Tag Archives: ewes

I was out on a morning ramble a few days ago, taking a few photos and wondering, a little idly, about who I’d select to be our Sheep of the Week, when, suddenly:

“Choose me!” said Emma.

Emma is hands-down the nicest and most naturally friendly ewe we have.

Most of the time, if you walk into the pasture as a stranger, a couple of things will happen: 1) the guard animals will come up and make sure you’re not a threat to the flock, 2) a goat or two or five will come up to see if you’ve got any food with you– especially if it’s around feeding time, and, maybe, 3) one of the braver sheep, invariably an ex-bottle-baby, will also come up, looking for food. Although the sheep at Juniper Moon Farm are tamer than many other flocks– we hand feed them, and don’t use dogs to herd them– it’s still a little rare for any of our sheep to come up and start nuzzling your legs.

Except for Emma, who’s just so inexplicably sweet!

She was born as a single lamb in April 2010 to Capri.

All while growing up, she was just as sweet and curious as they come.

We bred her to Solomon this past fall, and she spent the Winter and Spring with the rest of the expectant ewes.

Although she didn’t lamb this season, she kept us wonderful company while we watched over the rest of her cohort. In fact, she was such a sweet, lovey-dovey nuzzler all throughout April that we were sure she was flooded with Oxytocin, and right about to lamb. Nope– Emma’s just that nice of a ewe!

So, if you ever come for a visit to the farm and find yourself in the close company of a sweet, lovely ewe, you can probably bet that it’s Emma, and you can probably bet that you’ve got a friend for life.

NEXT WEEK of SotW: Meet the lamb who’s pictured-but-not in the photo above!

NEXT NEXT WEEK of SotW: Let me know in the comments who you’d like to meet!

Our Sheep of the Week is Ara!

She’s one of the four Border Leiscester ewes in our Colored Flock and, as such, is named for a constellation (the other ewes are Lyra, Cassiopeia, and Carina).

Unlike Lyra and Cassiopeia, however, she doesn’t have any distinguishing markings– no stars in the sky, to keep carrying the metaphor. In fact, she and Carina are pretty easy to confuse with one another in their solid blackness, except that Ara is TALL (below, you can see her standing next to Carina). She also seems a bit longer than any other sheep has the right to be. In fact, before her name was settled, Zac and I shorthanded her as “The Big ‘Ole Black Sheep,” because we are exceptionally creative.

She’s a little more wary than the other Border Leicesters, and definitely likes to stick with them– it’s a little endearing, seeing how devoted she is to her (half)-sisters.

Since we put all four of them in with Solomon this past fall, there’s a very good chance that she’s bred. I’m really looking forward to getting to know her (and her lambs) better.

NEXT WEEK on SotW: Everyone’s favorite PEEGS, Charlie & Churchill!

Next NEXT WEEK on SotW: Send in your suggestions, and I will make certain you’re introduced.