the lower pasture 'rest' since July, and am working on getting the girls out on it this week. Right now they are enjoying it in the evenings but will be out on it all day by the weekend.

I thought you might enjoy some pictures of the sheep, lost in a sea of grass! Crabgrass maybe, but its still grass!Coming in for the night.

For the rest of the week, I'll be busy gathering, pricing and getting things ready for a garage sale this weekend, that I'm going in with my parents on. Its a big deal as I have so much junk that I think must be rare jewels, so that its painful to part with! Hoping for clear weather this weekend. :-)Home for the night, or, what's for supper??

Celtic Festival--The Event Continued

Ringo & Shane resting up between their moments of fame

One of the gorgeous Clydesdale mares

Our nearest neighbors--Highland Cattle. They were good neighbors--not a moo out of them all day!

Here is the booth set up--slightly damp and worse for wear after being moved from the lake.

I was told, about 47 times that this was 'typical Scottish weather' and that it added authenticity to the event. All I can say is they must be hardy, waterproof folks! I know that the rain hurt the crowd turnout, perhaps not the die-hard clansmen (or clans-people) who were out and about in their kilts, but for the more delicate regular people I'm sure it discouraged them from getting out.

I had more interest in my display later in the afternoon. I answered allot of questions, about the sheep, wool and roving. I also handed out brochures about the Shetland breed and business cards. (Thanks go to Tina for sending me the brochure she had made up, it saved me allot of time and the information was great. I ended up adding some things and different photos to personalize it, but it was great having all the info at hand! Thanks again Tina--you are such a generous person!) Most people were very interested to see the sheep, feel the raw fleeces and then feel the roving. Invariably they were amazed at how much more 'grease' was in the raw fleeces than the roving. One poor "Kiltie" (a local high school marching band) was not so amused. She saw the raw fleece and blurted out, oh, no! There are their skins! I was able to explain to her that no, those sheep were able to live on, and produce more wool to be sheared each year. She was very happy about that! I hope that I was able to help with educating people about the Shetlands and I know the boys made a big impact. I have a couple of local people who were keen on the boys. The 'pony people' were one of them and they were interested in them as pets. Another lady was interested in adding them to her fiber farm. I also sold several ounces of roving which surprised me.

As for the setup, I tried to keep it simple. I brought three raw fleeces in several colors, Shetland roving in all the colors I had available, and some grey Shetland that had been spun into yarn. Sheep to end product so to speak--it would be nice to have some type of garment made from the Shetland as well, I think. I also had a for-sale handout, the brochures and business cards for myself and Allena. Next year (yes, we've been asked back!) I will set up the booth closer to the sheep, so I can be more involved with the people who visit them, and I hope to have some type of product to offer them made out of Shetland wool. It was not an event that produced sales, but I hope that seeds were planted and people will be more interested in the Shetland sheep breed.

I do have to say, people are just....strange. :-) I can't believe how many people found the baa-ing of a sheep so hysterically funny. Or how many would be halfway across the park and baa back at them. But then, I am sure this is the first time many of them 'met' a sheep 'in person' so I have to look at it from an entirely different perspective, I reckon.

Don't forget us! Poor little guys were ready to go back to their world!

Around 3 p.m. I decided to start packing up. There was another bank of clouds moving in, and things had slowed down again. I was interrupted quite a bit, as is always the case---once you start tearing down, people flock over. However, I didn't have a whole lot to pack up, so I didn't get in a hurry. I almost covered up an entire family when I was taking the canopy down. Who would have thought removing that one rope would cause it not only to collapse but fly/float several feet away? The man thought it was funny, but the ladies present gave me a dirty look... oops! The boys clued in pretty fast that 'something' was up and started following me around the fence baa-ing their hearts out. Don't leave us! I assured them I wouldn't. With help from Lee the Highland Cattle guy (he encouraged them from behind), I was able to lead them to the truck and pop them into the carrier. I did forget their halters--leaving them lying on the ground, but the Highland people found them, and they live just a few miles down the road. It was a relief to get all my sodden possessions, sheep and self loaded up. It was misting again, when I pulled out of the parking area.Come on! You know you wanted to see at least one guy in a kilt! ;-) There were some really impressive outfits, but by the time I got around to taking pictures, this young feller was the only one that came by.

If you ever get a chance to display a few sheep at an event like this, I think you will enjoy it. Hopefully your weather won't be so 'authentic' and you'll meet some good folks, who are interested in learning about our wonderful little Shetland Sheep breed!

