Black Sheep Farm wasn't always a farm...
It started as the name of my home based craft business, which was run out of a teeny tiny house in Lake Villa, Illinois. When Paul was transferred to Missouri, we finally got to buy a farm. We had both wanted to live in the country, and I always dreamed of watching my horses from my kitchen window.The first black sheep we had was in name only. A good friend who lived in Wisconsin gave us a black lamb as a housewarming gift...unfortunately we were unable to go pick her up and bring her back in a timely manner, so she eventually went to market.
The next black sheep we had lived here on the farm. A Missouri friend scoured the Internet and found a Romney cross 3 year old ewe. "Orange Pekoe", named for the tea, was pregnant when we got her and in March of 1997 she gave birth to a single lamb. This lamb too was black, and we named her "Diamond". Diamond is a Romney/Merino cross, which are bred mainly for their wool quality. Diamond is huge and as stubborn as a mule! But she produces some wonderful wool, sometimes her coat is 6 inches thick.
Orange Pekoe died suddenly in August of 1997, but by them we had already bought another sheep at an auction.
I fell in love with Carla when I first saw her in the auction pen. A deer-like little thing she was not yet a year old and wild as a mountain goat. Half Barbados, which are sheep with hair instead of wool, and half Suffolk ( both breeds are considered "meat" sheep ) she had such a sweet face that I wanted her and only her. She has calmed down quite a bit since I brought her home, but is still able to jump over my head ( I'm 5'5") when badly frightened.
Well, okay, Essie isn't a sheep, but she hangs with them and thinks she is. Esmerelda was a by-product of an animal trade that started off with a pig....well, okay, here is the whole story.......
In 1996 we had to put down our dog Stormy, because she bit our daughter Nichole. Twice. I loved her and had raised her from 12 hours old, but I could not tolerate any more trauma to Nick. I had lost trust with Stormy, and after being unable to find a suitable home elsewhere for her, we scheduled a vet appointment so she could make that trip to a farm in Wisconsin. A friend , seeing how depressed I was, figured she could cheer me up with another animal. When asked if I was interested in getting a pot bellied pig for free, I said sure. I have always wanted my own personal petting zoo. I was told that this was a house pet, that the woman was giving away because she had to time to spend with it. When I picked her up I found a grossly overweight pig, with hooves so long that they curled up and made it difficult for her to walk. She was nasty, narly and ill tempered.
Oh boy.
I named her "Drusella", after one of the wicked step sisters in "Cinderella". It seemed to fit.
We had Drusella all summer of 1996, and after several mishaps with her breaking into full feed sacks and eating 25 pounds of soy bean meal, along with several attempts to bite Paul's leg and a stray puppy we were looking to find a home for, it was decided that Drusella had to go.
A friend said she knew a woman who had a Pot Bellied Pig and was looking for another one. She was planning on breeding them for the babies and didn't care about the sows disposition. In exchange for the pig she would give us 2 pygmy goats, a mother and baby. For working the deal my friend kept the mother goat. We got the baby. That baby is Esmerelda.
Essie is very smart and funny. She is the leader of the "Ovines", and occasionally chases the chickens around so she can eat their corn. Her only job has been to be the "Goat" in the "Dress a Goat Contest" in Dumb Horse Games. She won more times then the humans did.
The Horses of Black Sheep Farm
The Dogs of Black Sheep Farm
Farm Dogs!© 1997
