Whispering Pines Irish Mist

Well, since this lamb looks nearly identical to her sister Frangelico, I decided to post both consecutively.

There isn't much to add that I didn't already say about Frangelico, except that this one is spotted. Other than that, the differences are small.

The fleece pictures might look at little different, but they weren't taken in the same spot. Frangelico's was taken mid-rib, while this one taken half-way back, but higher up. I just wanted to show how it varies some, but not a great deal.

Whispering Pines Frangelico

This is fawn katmoget ewe is a good example of Constantinople's get. She is out of Wintertime Khan. She has oodles of Shetland type, with a very fine, soft fleece. Great luster, density, and good length without tip. We've had finer lambs, but none any nicer. I like her.

I've noticed that we are rapidly accumulating Constantinople's genetics here, which isn't a bad thing, but all her ewes have had excellent conformations, fleeces, and overall type. I'm still looking for a ram from her possessing her head and overall structure, but until we get that, we're enjoying ewe lambs like this one. I also like that this lamb has a different fleece type than some of the other ewes in our flock. We really don't want all of one type. What we are really interested in getting out of Constantinople are lambs that hold their fineness well into adulthood like she has. She was never super fine, but her fleece micron has held rock steady over the years. That's one of those things that you can only find out with time. So far, Blue Diamond has held steady as well, but we'll need more data points on both her and the other Constantinople lambs.

Whispering Pines Coloma

Well, I have a few more adult ewes to blog about, but I lack good pictures, so they'll have to wait. So, on to the lambs.

This is Whispering Pines Coloma out of Wintertime Itasca and Winter Sky Khan. I have blabbed on enough about Itasca's attributes, but I haven't shared anything on Khan. Khan is a very fine, moorit ram out of Black Forrest. His two year old micron test was 22.5 with a low CV. When I say low, I usually mean around 20%. I often don't share all of the micron statistics, because a lot of people either don't care to read about math or don't understand what all of the numbers mean. I've written several articles on the importance of micron data on fiber animals, and I'll no doubt do that again on this blog at some point, but for now, trust me when I say he is super fine (which is a relative term used by some of us Shetland folk).

Sorry, no fleece pictures on the lambs. I just haven't had time.

Oh, I was supposed to be talking about the lamb wasn't I? Itasca has produced some nice ewes, and I like this one as well. She isn't going to be super fine like her parents, but she has a nice fleece that is very uniform with nice density. Overall, I think she is a keeper. It'll be hard to hold onto all of these lambs come next spring because I like all of the adults a great deal, and I expect nice lambs next year as well. We ran into that problem this year as well, and ended up selling ewes that I probably should've kept. Next year, I might not be so quick to pull the trigger on ewe sales. Still, I'll probably have to come up with 10-12 to keep our size manageable.

Plus, I'd really like to keep some high quality moorits if at all possible. Overall, I'd probably rank this lamb at or near the top of this year's lamb crop, however, which means I'll work hard to try and keep her. Given the bloodlines, I'd be surprised if the majority of these ewe lambs don't end up producing lambs that are finer than they are.

Winter Sky Vogue

This moorit ewe is probably my favorite non-Whispering Pines ewe. She's fine-boned with a beautiful, soft moorit fleece. She also has a very nice Shetland head.

What she brings to the table for us is a bloodline that we really don't have. She's an F3 Orion, which is a bloodline that we do have, but she is also one of the few ewes out of Winter Sky Tennyson, who I never saw in person, but hear great things about. I don't generally bring in ewes unless I've seen both parents, but in this case, I made an exception because I thought Vogue was that nice.

I will post a fleece picture when I have one. I was lucky to get this picture. I know a picture is worth a thousand words, but her yearling fleece took second place at the 2011 WSWF, which was judged by certified SSS judges (have I mentioned that once or twice, as if I thought that was significant or something?). Having seen some of the fleece judging in other fiber events, I have gained an appreciation for the skill of Alan Hill and Kate Sharp at that event. I realize that everyone likes the judges who think like we do, and we despise those who don't, but in this case, we are talking about two people with credentials that most of the U.S. judges don't have, as well as the profound experience with the breed that people like me look for when trying to deepen our understanding of the Shetland sheep. That event meant something to me even though I had no sheep entered in anything. It was as important to me as the 2005 AGM at the Dailley farm in Ontario. That event had nothing to do with UK judges, but it was an eye opener for me in terms of what the breed could be (or was supposed to be before Americans intervened). If the 2005 AGM was a turning point for our farm, the 2011 WSWF was a reality check showing we are progressing on the correct path. It is important to me that we breed for Shetlands like you would find in their native land, and not merely something that we personally like. Having bred for all Shetland types, I feel like we can't have enough ewes in our flock like Vogue.

Sommarang Isla

I brought this ewe in from Wisconsin last year for several reasons. First, I liked her fleece and conformation. Really, that doesn’t mean much because I wouldn’t bring in a ewe unless that was true. But I also liked her mother and father a great deal, which is a must with all sheep that we have in our flock.

Her mother was reserve champion ewe at the 2010 WSWF, which means very little to me except that I really liked her. Her father was grand champion ram and reserve champion Shetland (finishing 2^nd to Salicional) at the 2011 WSWF. Plus, I felt he was one of the better Shetland rams I have seen. Isla’s yearling fleece tested out at 22.5 microns, which is right in the area we target for yearlings, but it also has nice uniformity and crimp.

Overall, she’s just a nice ewe and is maturing just as I had hoped. She doesn’t have all of the attributes that Constantinople has, but her fleece is nicer. Plus, she's modified!

Whispering Pines Siena

Whispering Pines Sienna is another Pompey daughter is has a pretty special fleece. It is denser than Genoa’s but not quite as fine, but it is one of our best. She produced an excellent polled ram this year who we are using in a small breeding group. There really isn’t much to criticize with this ewe. I don’t like her as much as Genoa, but the differences aren’t enormous, and are most likely a matter of personal preference. Siena is shown here being harassed by Khan.

 

What I will say is that she combines impressive bloodlines that I admire. I know I say that a lot, but we have spent the better part of four years collecting different bloodlines that I like, and she is a good example of that. They haven't all panned out, but some of them have done well.

We sold Siena's yearling fleece for $100, which is a good sign. We haven’t traditionally priced our fleeces that high, but we really didn’t want to sell these two (and quite a few others). But I think it's a good buy for the discriminating fiber person.

Whispering Pines Genoa

Whispering Pines Genoa is probably my favorite Shetland ewe. She is a beautiful, dark grey katmoget with an exquisite fleece. How exquisite? Jen and I both thought it was our best, but we were surprised when someone offered us $150 for it at a fiber event. That’s not bad for a 3 pound fleece. She is out of Whispering Pines Shiovan (an F1 Orion daughter) and Pompey Magnus, who is one of the finest polled rams in the country (he's six years old and still microns in the mid 25's - just missing superfine status).

We hope for nice lambs from her, but this is a ewe that will be difficult to improve. I would love to have a ram like her, however. Just saying. She has my ideal Shetland fleece. It’s just buttery soft with a wonderful lock structure. I can’t wait to see what she produces.

 

My only complaint is that I don't have more ewes like her. I'll post more pictures of some of these ewes at some point, but I just haven't had time to get good ones. This picture really doesn't show off her fantastic facial markings.