Today's Featured Ewes - Crossing the Lines Mapleton Peep and Mapleton Opal

What do you get when you cross the katmoget lines with the spotted lines in my flock? 

 Mapleton Peep (Mapleton Cooper X Minwawe Marshmello)

2009 twin musket yuglet sokket ewe

Bred to Swiftriver Neville for 2011 lambs

2010 single ram lamb by Mapleton Rip Tide pictured below:

 Okay he was my very favorite ram lamb this year.  He too went to Utopia Farms because he was just too related to the rest of my flock.  I love how the Kermit/Cooper/Zeus line crosses with the spotties.  Just produces very correct lambs.

And last of the two year olds but certainly not least...as she is my personal favorite:  Mapleton Opal

Opal is by High Bid Kermit and out of Minwawe Pearl

2009 fawn katmoget single ewe

Opal is expecting her first lambs.  She was in HarvestThyme Champ's breeding group and the only one I saw him take any interest in.  Her back ram was Zeus.  These two have the longest fleeces in my flock.  I love the luster and it spins like a dream.  It has very soft handle and I know the rams used this year will improve the microns on the lambs.   I love how elegant these ewes are, they really have a look at me quality about them.

Today's Featured Ewes - Seeing in B&W: Mapleton Destiny and Mapleton Violet

 These two Minwawe Bahama daughters are personality plus!

 Both coming two year olds.  Both black and white spotted and carry moorit.  Mapleton Destiny "Dessie" has a longer more double coat and is flecket.  Mapleton Violet "Vi Vi" has shorter crimpier single coat and has HST markings.

 Dessie is a Minwawe Serendippity daughter.  I also retained her twin siblings from this past year:  Storm and Hope.  Her twin brother Mapleton Rip Tide is sire to Peep's son Mapleton Buster Brown who is at Utopia Farms, and Rip Tide is flock sire to a Shetland farm in CT.  Serendippity is in PA at Spring Hill Farm with Bahama and her half sister Silver Bell.  Dessie is bred to Zeus for her first lambs...I really hope if anyone can bring spots out of him, it will be her.

 Mapleton Violet is a Hid Bid Hester daughter.  Also bred to Zeus.  A second year in a row for her.  I loved the ram lamb she produced with him.  I put a few photos of him at the end.  He is now a wether at McKenzie Child's with C.C.'s daughter Annick and Mapleton Liberty Bell.  Violet  is an exceptional mother just like her mom.  She has retained her true black color, with no sign of iset or age greying.

  I need to get a good full body photo of Vi, she is so friendly she almost always has her nose in the camera lens so I literally have to run away from her to get a good shot.  She is great on the halter and was one of our "PR" girls this year, going to McKenzie Child's in Aurora with her lamb in the spring until he was weaned and making an appearance at the Farmer Heritage Day at the Mike Weaver Drain Tile Museum this summer.

 

I wish you could feel this lamb!  I think maybe the softest of  that lamb crop and so consistent from front to back.  Perfect little tail and very square, although it is hard to tell from this photo since he is standing on slight slope.  And you got to love those fuzzy cheeks!  He was very friendly so we decided to wether him.  I thought despite his wonderful qualities indicating  he could be a breeding ram, using those qualities to represent the farm and Shetland Sheep as part of the "garden tour" at McKenzie Child's was the perfect alternative for him.  Now if Vi and Zeus can give me a repeat in ewe form...she might just be staying!

Today's Featured Ewes - Mapleton Carmel Apple and Mapleton Peanut Brittle

 

 Mapleton Carmel Apple

(High Bid Kermit X Twin Springs Cotton Candy)

2009 fawn katmoget triplet ewe

Bred to Swiftriver Neville AI

First lambing

  Triplet sister below:

Mapleton Peanut Brittle

Moorit ewe

All other info same as Carmel above

 Both bred to Neville...I am very excited to see their first lambs.  I like these two ewes so much I don't even know were to start, so I will just let the pictures speak for themselves.  I do have a limit to how many solid moorits I will keep however, so depending what lambs I keep, I might part with Peanut as I have her sister, 1/2 sister, mom, and she is full sister to Cooper so aunt to Zeus and Peep, and grandaunt to Silvermist.  That is ONLY if I get something from the lamb crop that is as beautiful and as soft as her!

