Summer Nights

Freshly shorn - Fraichement tondu

Life is good - La vie est belle

Claim to Fame

César- Adult Ouessant Ram

There is an oft quoted phrase associated with the breed. The mouton d'Ouessant - the worlds smallest breed of sheep. Whilst the Ouessant sheep is certainly small  and could be considered one of the smallest, there are other contenders for the title such as the Garole sheep. The Ouessants claim is not without merit however.

What about Frances only native short tailed breed of sheep - I think that deserves a mention. European short tailed breeds of sheep belong to an exclusive group, most of which are to be found in northern Europe notably nordic  and baltic countries - the Ouessant sheep  geographically is out on a limb, it is also one of the least developed, its small size has meant it has been considered largely redundant in terms of commercial agriculture for many generations. 

How about Frances most primitive and therefore oldest breed of sheep.  For such a small breed of sheep it has some impressive claims to fame.

For information on the breed and some of its vital statistics visit the Ecomusée du pays de Rennes  LINK   It is refreshing to see the breed in context with the other breton breeds and also the acknowledgement that far from being an insular variety of a mainland breed it is considered the archaeic form.


Le Mouton d'Ouessant parfois nommé le plus petit mouton du monde - une vérité même s'il y a d'autres candidats pour le titre. Le mouton de Garole par exemple. 

On peut dire aussi la seule race de mouton à queue courte d'origine française. Les races de moutons à queue courte sont pour le plupart trouvés aux pays nordiques et baltes,  le Ouessant est considéré  à faire partie du  même groupe. La race ovine  française le plus primitif  donc la race le plus archaique,  une liste impressionnant pour un mouton si petit.

Pour plus d'infos sur la race surtout en contexte avec les autres races de moutons bretonnes cliquez Ecomusée du pays de Rennes  LIEN
 

Broken Skies

Tonight for the first time in what seems like weeks the sky is overcast and there is a freshness on the breeze. It has been glorious, sultry and hot. The sweet smell of hay fills the barn once again and summer moves forward. Long may it continue:-)

Un ciel orageux, mais un été  splendide, il n'y a rien de mieux :-)

Candidly

Eusa, a natural in front of the camera /  Eusa, à l'aise devant l'objectif

Naturally Ouessant

I am determined to  make some inroads into the amount of fleece and fibre that is accumulating. However I couldn't help stopping for a few minutes to put together this basket of goodies. The knitted panier is a kind gift from Fanou and is a mix of Ouessant fibre and angora rabbit, it  is just perfect for displaying some of the variety of natural colours. All the fleece here has been roo'ed and then combed.

Le panier tricoté par Fanou de la laine d'un de mes moutons et d'un lapin angora est parfait à vous montrer la beauté des couleurs naturelles qu'on peut trouver chez le mouton d'Ouessant. Toute la laine sur la  photo était épilée et puis peignée. 

Inadvertant Introductions

New acquisitions can inadvertantly bring with them a whole host of uninvited guests. It is wise to assume no matter how scrupulous people can be that new stock may be harbouring parasites that don't have to be introduced to your pastures.

I alway take care to ensure that sheep and lambs coming from outside the flock are treated for internal and external parasites prior to letting them onto my pastures. Of course it may be a lot longer before I get any decent photos of them!

 La mise en quarantaine de tous les nouveaux arrivés  est le meilleur façon à protéger le troupeau contre les introductions non invité. Un traitement  pour  les parasites interne et externe est obligatoire en même temps. 

Gone Fishing....

Some fish need a different kind of bait. 

Tactician

As the fleeces come off the sheep my fingers job is to learn as much as is possible about each one of them. Armed with new knowledge from my spinning exploits, my fingers run through the fleeces teasing and testing the fibre to get a "sense " of  its qualities and the differences between fleeces.  This is  part of the process  that I really enjoy. Most of my fleeces have been rooed this year, gone are the prickle sharp ends of the hairs to be replaced by smooth silky fibres.  I imagine how they will spin on the wheel. To try to illustrate this texture in photography is another art and one that I also enjoy experimenting with, I'm not sure I've captured it yet but I have a few more ideas.

La laine des antenaises est la plus douce de toutes les toisons, encore plus douce s'il est possible  à épiler la toison au lieu de  la tondre. Quel plaisir pour mes doigts à connaître chaque mouton en profondeur. Quel plaisir à comprendre la laine et ses qualités de cette façon

Teen Angst

Ok that may be exagerating things somewhat, watching the lambs grow  is always a fun time but you want them all to do well, grow well and look beautiful. Right now I am evaluating last years lambs as their fleeces come off, it is interesting comparing their photos from last year at around this time to now as yearlings without their rugs. Between now and then for this years lambs as the fleeces start to grow it becomes more difficult to really judge how they look. It has to be said that at this stage this fella doesn't disappoint, I only hope I feel the same in 12 months once his fleece is off and his horns have grown. Speaking of  horns..... trying to work out what his are doing  at this stage is  impossible but I'll keep taking photos!!


La vie est belle pour les agneaux de cette année et ils sont beaux, mais  rien est sûr. Il est à voir si  en été de l'année prochaine qu'ils seront encore  beaux après la tonte. 

