Boston Lake Bam-RESERVED

This morning was such a beautiful morning. The sky was blue, the dandelions just popped on the carpet of green, and the lake sparkled like golden diamonds.

Yesterday my kids finally wore out my rechargeable AA batteries (the ones designated for the camera) so I was able to snap some photos today. Since the only photos I have of Bam are of his butt, I stalked him this morning. I can't say he really cooperated. He likes to eat, so his head is usually down. He likes to stand in holes, so his top line doesn't look as good as it is. And between these two activities he quickly walks to the next bit of uneven grassy terrain. I think I caught him a couple of times in relatively flattering poses.

Bam is for sale as a flock sire. He is available for $200 registered or $150 unregistered. I am not offering him with a horn guarantee simply because my flock is very small and I cannot promise I would have a ram lamb to replace him if his horns turned fatal. Bam's sire has VERY wide horns, though. And his dam and grand dam have excellent horn genetics as well. I expect Bam's horns to be good horns. Our flock has never had foot rot. Bam will have his first CD & T shot when he turns 8 weeks old. He can also be dewormed with chemical wormer before he leaves the farm if the buyer chooses. (We use de and herbs to deworm our flock as needed.) Bam was born April 15, 2008 and he can leave our farm after he is weaned sometime around July 15. I may be willing to hold him until the end of summer with my other ram lamb if necessary.

This is a snapshot of Bam behind his black iset dam, Boston Lake Delyth. He is 44 days old today, so just a tad over 6 weeks. Even though there is a little distance between the two sheep, the photo accurately reflects Bam's size beside his dam. He isn't far behind her in size. And he is solid.

This photo just shows him from the side. His back lit tail is obviously quite short and correct. Clancy and I think Bam has a very masculine look about him too. He is nicely balanced front to back: he has nice shoulder and hindquarters.

Eating Lichens

This enormous limb fell from the heights of our largest white pine. While the sheep had all that freedom, the limb was a favorite pit stop for them. At first, I assumed they were stripping the bark. But instead, they were nibbling away all of the delicate lichens on the branch.

Pictured are Nhu, Lyneth, and Nadin.

Oh, My Poor Babies!...

This is Anna Belle walking along the driveway with some of the lambs behind her. (Lyneth, Bam, Nadin, Nhu...click on photo for larger version.)

Notice the lack of fencing? Up until last night the sheep had full run of the farm. They've had that privilege for a few weeks now. It has been a delight to observe their habits in the absence of enclosure. The ewes constantly walk, and the lambs have to keep up.

For various reasons, it seemed appropriate to begin using the electronet to rotate pastures. Starting today. This is the first morning in a long while that I have not let the girls out first thing. Even though I enclosed them in a nice big area with good grass, they were mobbed at the gate this morning waiting for me. They don't want grass, they want freedom! I felt so sad about depriving them of their new "lifestyle" that they love so much. Yesterday, as I was installing the electronet, I wasn't sure I could stick to my guns and keep the girls in all summer.

In His marvelous way, God gave me a sign to strengthen my resolve. Last night I went to bed thinking that I would probably only use the electronet on days when I needed to go to town. The rest of the days the girls could be let out. Around 4:30am, Sally and Greta (both outside, one in the kennel) started violently barking, and I woke up just vaguely. Just enough to hear a pack of coyotes yipping between lapses in barking. I'm not afraid of coyotes, but it sent a shiver down my spine. I fell back asleep knowing I would leave the sheep in the electronet no matter how much they complained.

Boston Lake Ris

Ris again. I really like this little lamb. He's already caught up in size to the other lambs. He just impresses me when I look at him.

Impressions, I have been learning, are completely subjective. Clancy thinks Ris is correct-but he thinks Bam far outshines all the other lambs.

