There's NO place like home.......

...DREAM SAYS:






"Oh, my Gosh! Mom & Dad put me in a trailer with Rosie and her mom and a WHOLE BUNCH of boys (us girls had our own pen, so the boys couldn't bother us) and we went for a really long ride and got out at a strange place where mom put me in a little pen with Rosie and Zanex and NO GRASS for TWO DAYS!!! We had really sweet, fresh, grass hay but it's just not the same as ripping the grass as it's growing. There were Ka-ZILLIONS of nice people there. Many of them came up to me and said 'Hi'. They knew me from this blog and were so happy to meet me in 'person'... ;-) They petted me and told me how pretty I looked and some even gave me cookies! That was fun. But then Mom put halters on Rosie and me and made us walk in a big ring with lots of other ewe lambs. Everyone was crying for their mommies ~ it was really noisy! I was fine ~ in fact, I was strutting around, pretty proud of myself until some strange lady came up and stuck her finger in my mouth (after sticking it in EVERYONE ELSE'S MOUTH!) and tried to touch me in a private place! Well, I was certainly NOT going to stand for THAT and neither was Rosie! Fortunately, the lady didn't make us go to the front of the line, where she kept mauling all those poor lambs. It was disgusting! Mom got me out of there as fast as she could and promised I won't have to go back. I liked it much better in the stall with all the nice people giving me cookies. Poor Diamond had to go back in the ring a WHOLE BUNCH of times! People were saying something about him winning "First Place Ram Lamb" and "Reserve Champion Ram". Poor guy. Bravo had to go back several times too. They did something called "Second Place Yearling Ram" to him. It must have been awful because I heard Mom say that the ram that BEAT him also won at the Indiana Shetland Show and the Michigan Fiber Fest. He must be REALLY STRONG. I'm glad Bravo's OK.

And I'm REALLY glad to be back home! The first thing I did was run up to my mom and see if she'd let me nurse. (She would, but I really didn't want any ~ I just wanted to know that she'd let me if I wanted to). Poor Rosie. Her mom didn't come home with us. She left with a nice lady who also took Hershey. At least she has someone she knows to keep her company, where ever she is.... I'm going to let Rosie hang around with me and my Mom so she doesn't get too lonely without her mom around. Mom says she's very proud of me"

There really IS no place like home! We had a wonderful time at the Wisconsin Sheep & Wool Festival, Midwest Shetland Sheep Breeders Association Shetland show, but it is SO good to be home! Who woulda thunk showing sheep could be so exhausting??? (she said as she sat at her computer desk, wearing her back brace & medicated with Naproxin Sodium ~ and I won't even mention the Brady/Diet Coke I'm sipping!)

I was very proud of my sheep. They walked SO nicely on halter. Of course, Dream's right, none of them were about to let the judge actually TOUCH them..... Oh well. The boys did quite well. I was thrilled with Diamond winning a huge ram lamb class and being named Reserve Champion ram. Not bad for his debut! And Bravo absolutely charmed the crowd! Every time I went to the stalls, there was someone standing by Bravo, absolutely amazed at how big and beautiful and FRIENDLY he is. Bravo would poke his nose out between the bars of his stall and close his eyes and wag his tail whenever someone scratched his chin. What a ham.

We came home minus two ram lambs and Zanex. That was rough. But it is part of raising sheep and I'm learning to deal with it. I miss Zanex though...
I'm always happy when my ram lambs go to good homes. And I suspect Hershey and Zanex will make some REALLY pretty babies...Doc (Bluff Country Paradox) went to a lady that liked him so much that she bought three ewes, just so she NEEDED a ram!! She didn't have any sheep but fell in love with Doc! How cool is that? ;-)

What a great turnout for the 4th annual MSSBA show! I met lots of new people, made some new friends and reconnected with old. Shetland people are SO nice. Sorry for no pictures ~ as usual, I was so busy I didn't even think about my camera.