Celtic Festival--The Event

Shetland Sheep & Scottish Lassies (or is that Lasses??)

Shetland Sheep meet Shetland Sheepdog

Shetland Sheep & Clydesdale
Believe it or not, while the boys were highly curious, it was the horse that got scared and pranced her way past, snorting loudly! I do love this photo .

A River Runs Through

After we had moved the table to the other side of the tent, out of the
middle of the river

I think one word would just about sum it up---WET! It had rained here for about two days, so the ground was good and saturated. The forecast of Saturday was for storms off an on all day. The key part being off and on. When I loaded the sheep up early in the a.m. they were sodden, and it was very foggy, but not raining. Once there I got the sheep unloaded and my display set up, before it started a light intermittent rain. I had brought some clear plastic so I covered the display, but not the sheep, up. 'Twas shaping up to be a very dismal day indeed!

Allena and her family came and saved the day with a light weight blue canopy. After 'we' got that set up I was able to put my table/display in the dry. Allena unpacked all her stuff and got set up to give drop spindle demos. Both her and her husband, Beau answered questions about the wool, sheep and spinning. However it was slow going, with not allot of activity or interest from the crowd. By now the light intermittent rain had turned into a steady rain. Slowly, a river started forming right through the middle of our tent. Later on that river eventually turned to a small lake, with the table and me perched on the only speck of dry ground available under the tent. Allena decided to call it a day a little after noon, since it was so wet, and there wasn't much activity. Graciously they left their canopy for me, so I was able to stay somewhat dry. My feet were sopping wet from the river/lake in the tent, and by the time I got home, they were all wrinkly and white, with callouses quite softened! Who needs a foot spa?

As the afternoon went on, we got a burst of heavy rain and then finally around 2:00 p.m. it quit. There were quite a few people wandering about through out the day, considering the weather. I've never seen so many different colors, sizes and shapes of umbrellas.

I was proud of the little Shetland boys, they did quite well to be out in the big world for the first time. Shane the black wether was more shy and very selective about who he wanted to pet him. Ringo of course was willing to give everyone equal opportunity. They only startled a couple of times, with two separate incidents of little kids racing from one side of the pen to the other. When that happened I would simply tell them not to, as they might cause the sheep to panic and jump out. This would inspire the parents to rein in their kid and all would be well. Sometime in the afternoon we had a heavy downpour and then someone took up their bagpipes quite close to the sheep display. At that point the boys became very restless and started baa-ing quite a bit. Being proper little Shetlands, surely it wasn't the bagpipes was it?

We were set up away from the main activities of the games and other booths, so I didn't get a chance to really see much of what was going on, so I still can't tell you what exactly a Celtic Festival is! We had a nice place though, in 'livestock row', next to the Highland Cattle, Clydesdales and pony rides (they didn't last much past noon--just too rainy). We were also located about 25 foot from a cook tent, which was operated by the folks with the Highland Cattle (also the people who invited me to come). They had some very good sandwiches called 'coowiches' that were made from the Highland beef and some kinds of spices etc. They also had these lovely Scottish Springerle Cookies and even more marvelous plate size Scottish Shortbread cookies! One of those made it home with me. Both the Scotch Collie and the French Mastiff love them! Most importantly they had coffee--free coffee. Things are always more bearable with coffee.

Since this is getting a little long, I'll continue the experience in another post.

Upper Managment

Seriously I told her not to go Out There! I don't know what she thinks she is doing Out There by herself. She's only human and not capable of taking care of herself. Does she listen to us? Does she? No!What's she doing? Can you tell? What the heck.....?

I can't even bear to look anymore.....you'll have to tell me
what 's going on. Can you see anything?

Yes, these two try and rule my life and do a pretty good job at it. Nothing goes unsupervised in the house, with plenty of commenting and rearranging involved. However once I step outside you would think that would be the end of the bossing....but no. I have two doors, and depending upon what side of the yard I'm on, the two boys position themselves at the closest door. They take turns wailing and meowing and advising me to get back in here! Sage drags out his blue teddy bear and carries it around, yowling with his mouth full. If the fan is on outside the back door, they stand in front of it and wail into the fan---which causes their voices to wobble and echo. This goes on until I either get too far away from the house (which is never usually--I can sometimes hear them when I'm feeding the sheep), or they finally exhaust themselves and need a power nap. For all their bossy, sometimes rotten ways, I wouldn't want to not be under their paws. After all somebody has to be the boss.