This morning I had the opportunity to sit out in the field with the ewe flock for a while. It was so absolutely grounding. I'm not even going to try to put my experience into words. But I felt for a while, what it might have been like to be a shepherd long ago. I was thinking of King David as a little boy...As I pulled my over-large hooded sweatshirt over my knees and over my head, I found this perfect position that I could maintain for a long time...I thought about how appropriate a very large cloak must have been to a shepherd. I sat there until I felt I had become part of the land, and the sky, and the blowing wind. I didn't want to ever return to ordinary life.

But I must. All sorts of things need my attention. Today was the last day of school for my boys. Tomorrow onward they will be home most of the time. I am looking forward to their constant company. It was good to take a bit of time for myself before the plunge into summer, though.

Boston Lake Bam

The other day when I was taking pictures, I tried to get a good one of Bam. All I got were photos of his hind-end. This one isn't even the best photo of his back end, but it does show him next to Lyneth, who happens to be about the same size as all the other lambs. Can you see why I keep mentioning how big Bam is?

Initially, I had Bam earmarked for butcher next spring. However, Clancy really likes this lamb. He feels he could be the perfect flock sire for some shepherd with particular goals in mind-big correct meaty lambs. Bam's conformation is excellent, although this picture doesn't really demonstrate that. He also belongs to my son, Asa, who doesn't want to see him go to butcher.

So I have agreed to offer Bam for sale. He was born 4-15-08 and will be available after weaning. As of now he is unregistered but his parantage is Windswept Unicorn x Boston Lake Delyth.

Bam's fleece has a wonderful handle to it. He has only one Awt gene so only half of his lambs will be born white. His tail is short but it has some hair at the tip that makes it appear longer. Hind quarters are very straight. Bam is a very masculine ram lamb and has had tremendous growth. He was very vigorous at birth and he has stayed that way. His sire has excellent wide horns and a large, muscular frame. His dam is from a good mothering line. She is black iset at 2 years with a moorit recessive gene.

Please contact me at sabrinalea19@yahoo.com or by phone at the number listed in the footer if you would like more information about Bam.

Boston Lake Duvie

This little ewe lamb is my funny girl. She was born between the older lambs and the youngest batch of lambs, so she didn't have anyone her exact age to goof around with. Bam initially tried to bully her and she decided to beat him, and all the other lambs, to the punch. Duvie is my little independent thinker. She is happy to run with the mob, but she also can be separate from them without anxiety.

Duvie (Bramble Allister x Sheltering Pines Dolce) carries at least one modified gene, and possibly two. She is almost 4 weeks old now and she seems to be lightening in the face more than her black sister Nadin. We will just have to wait and see if she turns out to be modified herself.

Duvie has very nice conformation and the same tiny tail both of her parents carry. I expect her to turn out as wonderfully as her older sister, Delyth, (who is Bam's mom.) In this picture, Duvie is approaching me on a steep slope, hence the odd angle. She is coming up for the chin scratches she just learned to appreciate last week. Before that she was a little shy. Now she crowds in with the others and she'll climb in my lap if she has to. Lambies must be loved, you know!

Boston Lake Lyneth

Today started out so beautifully: I took a few pictures of the sheep first thing this morning. I planned to post some of them and then use the fine weather to get a bunch of work done.

Then my youngest son broke his big toe and I had to run him into town to see a doctor. (We'll know more next week after a specialist views his x-rays.) By the time we left the doctor's office, the sky had clouded up. Sparse, angry, raindrops were slapping the pavement occasionally. And the wind was quite fierce. Leif and I actually had to walk the last bit of the way home because an aspen had fallen across the driveway.

After a I unwound from my mad dash to town, Clancy and I got some yard work done in spite of the blustery weather.

This evening I scrolled through the photos from this morning. Some of them turned out nicely. Shown is Lyneth (Sheltering Pines Bombarde x Bramble Anna Belle.) Notice how her ears are not perfectly set at the 10 and 2 o'clock position? I can honestly say that is the worst thing about her. She is a delicate beauty with incredibly crimpy, soft fleece. Click on the picture to see a larger version of it.

I also thought it was sweet of her to pose so nicely in front of the lake for me.