Black Sheep Gathering 2026 – 1

Posted on July 6, 2026 by Robin

Black Sheep Gathering is always the last full weekend of June. We loaded the trailer early Thursday morning that week.

Jacob sheep in a trailer divided into compartments.

We loaded 14 sheep, two of which were to be picked up by new owners. Twelve would be in the Jacob show.

Rear view of white pickup pulling a silver trailer and driving through a gate.

We got on the road at 8:20, planning to get to Albany, Oregon by early evening. We got there about 5:30 and unloaded sheep. FC members Sue and Chris helped unload sheep and get them to pens. It had started raining so Dan and Chris set up the borrowed tent before the rain got worse and Sue and I settled the sheep and put up signs.

Show ring with 5 people showing Jacob sheep.

The Jacob division showed Friday morning. There were no other Jacob sheep entered so we went through the motions but showed against ourselves. Our flock actually has two owners. My granddaughter’s sheep are part of the flock, but have a separate owner designation. My sheep are named Meridian ___ and Kirby’s are KJ Royalty ___. This is the finish of the ewe classes with Farm Club members showing sheep. Klara is leading the yearling ewe, KJ Royalty Suzy, who was awarded Champion. The two-year old ewe, Meridian Chloe, was awarded Reserve Champion.

The rams show before the ewes. I didn’t bring a Yearling Ram and we showed four ram lambs, two owned by Kirby, and two by me. One of mine won the class and became Champion.

Here is the “official” photo of KJ Royalty Suzy.

Did we feel outclassed by this group? Not at all. They live in their own world. I just looked up Valais Blacknose Sheep online and see prices from $1800-$25000. Yup, it’s not my world. Black Sheep Gathering hosted a show for one of the Valais organizations so there were a lot of them here.

I can’t imagine caring for these fleeces!

We had 6 pens. One was for tack. The four ram lambs were in this pen.

These are Kirby’s yearling ewes. Three other pens had the two ewe lambs, my two yearling ewes, and the two-year olds. The event was fairly low-key for me this year, but I seemed busy most of the time–mainly trying to make sure I didn’t miss somewhere I was supposed to be, like showing again on Saturday when all the Champion sheep go to the ring at the end of the show, and not missing the wool show and sale.

It was great to have Farm Club friends around, and not just for the help. It’s hard to see because the yarn blends is the color of the concrete floor, but I have the Ashford e-spinner and got a little spinning done.

I entered three fleeces in the wool show and got 1st, 2nd, and 4th out of a class of 8 Jacob fleeces. I was able to listen to the judging and hopefully can put the video on YouTube to share it. Haven’t had time yet.

Four of us became the Wool Selection Committee to find a fleece for Rachel who gave us no instruction other than “color” and eventually something about “medium, but I like soft”.

That was something I certainly tried to keep track of. After the Wool Show finishes they make everyone leave while they get organized. Then people are allowed in to look, but asked to leave again while the Not For Sale fleeces are removed.

There is a big line for when the doors open for the sale. The four of us went to the tables we had previewed earlier. Then I stood with a hand on a fleece on one table and one of the others stood with a hand on a fleece at another table while the committee consulted and selected one for Rachel.

There was a long line to check out as well. Fortunately Rachel had given us cash and they opened up a cash only line.

Saturday evening was the Spinners’ Lead event and Sparky and I entered. That’s a story for the next post and I think Sparky will have something to say about it too. She will be given access to Rusty’s blog, which hasn’t been used since 2019. She may add to the entertaining stories there.

More Lambs

Posted on March 3, 2026 by Robin

As the title indicates, I have already written one blog post about lambing. That described that lambing began on February 22. That’s nine days ago now, and a lot has happened. I started this post yesterday and it’s already outdated. However, I’m going to go with it because these photos are already loaded. Just play along and pretend it’s Monday. I was sharing photos in reverse order. Now I just need to add the text.

This is how I keep track of all the details. The numbers are the lamb ID, each with a 26 in front. Red ones are ewe lambs and blue are ram lambs. The next column is birth weight. The X _ indicates the sire: Hornblower, Clancy (BFL), Elvis, and Hunter.

The last one on the board is Rose with twins. I usually try to have them in the lambing pen area when they are in labor but I missed this one.