Bed Spread

Here is a picture of my new bedspread for my sister, who doesn't read blogs and definitely never ever reads my blog.... :-)

It's actually a comforter that I got for a super price at K-Mart. It ended up being around $16.00. I was willing to pay up to $23.00 for it, but by the time they did in store discounts I got it at a bargain price. It did not come with the cat.

You CAN Have too Many Toys--or Trying to Mow the Yard

Boone with his newest thrift store toy
(she ain't gonna get her stinking hands on THIS one!)

The whole place looks awful right now. The grass is high and raggedy, the weeds have taken over the flower beds.. and then there are the toys. Lots and lots and lots of toys strewn about the yard. Most of them are old stuffed animals, but there are also old shoes, sticks and stolen things.

Believe me, this isn't even half of them.

I guess it's one of those things that you just get used to, and you don't realize how it looks, until you have visitors. Seeing stuffed monkeys and raccoons and fish and bears laying about in various askew poses with stuffing hanging out doesn't even get a flicker of an eyelid from me. However when guests nervously chuckle about them, while looking about a bit uneasily, it tends to make a person look at it with fresh eyes.

So, as usual, I had visitors (sheep buyers, naturally) and the place was a wreck, so then in shame I decide to try and reclaim a bit of it. Once that is done, I will not have anymore visitors til it is once again a disaster. It's the law or something.

The first thing to do, was to mow the yard. However the first, first thing to do, was to pick up all the toys and make a pile of them out of the way. Also to pick up all the tiny bits of shredded stolen Styrofoam scattered in the yard. Since I was at it, I got a garbage bag and picked up the worst of the slain toys to throw away. It was an ordeal, as a certain big drooly Dogue was following every step of the way. Said Dogue was highly concerned about perfectly good (in his eyes) toys disappearing into the trash sack and kept interfering. While I was at it, I cleaned up his pen of all the beyond hope toys as well. I have plenty of others to replace them with, as I tried to explain to Boone.

After sacking up the worst of the worst I piled the rest up out of the way, with Boone promptly unpiling them and moving them back into the yard. It was slow going for awhile.

All said and done though, even if the yard is still a stuffed toy graveyard, it looks much, much better. I was able to get most of it mowed (rest tomorrow night), and weeds and non-productive plants removed. I also watered the garden, weeded and tidied up the plants. After a good soaking from the hose, all looks decidedly better. As for outside the yard--it'll have to remain shaggy for awhile, as I will be turning the sheep out there for some actual green grazing.

Celtic Festival

In exactly five days I will be taking three Shetland weanlings to a local Celtic Festival in a nearby town. I have no idea what is involved in this as I've never been to one. I can, of course, get a general idea from the website, but still am very unsure what it will be like. The three lambs that will be going are Tabitha's moorit ewe, Ringo (of course) the grey/white flecket wether & Shane the black wether. Their job will be to look incredibly cute and (hopefully) enjoy letting people pet them. Unless they are overwhelmed by the activity I think they will like the attention.

I've never taken any of my animals to shows or any other kind of event like this, so if you all have any helpful hints I would appreciate it! They will be inside cattle/hog panels and I will be with them all the time, supervising their interaction with the public. I will pray for patience with the public, as I won't allow the animals to be 'toys' to the amusement of the people. I will happily let people pet them and enjoy them, but no rowdiness, please!

I was called out of the blue by a lady that is involved with the festival. She had seen my business card that I had posted on a bulletin board at a local feed store. She asked me if I would be interested in bringing some of the sheep as a display of native Scotland livestock. There will also be Highland Cattle and Clydesdales there. I had to think about it awhile and finally decided to go for it.

My friend Allena has agreed to come and help out. She will be demonstrating how to spin with a drop spindle, giving lessons and selling starter kits. I will be bringing Shetland roving and raw fleeces, mostly as an example of what the sheep produce, but on the off chance there will be spinners about as well. I'll also be bringing my display picture board, the Shetland colors poster, business cards and an informational handout on the history of the Shetland breed, oh and of course the sheep! Any ideas on what else I can present to show case the versatility and uniqueness of the Shetlands?