Meet Mapleton Peep

 Meet Mapleton Peep (front and center)

I am running out of good individual pictures...I think I need to go out and do a photo shoot but I have a few left to work with.  This is Peep (Mapleton Cooper X Minwawe Marshmello).  Now she is musket for sure!  I own her mom and half sister as well.  Her twin brother S'More was sold to an excellent home with Duet, Cha Cha's yearling daughter.  Peep is also and HST meaning she has white markings on her head, socks (legs), and tail.  Technically that makes her an smirslet (almost yuglet) sokket.  From the day she was born she makes you take notice.  Even my DH who as really little interest in the sheep is often found saying "wow WHO is THAT one!"  She is very friendly and has a bit of a take charge attitude and presence which I would expect nothing less from a Cotton Candy grand daughter.  She was exposed to Mapleton Rip Tide before he was sold.  I hope she took because that should make for an outstanding combination.  It will be moorit based, may or may not be Ag (50% chance) and will definitely be SPOTTED and loudly!

 

Here is a rear view of Peep.

Meet more 2009 ewe lamb keepers

Pictured from Left to Right:  Mapleton Violet (High Bid Hester X Minwawe Bahama) twin  exposed to Mapleton Zeus, Dessie her half sister (you already met her) and Harvest Thyme Quechee a black gulmoget in front of her added  to my flock from OH, and Mapleton Peanut Brittle (Twin Springs Cotton Candy X High Bid Kermit) - triplet to Carmel and is a solid moorit.  The three on the right were not bred this fall as they were the smallest of the 2009 ewe lambs so I decided to give them a year to grow.  Even though the 3 Mapleton ewes were over 50 pounds, Violet weighed the most.  I am not sure if Violet took but time will tell.  Hoping for a black based katmoget from her or her mother.

Meet Mapleton Opal

Mapleton Opal (NFS) is one of  my 2009 ewe lambs.  She is out of Pearl featured last post and by High Bid Kermit.  She and her half sister Carmel are very much alike.  Opal has a little more wool on her poll and has a lighter color to her fleece when parted.  She has Kermit's trademark fleece and tail.  She was "my" pick of 2009 lambs.  She is a big ewe lamb so I did put her in a breeding group, exposed to Harvest Thyme Champlain a half polled single coated mioget ram.

Meet Mapleton Carmel Apple

Meet the flock:  2009 ewe lamb
~ Mapleton Carmel Apple ~
 Out of Twin Springs Cotton Candy and by High Bid Kermit.  NFS
"Carmel" was exposed to Mapleton Rip Tide before he was sold, so she might be bred for March or April lambs.  She a triplet and full sibling to Cooper who was sire to Peep, Zeus, and Libby (you will meet them another day).  The rich color, handle, luster, and crimp to her fleece when you part it makes you say "wow that's lovely".  She is wonderfully built and has Kermit's most perfect tail that he stamps on all his offspring.

Meet the Flock Series: Mapleton Destiny

"Dessie"

I thought I'd do a meet the flock series here on my sales blog so you can see the rest of lambs I got last year and meet my foundation flock.  The 2009 lamb above is NOT for sale...but her parents were bred together again so I might get another one like her.  Dessie was not bred this year but will be as a yearling. She is a black and white flecket out of Minwawe Serendippity and by Minwawe Bahama.  She is the sweetest thing!  She is the twin to Mapleton Rip Tide.  Her mom lost her half her udder to a bout with mastitis so her siblings might be bottle lambs.  If you are willing or able to raise a bottle lamb this spring, please let me know and I can keep you posted.  It might be a great opportunity to get a fantastic lamb at a discounted price.