Pecan was just before Rose with twins.

Newborn Jacob sheep triplets and the four horn ewe is licking one.

Tranquility lambed the night before with triplets.

Four horn Jacob ewe standing by the wall

This is how Tranquility looked earlier in the day. When a ewe gets that sunken look in front of the hips that is a sign that the lambing is imminent. Maybe imminent isn’t the right word because I put her in the lambing area earlier in the day and she didn’t deliver until about 10:30 p.m.

Woman carrying lamb in the pasture with the ewe following.

Julia is a yearling who lambed in the pasture. One of the Farm Club members who was here brought her lamb to the barn, carrying it low so the ewe would follow.

Sandy had lambed earlier in the morning with triplets. I set up panels to separate Sandy from Eilwen (next photo). This is like having hospital beds in the hall. The lambing pens were full and I already had overflow pens in the alley of the barn.

Eilwen with triplets around 2 a.m.

At night the chickens roost on the wall behind the lambing pens.

This is Carlotta from the previous day. She is a Romney/Lincoln/Corriedale cross. The lamb’s sire is Clancy, the BFL.

It’s Lambing Season

Posted on February 27, 2026 by Robin

Lambing began Sunday night. The first ewe to lamb had twins, up and nursing when I got to the barn. That is how it is supposed to be. The second was a different story, but maybe that will be a post later. After that it has seemed slow, until yesterday.

This is the first ewe who lambed yesterday, Bideawee Billie Jo.

Jacob ewe in straw with two newborn lambs.

Twins.

Nothing in the middle of the day but in late afternoon, Beauty started. She ended up with twins, but it took awhile for the second and there was another ewe lambing in between.

Large black ewe in green pasture, showing huge belly and udder.

Addy is a Jacob-BFL (Bleufaced Leicester) cross. This photo was taken four days ago.

This is not a post-lambing photo. It was taken about three hours before she had the first lamb. Those sunken sides are a sign that the lambs have “dropped” and we’re getting ready for lambing.

Just after Beauty had her first lamb I looked over the fence and saw that Addy had one lamb. It’s not visible in this photo because it’s behind her. It’s black. Jacob sheep are colored sheep with a spotting pattern. When you breed them to most other breeds you get black lambs because the sire doesn’t have that spotting pattern. Addy is a crossbred, bred to another BFL. So genetics are interesting.

Black lamb with a white feather on its head.

Here’s the first lamb adorned with a white feather that looks like a spot.

Big black ewe lying down with newborn lambs, two black and one white.

But there is more! Ultrasound showed twins. I thought that maybe there was another and, sure enough, there was. This one was born hind feet first.

Black ewe lying in straw with four newborn lambs.

But wait! There’s more! Another hind-feet first delivery. These lambs total 32 pounds!

After I’d made sure that all those lambs had nursed I checked in back before I went to the house for dinner with guests. These two I thought required checking again later. This is part of the pen where I used to keep another ram. I have opened this area to the ewes because I have too many sheep for the barn space. Now it’s another space I need to check.

I did not take photos of these ewes and lambs other than this one that shows why sometimes those ram lambs aren’t delivered quite as easily as the ewe lambs. They end up OK but the ewe may have to do a little more work to deliver one with horn buds like this. Those two ewes had a set of twins each and now I have the lambing pens full and one in overflow pens in the barn alley.

A Farm Club member took a screenshot of her view of my barn camera. I knew I had to spend some time at the computer and figured I’d do it in the barn while waiting for lambs. These are all twins except for Addy at the top corner. It was not a cold day but the bugs were bugging me; therefore, the hood.

Stay tuned for more…if I have time.

Shearing 2026 Again

Posted on January 30, 2026 by Robin

Check out the previous two posts for Shearing Day photos and info. Here is one more post.

Jacob sheep crowded into pens for shearing.

The last group of sheep is gathered waiting for shearing. Farm Club members did all the work of gathering sheep and passing them off to the shearer.

Two and four horned skulls cleaned and on a table.

I had spent a lot of time cleaning skulls so that I could offer them for sale. Most of these will be in the shop and/or on the website.

Roy, Hank, and Gynna help every year at shearing.

