Ewe's Bred to Stonehaven Watson

The rams have been with their ewes since the first week of  November. I've moved Watsons  girls next to a fence with Duncan on the other side to watch and see if any of them haven't been covered. So far things have been very quite.
First in line is Pepper a long yearly, first breeding. Right behind is Hattie (Who) two years old and the mother of Spud the show lamb. Watson is in the back looking at Duncans'  girls. Love his top line and chest!

Next picture is Tru a yearling and Stevie , one of this years lambs. I have not bred a lamb in the last three years but have no problem with breeding young. Anyway Stevie squeaked threw the fence to be with Mom so Watson and I let her stay.

Jorja is a two year old. She had a ram lamb, Zorro, that was showing in California last summer. Strong boned ewe, long intermediate fleece. All of the black Ag ewe's are in with Watson.

Zephyr is a yearling. Pepper, Tru and Zephyr are half sisters from "Newton" my ram from a few years ago, Enfield Grayling on both sides of his pedigree.
One more daughter of Newton's is Hazel (black) and she was bred to Duncan.

Another Stevie Picture.

Desert Peach Bella

Bella will be three. Yes her fleece does reflect light. It's shiny, tippy and dense. I love this ewe! She just does not have much poll fleece.

Stevie and Bella. She is her mothers daughter.

On A Field Trip

To The Farm...to bring back new genetics. Which lead to meeting some wonderful new friends. I left home Saturday morning and drove to Winnemucca, NV where I met Becky. This first leg of the trip took me three and a half hours and Becky was forty five minutes from Winnemucca. Becky left her car and we proceeded north into Oregon then Idaho and a time change and back to Oregon to reach this beautiful farm!

Home of Brook and Lois Moore, horses, dogs, cats, chickens, guardian llamas and their awesome Stonehaven Shetland Sheep. This leg of the trip was over eight hours. We were welcomed with a wonderful dinner and conversation to end our day.


I went to pick up Watson my newest ram. His brother is wildly spotted, Lois's words, so maybe he could carry some "chrome" He has nice width, legs and a very soft black fleece. Love the horns, something else I need here at Desert Peach. Horns with a wide sweep out away from the face. When I have his papers I'll post the information.


And look who followed him to our house. She is a black and white spotted ewe lamb. Her brother and sister are black and white HST humm more of the markings I want to get started in the flock could be hiding on her future lambs. Of course since she has a brother and sister there is another trait I'd like to see more of  in my flock, ewe's who produce triplets.


She has a nice square body the thing I look to first in my sheep.(Weak shoulders and rear ends will not a productive ewe make.) and her fleece is also soft longish and tippy.  Her name will be Celeste, coming from all the star like spots over her body.

I had such a good time, and I believe Becky did too. Great way to shop for sheep!

Great Weekend!

This weekend brought many wonderful and fun things to Desert Peach Farm. First after many days of thunder storms to our area we finally got some rain! Our ground is wet after many weeks of dry hot sunny weather. Now that it is wet the sheep have spent far more time on the new field they have next to us. It's cool now and they love the moist foliage to graze on. You can water from the well till your face turns blue and the grass does not grow much once the summer heat hits. After two good rains I can't believe how the grass is now out of control with new growth!

Another fun thing is a lady from California who shows her Colombian and Cotswold sheep at several shows during the summer also brings with her a show string of Shetlands she gets from her friend in California. They were short two rams so came to me for some to fill the show string. I sent my two oldest rams, only 7 weeks old with them. Another one of her friends was in Reno this weekend to attend a large sheep show and sale at the Nugget Casino. She was purchasing a Dorset ewe from the sale. Zorro and Spud went with her in a large dog crate. I never sell any body this young but with no papers I sent them off knowing that these ladies are real sheep people and would give them the care they need and deserve.
I'm promised updates on the judges comments. Their first show will be in another two weeks! So far they are responding well to their new home and the little rams mothers, Jorja and Hattie, did great with the loss of their kids at such a young age.

Becky came this weekend also for some marathon sheep and fiber talk. She came Saturday night and left Sunday afternoon. She brought a large bag of her beautiful yarn for me to look threw and take what I'd like. The picture above is some silk yarn, left and a skein of mohair on the right, now I need a pattern to knit these into something that will do them justice.
We also had a T-Party! Becky helped me band most of the ram lambs. I left two intact to watch how horns grow and use if it becomes impossible for me to get a new ram from another breeder this fall. There are loads of rams out there for sale but I'm not sure how to get them here to Reno with the budget I have to work with. Something will come up and I have back ups just in case.