Tag Archives: Michigan

Michigan – Days 3-4-5

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I wrote about Day 1-2 in this post.

Sign with JSBS logo that says Annual General Meeting

I got to Michigan on Wednesday. The Annual General Meeting began on Friday.

Handwritten sign to Sheep Barn on a bale of straw.

The meeting was held at the Branch County Fairgrounds in Coldwater, Michigan. First stop was the sheep barn.

Old walking wheel outside the sheep barn with flowers in front.

This old spinning wheel was outside the barn.

Sheep pens in a barn with dozens of Jacob sheep.

It was sure fun to see this many Jacob sheep from different breeders in one place.

Jacob ewe in sheep pen

Notice the ear tags including a CA scrapie tag. This is Meridian Saffron who I sold to a fellow Jacob breeder in 2018. I was able to get her to the Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival that year. I just found the blog post about that. I wish I could have participated in some of the fun at AGM–that is buying and selling sheep–not possible when I’m flying.

Front of barn with sign that says Barnyard Children.

There are several barns at this fairgrounds. They are labeled sheep, cattle, horses, etc. I was amused by this sign.

Fleeces in bags at wool show with blue and red ribbons.

A wool show was one of the activities at this meeting. Another activity was the sheep show. I don’t have photos of that because I was a judge. I said I’d do it with a partner, not by myself. That was a challenge. I got good feedback, but I don’t want to do it again. Too much stress and it’s difficult to place 10 sheep in a class when they all look pretty good. Fortunately we needed to place only the first four sheep in each class.

Woman with large blanket knitted with gray and white roving.

One of the participants showed me her “arm-knit” blanket made of roving. It weighs 14 pounds!

Text on slide about mutation causing lilac coloring in Jacob sheep

The presentation I was most interested in was that by Gary Anderson about the study being conducted about lilac Jacobs. Gary showed this slide from a 1995 (I think) paper and noted that they said “the causative mutation” instead of “a”. I think I have written a blog post about the current study in which he involved, but I’m not looking for it now. I’m at the gate for my flight home and want to finish this before we board. I did find this post that is related to the study because of the sheep involved I may have to write more later.

Plaque on large rock about the Anderson Farm in Michigan.

Sunday morning I helped with some sheep loading and a little clean up. Then I got a ride with Gary to his farm in Sparta. My flight wasn’t leaving until 7:30 p.m. so Gary gave me a tour of the area. This is a plaque in place at his original family farm.

Large red barn with two silos on green hillside .

The gorgeous barn at that farm.

Michigan – Day 1-2

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On Wednesday I flew to Michigan for the JSBA AGM. What? Jacob Sheep Breeders Annual General Meeting. It made sense to fly that far for a few reasons beyond getting to visit with other Jacob breeders whom I’ve met over the years. Dan’s sister lives in Kalamazoo, between the airport and the location of the meeting. She offered to pick me up at the airport and deliver me to the meeting. I could visit with her for a couple of days and not need to rent a car. In addition, because I use a Southwest credit card, the trip cost me only $11.20. Win!

View for the forest and city from the window a Southwest airplane, including a view of the wing tip.

Close to landing in Grand Rapids.

A green sign with white lettering that says Elvis Presley Blvd.

For years I’ve heard of the Elvis Museum created in the basement by my brother-in-law.

Looking down a stairway with Elvis Presley memorabilia on the walls.

I finally got to see it.

Room filled with Elvis Presley mementos on the wall and discs hanging from the ceiling and effects of a strobe light on the ceiling and floor.

I wish I could share the video that shows this in its full glory along with music. We spent the first evening watching footage of some of the Ed Sullivan shows that featured Elvis, and Michael filled in many details of Elvis’ life and impact on the music to come.

Quotes by Frank Sinatra about Elvis Presley.

Michael has included quotes sprinkled in among the photos and other memorabilia.

Two people standing on the pier with a lighthouse at the end with a view of Lake Michigan beyond.

On Thursday we drove to Lake Michigan. I had looked at weather apps that showed 80’s to 90’s with high humidity. Not this Thursday at the lake! North wind and cold. Red flags on the north side of these piers signaled that people should stay away from the shore. Yellow flags on the south side indicated caution. This is Molly and Michael on the pier with the lighthouse in the background.

Two people on the pier into Lake Michigan with the lighthouse in the background.

Molly and me on the pier. We didn’t walk all the way to the end because waves were splashing over the pier and we were COLD.

Label on an ice cream case that says Michigan Pothole with the list of ingredients.

The town of South Haven is tourist focused, at least near the lake. Cold as it was, a stop at the ice cream parlor was called for. Molly had told me that the four seasons in Michigan are Fall, Winter, Spring, and RoadWork. So I got a kick out of this ice cream label. The ice cream was excellent. That was only the beginning of great food all weekend!