Waynesburg Sheep & Fiber Fest Tomorrow!

2019 Waynesburg Sheep & Fiber Fest T-shirt!

Most of the vendors set up today for the 16th Annual Waynesburg Sheep & Fiber Fest this weekend.

Wild Rose Farm will be in Building # 9.

Wow, are there some great new booths as well as most of our wonderful vendors from last year.  

Get over to the information booth in Building #8 for your 2019 t-shirt … not sure how the coral color shows up on your monitor, but it's really sharp!

More Fleeces Skirted!

Wild Rose Farm #153 - Dorset x Rambouillet Ewe & Lamb

The first fleece up on the blog post today is brought to you by WRF #153, a 2 year old crossbred ewe. She is a 50% Dorset/50% Rambouillet ewe.

Wild Rose Farm #153 - Skirted Fleece

We also skirted a group of nice Rambouillet fleeces to take to the 2019 Waynesburg Sheep & Fiber Fest this weekend …

Wild Rose Farm Rambouillet Ewe #554 - Skirted Fleece

Wild Rose Farm Rambouillet Ewe #555 - Skirted Fleece

Wild Rose Farm Rambouillet Ewe #556 - Skirted Fleece

& Barn Book With Shearing Notes!

Finally, we finished another x-bred fleece as it was getting dark outside!

Wild Rose Farm #142 - Skirted Fleece

The truck is mostly packed up and ready to go for the festival set-up tomorrow. In addition to the fleeces, combed top, yarns, quilt batts, etc., we've got a really nice selection of vintage/upcycled woolens this year.  Come check out the racks and stacks! Did I mention buttons?

Fleeces for the Waynesburg Sheep & Fiber Fest!

Wild Rose Farm Rambouillet Ewe #561 - Skirted Fleece

Here's one of the Rambouillet fleeces that we will be bringing to the 2019 Waynesburg Sheep & Fiber Fest this weekend.  All of the fleeces will have the ewe's micron test report with them in case you're as geeky about that as we are!

#561 Rambouillet Ewe Washed Fleece Sample

I grabbed the little sample in the top picture and swished it quickly with warm water & plain old Soft Soap over the kitchen sink … you can see the crimp in the sample. Rambouillet fleeces clean up well if pulled out in lock formation and washed by hand.

Wild Rose Farm Ram Heads Down the Road!

Speaking of crimp & micron tests, we sold our Rambouillet ram about a month ago to some folks who were specifically looking to get some finer "half-blood" wool from their commercial flock. He sired all of our Rambouillet lambs last year and this year and has a 21.5 micron fleece. It was good to have a ram go to another flock where he can help improve a future wool clip!

Wild Rose Farm Dorset Ewe #117 & Twin Ram Lambs

And who doesn't want to see another picture of lambs? Attentive Dorset ewe #117 has a nice set of twin ram lambs this year. They were sired by our performance tested Dorset ram. We'd like to se them go to a small commercial flock for breeding … they're filling out nicely now. 

Lambing, Llama, & Pasture Scenes!

Wild Rose Farm at Dusk - Snow White in Position!

Here are a series of pictures from the last few weeks at Wild Rose Farm during our lambing season. Our llama Snow White is in the pasture with the ewes. The entire group grazes while surrounded by movable electric net fence within our permanent high tensile electric perimeter fencing. You can see in the picture above that Snow White has taken up a position by bedding down in front of the ewes at dusk. They settle in uphill behind her --- sheep usually bed down "uphill".

A Llama & Her Flock!

Wild Rose Farm #152 With Newborn Twins - Snow White Nearby!

One of our crossbred ewes, #152 is shown above with her set of newborn twins. This is her first time lambing and she did a great job! Look who is nearby … Snow White is alert … you can see her tail is held up a bit.

Wild Rose Farm #150 & Twins - 11:30 PM Pasture Check

Snow White is There!

Finally, here's a midnight pasture check & Snow White is there again … even when she's cushed, her swivel head is 3 feet high!  She's too smart to look at the LED light I'm holding, lol!  You can see the eyes of one of the other sheep behind her.

2019 Waynesburg Sheep & Fiber Festival This Weekend!

Wild Rose Farm Will be at the 2019 Waynesburg Sheep & Fiber Festival!
FREE ADMISSION

Stay tuned for fleece pictures and an update on our lambing season that is just now winding down.

We had a set of Rambouillet triplets born on Mother's Day - now that's how to celebrate motherhood!

Shearing Done & Ready to Start Lambing!

Wild Rose Farm Ewes - Headed to Barn Before Shearing

We've had a lot of activity here at the farm over the last couple of weeks! Shearing was done on April 13th this year. Luckily the weather has been decent since then, but we still keep the ewes sheltered in the barn for a week or so if it is raining (or snowing!).  They adjust pretty quickly and by this time of year, they're ready to get rid of those winter coats. They also come in for shade if it is too sunny …

Shearing the Big Rambouillet Ram!

 We had one ram to shear since we sold the Dorset ram last fall after he completed his breeding assignment!  The Rambouillet ram was surprisingly "easy" to shear for our shearer, even though he is bigger than the ewes … he was calm and the only thing to watch was negotiating around the horns without hooking his arms.

Wild Rose Farm Ewes - Enjoying a Sunny Day After Shearing!

There are 8 yearlings retained in the flock this year, so we took 8 "side samples" of their fleece and shipped them to Yocum-McColl Testing Labs in Denver for micron testing.
Next up … lambing!

Time For Some Shade!

Wild Rose Farm - 25 Degrees in the Shade!

I looked out the window and noticed all of the sheep standing in the SHADE of the Loafing Shed.  I zoomed in on the ewes so that you can see them grouped in the shadow.  Folks, it's 25 degrees out there!  They can be lounging anywhere on the other side of the fence line and they choose to be in the shade where it's cooler.  With their wool fleeces, they are quite comfortable in the cold weather, just like the whitetail deer that you see bedded down in the woods. Just say'in for those that worry about the livestock … they could also be inside the Loafing Shed if they choose to be, but they aren't.

By the way, shearing is scheduled for April 13th this year!