In the winter of 2004, the idea of raising sheep to keep our pasture clean came to mind. After many months of research, we chose to raise Shetlands because of their small size and thrifiness. We attended several sheep and wool festivals and more breeds sparked our interest. We keep a small number of sheep to enjoy throughout the year. The best time of the year is lambing season. It is so much fun to come out in the morning and discover a new lamb on the ground. We enjoyed watching them play all through the summer. Live Nativitiy is a great time as well. We like to show off our sheep. They bring joy to us and our vitors.

SHETLAND - We bought two bred Shetland ewes from Dana Haugli of Prairie Wind farm on April 2, 2005. They are named Tilly and Ede. Dana was working towards organic certification and does not deworm a sheep unless neccesary. He believes Shetlands have a high parasite resistance if given the chance. We have learned that there are many ways to rid parasites natually. Our ewes are two years old and have never been dewormed. We are continuing his work and having great success with our flock.

Tilly delivered a ewe lamb on July 6, 2005. We named her Bridget. Tilly and Bridget are inseparable and have similar personalities. They are both loving and curious. It was a neat surprise to us when Bridget's wool started lightening up to a musket color.

Ede delivered a ram lamb on July 11, 2005. We named him Ronald. We are amazed at Ronald's easy going personality. Ronald stood still while we hand sheared him, while his mother, Ede, is a bit stubborn.

We have been so happy with the Shetlands that on December 3, 2005, we bought a white ewe lamb from Dana. Crystal and Bridget are close in age and are getting along. She and Bridget took part in the live nativity scene at our church.

ROMELDALE/CVM - On July 13, 2005, we drove Elly home from Sheepy Thyme Farm in Michigan. She is a California Variegated Mutant which is a badger face pattern of a Romeldale.

ICELANDIC - On June 11, 2005, we brought Milly home from Azariah Acres Farm in Foley, MN. She is a brown mouflan Icelandic ewe. She is probably the most curious of all our sheep. Icelandics and Shetlands are similar in size and eating habits.

BLUEFACED LEICESTER - We visited Beechtree Farm in Coopersville, MI on July 13, 2005. We met Brenda and Mark. Brenda gave us tips on how to show sheep. Brenda has improved her flock with semen from England. We bought a pair of Bluefaced Leicesters. We did not have the space to take them home, so we met them half-way on July 21, 2005. Rosemary and Colwyn have been a great addition to our flock. We are going to cross our Shetlands and Icelandic with the Bluefaced Leicester this winter to improve their size and wool.

TEXEL - In June of 2007, we purchased Clayton from Bret Taylor of Osceola, IA. Clayton is going to be used in our three-tier breeding program. The Shetland/BFL and Icelandic/BFL crosses will be bred to the Texel ram to produce thrifty premium meat lambs. Brenda and Mark, above, exposed us to this concept. It is common in the UK. We get too attached to our sheep to talk about meat, but some of our lamb buyers raise our lambs for the meat market.