This is an all outdoor event, so if it rains I'm sure it will be cancelled. If it is exceedingly hot, then I'll go, sans sheep and have a display of their pictures and of course fleeces. If you click on the above link to the Celtic Festival and go to the animal page, then scroll down to the second section of Shetland pictures, those are all my flock. I sent some samples for them to use and they pasted them all in there! ha

Anyhoo, ideas, suggestions, thoughts would be appreciated. Short of wearing a kilt and knee socks, I am willing and eager to represent the breed to the public and spread the word about these wonderful little sheep!

A Week of Change

It's been a week of change and adjustment in the sheep fold. First losing June, and then after a flurry of emails, finalizing the sale of five more of the flock. While I needed to sell this years selected individuals it is always hard to see them go. I'm very thankful that they sold, as I have way too many sheep, and I needed badly to get the numbers down to a more manageable level.

The flock seems positively small now, after going from 27 to 22 in just a few days. The four ewes that sold were the Merino cross girls (Melody and Suzy) and their half Shetland ewe lambs from this year (Opal and Pearl). I'm so happy that this tight little family gets to stay together. They are joining several Shetlands that came from Locksley Field's to create a nice fiber flock for their new owner. In October, Fairlight Drake, my lovely home raised ram will join them and finally have a harem of his own. Since the introduction of the Shetland breed on my farm, my goal has been to eventually have a balance of Shetlands, with a few of the white Merino crosses (individuals who will live their lives out here), and with the sale of these four ewes, for the first time the adult Shetland ewes outnumber the 'big white sheep'. It seems a bit strange. My other goal was to keep the ewe flock under 20. I'm still not back there yet, but I also have four other Shetlands that are for-sale (two ewes and two wethers) so I have hopes that I'll actually be under the maximum sheep by the end of the year. Of course we know that won't last long once lambing rolls around in March!

The people that bought the four girls and Drake, Judy and Mike, seem like extremely nice folks. They are new to sheep, but not to livestock, and are eager to learn all they can about the sheep. They have a good size acreage that they need grazed and Judy is interested in learning the fiber arts. We walked around and looked at all the sheep, a few of the fleeces, and some roving. Lots of questions. The four sheep girls were so very well behaved, and were quite calm meeting their new owners. With Judy and Mike assisting I was able to get their tags in and then we haltered the older two and one at a time pushed and pulled them to the Suburban-Slash-Farm Truck (back seats removed, hay bales for a barricade and ta-da--a very comfy sheep ride) and then lifted them into the back. We were able to carry the weanlings and shove them in. The girls were all relieved when each Momma and each baby saw that they were still all together. I sure wish all my sheep were halter broken though! 'Possum's don't have anything on a sheep when they decide to sull up! I later got an email from Judy that the girls didn't go too many miles down the road before they 'bellied up to the hay bar'. For pictures of these sheep you can visit my Fairlight Farmwebsite.

We are having a patch of lovely cooler weather, with lower humidity and it reminds that Autumn is almost here. The next few weeks promise to be busy as I get stuff ready for a garage sale and also taking a few sheep to display at a local Celtic Festival. (More on that later) Before we know it the frost will be on the ground and it'll be time to clean out the wood stove and start that first fire of the season!

I Don't Have a Book Problem....

Really I don't think I do. What is another 10-15 books? I can quit anytime I want.

So but anyway, there is this used bookstore that is owned in conjunction with the county library. It's actually a little old house that they've put shelves in. Here they sell any donated books or library culls to the general public. We are talking dirt cheap here. Fifty cents for a hard back. FIFTY CENTS! Paperbacks are practically free. I mean I paid five bucks and I got all these really neat books. They didn't even all hardly fit in a sack! There might have been more too, except I ran out of time. Because that is the catch--this marvelous place is open only on Saturday and only for two hours. You would think there would be lines and lines of people and you would have to fight your way inside. But no, it rarely has more than one or two people in there at a time. What is wrong with folks? I mean they flock to the local Mart store like pigs to the trough, but then when it comes to a real gem of a place like a practically free bookstore.... I just don't get it. However, all I can say is its their loss. Yep, more for me!

Did I also mention it has books on tape and videos? And lots of neat children's books, and mysteries and .......

Nope, I don't think I have a problem at all. I do need more bookshelves though. I'm thinking maybe like all the way around the top of the wall--one long continuous bookshelf. Put that wasted space to a good use. Anyone handy with a hammer?

I wasn't going to tell you, but I went to another thrift store or two today with my sister and niece, and well, I bought some more books... only like 7 or so... but since I had witnesses.....