Wednesday, January 01, 2014

Miss Mamie's Fleece

This is all I have left of Miss Mamie, my beautiful old Rambouillet sheep.  She gave me twins last year, in the twilight of her life.   Sheep can lamb to the end of their lives but it takes a lot out of them.  I pulled old Zack, my Border Leicester ram, a little too late and there they were, tiny twins, tip-toeing down from the field, with Miss Mamie guiding their every step.  Father Aaron was visiting and going out to his trailer when he spotted them.  He called me and said you have lambs out there.  I thought he was mistaken, but he was right.  I put them in their own pen in the barn where I could feed them undisturbed.  Miss Mamie did her best, but succumbed to old age, taking one of the twins with her.  Marcellus survived, who I call Markie-Mark, and is a big, giant, Rambo/Border Leicester cross.  Older sheep having lambs is a lot like older people having babies. Sure, older women are better mothers, I believe, but the babies are often not viable and plagued with issues like learning disabilities, etc., or...in the worst of scenarios, I go out to find them dead in the pen for no apparent reason.  Enough sadness...I rescued Miss Mamie, who had been owned by a teacher in Fort Plain who sold her farm, bought a Winnebago and took off.   She had several good years with me.  I have this lovely fleece that I dyed Sunflower Yellow.  I think I will card it with ruby kid mohair.  Rambouillet is very, very soft but very short stapled and hard to spin.  Kimmie Cornerstone will love it.

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