Two people brought Shearing Day Cake! Both were excellent. Maybe this has started a tradition.

Seven people sitting on the grass in chairs in the sun .

We work on shearer time. When John called for a lunch break everyone was willing. We’ve seen so little sun this winter that this was a real treat.

Newly shorn Jacob sheep in a green pasture with bare trees behind.

I think the sheep also enjoyed the sun.

Two horned black and white Jacob ram, just shorn.

Meridian Hunter, officially still a lamb since he was born last March.

Two horn "lilac", gray and white Jacob ram, just shorn.

Meridian Elvis is a yearling. He is a light lilac. “Lilac” is the term Jacob breeders use to describe a sheep that has grayish markings on the face instead of black. That coloration is also in the wool.

Jacob sheep entering green pasture with thick fog in the background.

We work up the next morning to thick fog.

The new BFL ram that we call Clancy (although he is registered under another name).

Shearing 2026 – More Photos

Posted on January 29, 2026 by Robin

The first blog post about Shearing Day is here. I have a lot more photos.

John is our fabulous shearer. Farm Club members help with all the tasks.

John brings Oakley who can always find a warm spot. Notice in the first photo Oakley is in a different pile of belly wool

Spinners from local guilds came to watch shearing and select fleeces.

Brenda and Gynna helping with sheep wrangling.

Freshly shorn ewes before going to pasture.

Hank, Raquel, and Roy cleaning the barn after all the sheep were moved.

Deborah and Lisa made sure identifying cards matched up with the fleeces.

Mary always scoops up the fleeces to put in bags.

With thick fog the day before and after, the sun on shearing day was welcome.

LucilleB, a lilac ewe, and one of the Corriedale ewes.

The Farm Club friends who were still here at the end of the day. Some had to leave earlier. I am so grateful to them for all the help and good vibes.

Shearing 2026

Posted on January 25, 2026 by Robin

Shearing Day was yesterday. I have far too many photos for one blog post. Starting with the beginning, the night before.

Plywood with Shearing Platform in spray paint.

Lots of barn cleaning and organizing. One of the last things to set up is the shearing corner. This board has been in use for many years, labeled so that it never is cut up to use for something else.

The evening before shearing Dan and I went to Trish’s farm, a few miles away, to pick up her 24 Jacob sheep. With sheep in full fleece it took two trailer loads. After shearing they all fit in the trailer with room to spare. These are Trish’s three rams.

A dozen Jacob sheep in a metal horse stall.

I put 10 or 11 ewes in each of two stalls for the night.

Close up view of 4 horn Jacob ewe with two horns pointing straight up.

I recognize this ewe’s hairdo from when she was here last year.

Shearer bending over to hold onto 4-horn ram while shearing him.

John began with Trish’s rams.

Barn with panels set up and Jacob ewes moving down the lane.

As John was shearing the three rams we moved the ewes from a stall to the shearing corner. The shearer doesn’t want to stop once he starts, so we do our best to always have the next sheep ready.

Woman in overalls bending over trimming feet on a 4-horn ram.

I woke up early on Shearing Day so I could finish the prep for the day. One of the jobs was to get all of our rams into the shearing area before people got here. While John was shearing Trish’s sheep I worked on the rams, vaccinated and trimming hooves on all. That way I didn’t have to think about catching them later to deal with that.

After Trish’s sheep were loaded back into the trailer John started on our six rams and the wether.

Three people moving sheep into the barn from grassy area.

In the meantime Farm club members started gathering our ewes. This photo shows what a fabulous day it was, after so many days of thick fog. We were really lucky, because that drippy wet fog was back today.

Three people in the barn working with sheep.

I am fortunate that I have such a willing and capable team of people.

Tightly packed group of Jacob sheep waiting to move through a gate.

Sheep are in the lambing area and this will be the next group to move in.

Thanks to Roy Clemes for sharing some of the photos I used here.

Random Farm Photos

Posted on January 23, 2026 by Robin

This post is just what the title says.

Three chickens roosting on white plywood walls in the barn.

Chickens roosting in the barn tonight.

Four sheep skulls on the concrete, some with horn cases that need to be attached.