High Humidity

Time for a few sheep shots.....These two are always close together, the weather isn't really getting much better and I have still to shear quite a number of the sheep but they are getting done slowly.

Soelie was completely rooed two days ago, she has an entire fleece underneath her old one not just a bit of fine hair! There are a few more to be rooed before I finish with the shears.

And the lambs are maturing nicely.

Il est encore trop humide à tondre les moutons, mais l'herbe et les agneaux poussent bien.  

Work In Progress

Still too wet to shear - just as well I've still got some fleeces to play with.

Laine  d'une de mes brebis Mouton d'Ouessant- Lavée et prête à peigner

You're 'avin a Larf!

 

Gary is rather a cool dude, he takes life in his stride and strives at all times to remain composed. The onslaught of lambs using him as a climbing frame doesn't phase him, neither do his security duties, day and night keeping a watchful eye on the girls but there are times...... when his good nature is tested.  I mean what does he look like!!

Having fought with Gary over the years to detach his seriously felted fleece by any means necessary last year there was a bit of a break through and I left him longer than usual. To my surprise he rooed almost all of his fleece with just a little around the neck needing scissoring. So this year the fibre fairies have been back at work. ( snigger) Its true, its not an enviable hairstyle but its not for long the rest is lifting off nicely and soon Gary can go back to being a cool dude.

I expect virtually all of my sheep to moult or shed some part of their fleece.

As with the majority of my sheep this ewe has shed the wool on her tail and back legs and around the udder. This has not been trimmed or removed in any way. This kind of trait along with the primitive short tail is a reminder that this breed like many other primitives retains a close association with sheep who were not intensively managed and who by natural selection were reared to be closely in tune with their environment.

For the fibre enthusiast  a sheep who sheds its fleece can be a bonus but in terms of management its benefits are huge. Any sheep who may have soiled their fleece on fresh spring grass readily lose the soiled fleece without human intervention, at worst a swift tug to remove any daggy bits to speed things along is all that is needed.

The longer I keep my sheep the more I learn about the processes that led to this breed and how its adaptations fit into the landscape. I am sure that there is plenty more that they have to teach me.

And plenty more for me to play with.

Fibre Fun

Its too wet to garden and too wet to shear so time for some indoor fun - who fancies hoovering anyway!

I finally finished my first bobbin of home spun Ouessant fleece!Yay!! I'm happy with it but its a practice piece definately not useable other than as a learning experience. I'm happy that my fingers are becoming more nimble and that although its full of mistakes I have made enough progress to start to produce the kind of fibre I want even if its still in fits and starts. The combed fibre is Ouessant with the darker ball at the top some natural coloured shetland. I have a selection of shetland top and the intention is to move on to this to continue my spinning practice. I'm curious to know if the commercially prepared shetland fleece will make things easier, certainly I hope it will show me my mistakes with my Ouessant fleece fibre prep. I have a rooed fleece steeping in the sink and several that need sorting but I feel so much progress has been made in getting to grips with the next step in processing my own fleeces. I'll allow myself a small sense of satisfaction.

L'il Devils

My, what big horns you have.... Already some of the rams are showing significant horn development. Once again I scratch my head at the variation and the number of variables. Once again my trusty camera will record the changes .

However I know what doesn't appeal

It will take time to tease out the variables and factors that will contribute to a horn set that attains a natural sweep. Patience......

Good Humoured Gary

No rest for the wicked!

Woolly Jumpers!

Last years lambs are looking kinda woolly!

It won't be too long before  all the sheep will have to be shorn, not before time as they are dropping bits of fleece all over the place. Now that lambing is officially over for this year I can turn my attention to the myriad of other jobs that have been put to one side. Not least the subject of shearing and some fibre fun. I have a few projects in mind...... will i ever find the time to put them into practice. I feel daunted already!

Listening

There are times when your senses are so tuned in to another that you are as aware of their body as you are of your own. The other evening I was priviledged to share one of those moments. As Lodicia listened intently  to her body in the throws of labour, the calm still evening and the dimly lit surroundings only served to intensify that focus. We shared that moment before her lamb was born, afterwards, exhaustion, elation, all those emotions that new life brings with them but the joy of Lodicias lambing was in touching the intangible and knowing that she felt it too.

Beauty........

...........is in the eye of the beholder.

Japanese Anemone Seedhead

Viburnum Snowball

Nom Nom.......

Picture This

GEMO National Competition Rennes 2012 - The Event

The accommodation was five star, the welcome warm and the weather was perfect. It promised to be a good day.

 La paperasserie - paperwork first 

 

 Then it was time to get eye to eye with the sheep. These rams from the Parc d'Armorique arrived the night before the show.

 Judgely Huddles....... Serious Stuff!

Pretty Girls.......

 Handsome Guys....

and Gorgeous Groups

This year was the year of the prizewinners photo shoot......... some were considerably more au fait in front of the camera than others!

See what I mean, 

This black ram belonging to E Landerneau was awarded champion of champions (rams) he posed for the camera like a professional! Thanks to everyone for a great day but especially the Ecomusée for being such excellent hosts.