Monday, June 15, 2009

All Things Silvy

I visited the ewe pasture with the camera yesterday to get some pictures of the sheep that always seem to elude me. Some love posing for the camera. Some come in so close I can't get a view of anything but a big snout breathing on the lens. And some tend to hang out against the farthest fence line. Whitepine Silverthorne is usually too close or too far away.
Silvy let me snap away Sunday afternoon, though. I had just moved the fence to give the girls some new grass. The evening sun slanted dramatically across the horizon, flooding swaths of pasture with brilliant light and settling deep shade behind the trees. The nightly mosquito attack was still a little while off...The atmosphere was like the soft warm breath of a sleeping child: sublimely peaceful.
Silvy has really filled out this spring as a yearling. I like her low to the ground look. And her conformation is just excellent. I'm tempted to put her with Arvada for a line bred Jazz lamb. Truthfully, I've never line bred anything before and I am not sure I have the knowledge to do so. I do think this match would be complementary though. And it would hopefully produce a lamb with improved fleece quality. The point would be to keep the lamb, anyway.
On the other hand, I am eager to see if Silvy has polled potential. It would be ideal to breed her to a ram with obvious polled phenotype. Parker would be a good match in every way for that purpose except for he and Silvy are both greys. That is my singular reservation about that pairing.
If all goes well, I hope to bring in another ram lamb this summer. He might be the perfect match in conformation, polled, and pattern. I'm still tempted by the line breeding choice, however. Even though I have been doing research on the web about this topic, I would welcome any information that experienced breeders could offer about a half-brother/half-sister breeding. This would be line breeding for the sire-Wintertime Jazz, owned by Ramsay Farms. Jazz is a spectacular ram in my opinion, and I'm grateful to own two of his offspring.
Well Silvy...what am I going to do with you? Smooch you, of course! (That is if you ever forgive me for mugging you that day you escaped.) I suppose you can't help it if you notice opportunities the other sheep miss. Bright-eyed, alert, and sprightly are you.

4 comments:

Nancy K. said...

What a lovely ewe! If her half-brother is as nice as her, I'd go for the line breeding.

Then again, I'm not 'into' the polled lines. I confess, I like my rams with big, wide horns!

Rayna said...

Wow she has really matured! I'm jealous! :)

Michelle said...

Sabrina, you've been prized with “Honest Weblog.” Come on over to Boulderneigh to pick it up.

Gail V said...

I love Silvy's face. I'm in love with a few Ag ewes this year-- that shading on the face. Very pretty.