WHITEPINE MAXWELL & WINTERTIME BARQS

Wintertime Barqs(polled moorit gulmoget) behind White Pine Maxwell(Orion F1 moorit from Garrett Ramsay's farm). Maxwell was here for the fall to see if we wanted to use him in our flock. For several reasons we opted to not put him into a breeding group after further evaluation. He was returned to Minnesota in early November.

Maxwell and Barqs enjoying the fall air just prior to Maxwell's departure.

NEW CORMO X'S HAVE ARRIVED!

The photos say it all. I am a very happy shepherd....

KHAN'S FLEECE

BREEDING GROUPS ARE IN....

Sommarang Hansel (P)until November 7th--Wintertime Lizzie & Wintertime Maple Sugar. Back-up ram will be Wintertime Barqs.

Wintertime Waterbug(Scurred)--Winter Sky Alafair & Wintertime Alanis & River Oaks Ebony.

Wintertime Black Forrest(H)--V Creek Angel, Wintertime Ruby, V Creek Princess Buttercup, Underhill Amethyst & Winter Sky Khaya(NCWGA).

Wintertime Grasshopper(P)--River Oaks Simone, Wintertime Ladybug, Fairview Farm Sweet Tart, Sheltrgpines Madamoiselle(Fudge X Underhill Amethyst), Winter Sky Kismet(NCWGA)& Winter Sky Vogue(NCWGA), & Wintertime Chiffon.

Winter Sky Khan(P)(NCWGA)--Winter Sky Kir Royale & Winter Sky Marrakech.

WINTER SKY KHAN

Every now and then a lamb is born that makes the journey well worth taking. This spring on Stephen Rouse's farm my ewe Winter Sky Khaya(Winter Sky Sandstone X Winter Sky Kharma)after being bred to my daughter's ram Wintertime Black Forrest produced a polled krunet moorit ram lamb--Khan.

We've been watching Khan mature through this summer and early fall and he just keeps getting better and better. I don't often talk up my animals, but this ram is hard to fault. Perfect tail, lovely polled head, nice earset, refined but strong bone throughout, nice size, level, consistent fleece that hangs in those Shetland locks everyone speaks of.

He is coming north to cross with my three remaining NCWGA ewes--Kir, Marrakech, and Vogue. We will be testing him shortly for a fall assessment of his fiber. More photos will be forthcoming. Stay tuned. And for those who find him exciting the breeding has been repeated.

SHOPPING AT WINTERTIME & WINTER SKY

My daughter and I have worked hard for almost two decades now to produce only the finest fleeced Shetlands while preserving good type, intelligence and health in our flock. We micron test religiously every February and take our samples from the last rib to give a greater indication of the overall fleece quality on our animals.

We keep fleece samples from that same area from all our sheep from year to year, so we never cannot send fiber samples to prospective customers. We want you to feel what you are buying even if it is from a distance. We are also more than willing to clip current samples and let you know just how much time has passed since the last shearing date, so you can get some indication of where our sheep stack up in comparison to your own.

We have the capacity now to send current photos from all angles including fleece shots and aren't opposed to heading out to the barn on any given day to insure you have those photos asap. Our sheep are coated year-round for my fiber business so the fleeces will be "mashed" a bit, but that just gives you a better indicaiton of the overall build of our animals and how consistent the fleeces are.

We have never had CL on our farm. None of our animals tested on other farms including my daughters goats have ever tested positive for any diseases. We fecal test sheep prior to their leaving our farm to insure you have a clean animal entering your premises.

And our prices are at the lower end of the spectrum for breeding stock of this quality. Delivery to lower Michigan and Wisconsin Sheep & Wool Festival(in 2011)is free of charge excluding a health certificate at the buyer's request.

You'll also find we do not hype our animals. We don't tend to throw adjectives around but just let photos, samples and micron tests help you determine if one of our animals will fit in your breeding program.

Contact us if you might be interested in something from our flock in 2011.

FALL & FENCING

The old garden fence which keeps our UP deer somewhat honest and away from our groceries was listing badly after 17 years of winter, so it had to go. But it is the only barrier between the sheep pastures and our front yard, so care was taken to run the new lines (whenever possible)prior to removing the old posts and welded wire. It is always nice to have help and the first 50 feet I managed to find two stalwart young lads to assist. But it is hunting season, so Meghan and I are now working on this immense project by ourselves. Fortunately the weather has been perfect and things are progressing nicely.

Our flock grazing after being let out after one of our work sessions.

MOORIT BASED EWES--OCTOBER 2010

Wintertime Maple Sugar(Wintertime Red Velvet X Wintertime Chiffon)--Yearling ewe lamb that was held over last winter. Her first fleece tested 20.9 AFD/4.5 SD/21.7 CV/8.2 CEM. She will be bred to Sommarang Hansel for a linebreeding on Roban Dillon with the chance for modified/polled lambs.

V Creek Princess Buttercup(Underhill Bartok X V Creek Satin)--Six and a half year old ewe who is the dam of Grasshopper. Her last fleece tested 28.4 AFD/4.4 SD/15.6 CV/6.5 CEM. She will be bred to Wintertime Black Forrest this fall.

Wintertime Chiffon(Firthoffifth Aman X Glenmore Crisp)Moorit twin two year old ewe that wasn't bred last winter, so she could grow out. She went through a really ugly phase but seems to have come into her own now. Her second fleece tested 22.1 AFD/4.6 SD/20.9 CV/9.2 CEM. Service sire not selected yet.

