We used to do that when gas was cheap: go for a long drive, maybe to Kona, just to look at something different. Those days are long gone - not just because gas is up at $4.55 and climbing, but also because who's got the time to drive for a few hours, just to drive?
Today, I had an appointment, so my student teacher took over my classroom. I was pretty hyped up after my appointment, so I talked my poor husband into driving to see those Dorpers before it was time to go get the kids. It wasn't far - maybe 7 miles from our house, but we took a road I haven't been on in a long time and it was almost like the old days.
We visited with the owner for a bit: they have suffolk/hampshire and dorpers, a couple of horses, and rabbits. Their suffolk/hampshire ram is HUGE. I thought Elvis was big, but this guy was a monster - and fast, too - their Dorper ram was muscular but smaller than Elvis at the shoulder.
It was kind of hard to get a good look at their lambs, but I guess in a week or two, they'll bring them down and separate the lambs out so we can get and look at them. I was kind of hoping to get a ram lamb and two ewe lambs - but like us, they ended up with mainly ram lambs, and I think they want to keep their ewes. Somehow, in conversation, my ram and two ewes became a ram and one ewe. They are all half siblings, their lambs, so I would breed the new ewe(s) to one of my current ram lambs, and the ram lamb (when he's old enough) to all my ewes. That would be a crop of half Dorper lambs who share a grandsire.
The Suffolk/Hampshire's were SO cute, but I am not ready to go the shearing route, yet, and just not sure if I could avoid the parasite problems with that breed and our wet warm climate.
The farmer had a cat who thought she was a dog: she followed us right out to the back pasture and she was panting by the time we got back. I haven't really talked about our cat, Nani. Nani means "what" in Japanese and "beautiful" in Hawaiian. I think she takes after the Japanese - I tell my daughter she is defective, because she is not a cat who sits in your lap. She may deign to let you pet her, occasionally, but usually as she is walking away. My oldest is the only one who can pick her up at all.
Well, I can't go holoholo in the car anymore, but apparently, I can while blogging - this post has gone hither and yon quite extensively.
5 comments:
Will the cross of the breeds be guaranteed to give you shedding hair sheep?
If we get the Dorpers, yes - they are also hair sheep which shed their wool in the spring.
I'm off to google Dorpers. I'm dying to see what they look like.
They have the biggest noses, Dorpers, and even though they aren't tall, they sure are muscular. Their ram was quite a good-looking gentleman.
I was just thinking about driving around just for something to do, the other day. But your right with the gas prices and limited time, it's something we don't do any more. I find myself day dreaming (alot) of "calmer" days. :)
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