Shearing Day is Saturday and I decided to try and have the skulls ready to put out for sale. This is a work in progress. Others will be offered for sale as DIY projects because they are not as clean.

Stack of ten colorful baby blankets in pinks, purple, and yellow.

I just finished a warp with ten baby blankets. My niece will get first choice of these, because she wants a gift for a friend. Then they will be offered for sale.

Colorful striped scarf draped though rings on the wall.

Speaking of weaving, I finished these scarves last week. These are woven using Art Fiber Frenzy yarn, in the style of the class I teach, Wild and Craze Weaving–Breaking the Rules.

Three four-horn Jacob ewes facing the camera with the rising sun in the background.

Sheep at sunrise.

Twelve farm photos on one page with the title "winners of the 2025 photo contest" by California Farm Bureau.

I entered a photo on the last day the Farm Bureau called for entries. Mine was selected! You can probably figure out which is mine.

Jacob sheep with a sheep coat that has come off the back and is being dragged around the front.

This photo shows one reason coated fleeces are priced higher. Not only do they need changing at 4 to 5 times each year, they also require constant vigilance. I took this photo a few nights ago when doing chores.

Sheep coat with a tear and the leg strap pulled through the hole.

I don’t know how the leg strap got through this hole.

Jacob ewe wearing a coat to protect the fleece.

Fortunately the ewe wasn’t injured and this hole won’t be too difficult to fix. I had to just get through four more days until shearing.

The last batch of sheepskins came back. These are available in the shop and are listed on the website.

Sheep Portraits

Posted on January 19, 2026 by Robin

It was a foggy morning and the fog didn’t lift until mid-afternoon.

The sheep had already been out before I walked to the pasture so they didn’t bury their faces to start grazing immediately. It was a good opportunity to take sheep portraits.

Yearling ewe, Meridian Zoe, a 4-horn lilac.

Meridian Hailee has a nice wide spread to her horns.

Meridian SallyR, a ewe lamb.

Patchwork Amara, a lilac ewe, who came from Patchwork Farm in Georgia.

This is yearling ewe, Bide a wee Bobbie Jo, one of two ewes I got last summer, originally from Oregon.

Meridian Lenore, another lilac ewe.

Meridian Pecan. The ewes born in 2020 didn’t get as much handling as in other years because that was after my accident and head injury. They were all a bit nutty and that’s why most of them have nut names.

Jannie, a ewe whose horns took an interesting twist.

Corri-3, one of the three Corriedale ewe lambs I got in September.

Another Foggy Morning

Posted on January 2, 2026 by Robin

I was going to get away from a weather report, but this morning the sunrise behind the fog inspired me to take photos.

Sunrise in the fog with foreground of trees and dark pasture.

Three drops of water on a fence with the background of orange fog.

It was daylight as I finished cleaning the barn, but still foggy. Sheep are off the pasture now because it’s so wet, so they were waiting to be fed.

When you sit down for a meal at home do you always sit in the same place? Probably. These sheep are always at the back part of the barn because that is where they want to eat. And Zora always puts her feet up on the feeder to eat out of the top.

This is the barn from the back. There was a prompt on the phone to clean my lens. I think the phone objected to the fog.

The ram pen is just behind where I was standing for that last shot. This is Starthist Hornblower, sire of many of the lambs to be born in February and March.

Young rams, Meridian Hunter and Meridian Elvis.

More Grazing in the Fog

Posted on December 16, 2025 by Robin

Dan saw a report that we have reached a record of 22 days of tule fog. Cold and drippy. I think I can handle cold (sort of) when it is balanced by a bit of sun. At least the green pasture and fluffy sheep look cheerful.

This is looking northwest to the hills. What hills? Fog instead.

This is the second day grazing Paddock 17. There is still more feed out there, but I want to move them across the other paddocks.

It seems that two days is about right for each of these 30-foot strips. Notice in this photo and the previous one how well the sheep eat right to the edges. The fences are on the checks, the raised strips that channel the irrigation water down the pasture. I think they eat those closer because they aren’t trampled like the middle of the paddock.

This is another view of that paddock.

I moved the net fencing this morning and this is Paddock 16. .

Some of the chicory has red in the leaves and some does not.

Clover in the fog.

Sparky.

She is always anxious for a selfie.

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