Wintertime Lizzie(Firthoffifth Thayu X Whistlestop 0427)--Twin modified(fawn?)coming two year old ewe that was kept open last winter. Her first fleece tested 20.7 AFD/4.8 SD/23.3 CV/9.1 CEM. She will be bred to Sommarang Hansel to increase fleece length and possibly produce something highly modified and polled.

Wintertime Ruby(Winter Sky Sandstone X Whistlestop 0427)Twin four year old ewe that has produced some outstanding lambs including Barqs and Red Velvet and Fudge(in S. Rouse's flock). Ruby's fourth fleece tested 23.7 AFD/5 SD/20.9 CV/9.2 CEM. She will be crossed one more time with Wintertime Forrest in the hopes of getting a gulmoget ewe lamb(on Meg's wish list). Her fleece has changed dramatically in color but is still buttery soft and finely crimped. We see these changes often in the Sandstone ewes.

Winter Sky Vogue(NCWGA)(Winter Sky Tennyson X Winter Sky Foxtrot)...my final ewe lamb sired by Tennyson and a surprise when we removed her coat. She's the most like her sire in fleece type of any of the lambs he produced. Well worth the wait for me. May expose her to my Forrest son this fall to see if she settles. If all goes well I'll be showing her fleece next year at the fiber events.

Winter Sky Kir Royale(Wintertime Black Forrest X Winter Sky Kristol)--Fawn katmoget/gulmoget ewe with beautiful structure and type. She always produces a ewe lamb for me but so far I haven't retained any. She'll be bred to my Forrest son. Her third fleece tested 26.8 AFD/6.1 SD/22.8 CV/12.7 CEM.

River Oaks Simone(River Oaks Greyson X River Oaks Hattie)--Polled lines and a very dense, short, crimpy fleece with lovely color on this ewe lamb. We will be micron testing her later this winter with the flock. Will probably be crossed with Grasshopper.

BLACK & GREY EWES

Wintertime Alanis(Wintertime Fudge X Winter Sky Alafair)--Triplet black ewe lamb whose moorit horned brother(with an even better fleece) will be further evaluated and retained for next year. Very friendly. May be bred to Waterbug this fall.

Winter Sky Marrakech(Wintertime Black Forrest X Winter Sky Calypso--NCWGA)Two year old spotted grey ewe whose first fleece tested 19.0 AFD/3.7 SD/19.5 CV and 6.8 CEM. Will be bred to a polled Forrest son this fall.

Wintertime Ladybug(Sheltrgpines Bug X Sheltrgpines Mustang Sally)--Single black ewe lamb with a few traces of grey in main fleece. She'll be bred to a Bug son this fall.

Owl Hill Lady Grey--Twin possibly homozygous Ag yearling ewe whose first fleece tested 23.2 AFD/5.0 SD/21.4 CV/9.1 CEM. Her second fleece in fall tested 31 microns with 50% greater than 30 so she has been sent to a pet home. We won't breed with animals that have coarse fleece even if they have illustrious parentage or a high percentage of UK lines.

Fairview Farm Sweet Tart(Bono Creek Caper X Sheltrgpines Licorice)--Sweetie's dam is a shaela ewe and her sire is a ram my mom owned but never got the chance to use. Her fleece tests 24.1 AFD/5.2 SD/21.6 CV/11 CEM. She'll be bred to Grasshopper this fall.

V Creek Angel--Seven year old ewe that is listed as white but is actually grey. Her 2010 fall test was a respectable 26.3 AFD with a 4.7 SD and 17.9 CV. She is in with Wintertime Black Forrest this fall.

River Oaks Ebony(River Oaks Greyson X River Oaks Lana)--Black twin ewe lamb who is a bit on the wild side but very nicely put together and from extensive polled lines. Her fleece tested this fall in the more intermediate range(24.1 AFD/5.7 SD/23.7 CV), so she'll be bred to Waterbug.

RAM LAMBS--FALL 2010

Wintertime Grasshopper(Sheltrgpines Bug X V Creek Princess Buttercup)--Twin spotted fawn katmoget.

Fall Texas A & M micron test 20.7 AFD/4.3 SD/21.0 CV/7.7 CEM.

From the back.

Headshot. He had potato chip thin scurs which have broken off.

Headshot of Sommarang Hansel(Undertheson Red Lion X Sommarang Elise).

Tail shot of Hansel.

Yocom-McColl fall micron test of 23.9 AFD/4.8 SD/20.2 CV with 8.5% fibers greater than 30.

Sideview of Hansel who appears to be a modified grey gulmoget. He'll be heading to Becky Utecht's farm after he is used on a couple modified/poll carrying ewes this fall.

Headshot of Wintertime Barqs(Wintertime Black Forrest X Wintertime Ruby).

His hindend and very correct tail.

Sideview of Barqs. Polled moorit gulmoget with some frosting and a more intermediate fleece style with nice length.

Texas A & M fall micron test of 23.1 AFD/6.0 SD/26.1 CV/10.9 CEM.

Wintertime Waterbug(Sheltrgpines Bug X Owl Hill Lady Grey)--Ag single ram lamb with numerous Greyling lines.

Texas A & M fall micron test was 21.5 AFD/4.5 SD/20.8 CV/7.5 CEM.

Waterbug from the back.