[Jacob-list] ya' know,

[Melody Hale]

Betty, I'm sorry to hear that you are not well, and the news about your ram is very sad.  
I agree--if we wanted all our sheep to look just alike and be perfect to type, we would probably not be raising Jacobs.   Despite the occasional bouts of frustration, and the general ups and downs of lambing, I wouldn't have it any other way, really--but you know that complaining is the great American pastime LOL.  I love the variation in color, pattern, horns, and the whole works--but I also love to fuss about that "perfect ram" lurking just over the horizon.  I have just a small flock, and they are definitely not clones!  There is a wide range of wool types, 2 & 4 horned, some small and some of a bit larger bloodline. There is a very freckly ewe whose fleece has been spoken for in advance for the remainder of her life (or of the spinner's),  and a ewe with far more black than is "desirable" and the greying to boot--which has resulted in a fleece that is about 80% beautiful light silvery grey, and also very marketable.  It is obvious, to anyone seeing my flock, that while I do have some preferences I am not creating my own strain of "CritterLand Jacobs"--nor do I care to. The variety and uniqueness of each sheep is what attracted me to the breed to begin with.  I may never make any major contributions to the preservation or study of the breed--I have neither the land nor the $$ to be a major mover and shaker--  but even though I do join the dream team in search of that perfect animal,  I say "viva la difference!".    I, too, love surprises.
Melody 
  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Betty Berlenbach 
  To: jacob-list at jacobsheep.com 
  Sent: Friday, January 06, 2006 1:27 PM
  Subject: [Jacob-list] ya' know,


  if we all got our wish and got the perfect ram and perfect ewe, how boring lambing would be, if all the lambs looked the same...and with no bad ones to compare them to, the good ones wouldn't look quite as incredibly good, would they?  So, maybe we all ought to stick with what's around in the gene pool now, and stop trying to make "clony" sheep!!!!  I love it when I'm surprised by two incredibly beautiful lambs out of a not so beautiful ewe, and when the opposite happens, I'm not real surprised. The real question becomes: would you rather have a spectacular set of sheep on the field, who threw so-so lambs, or not so great looking flock who threw spectacular lambs?  Probably a mixture of each would be best!  I'm turning philosophical, I guess: not much else to do when you're sitting around coughing out your brains with bronchitis.  On top of it all, my spectacular mioget shetland ram, who threw gorgeous lambs, about 6:1 girls to boys, appears to be dying.  He's nine and very frail...so, in addition to the cough, I have a death watch going here, planning on how to bury him in weather like this...the compost pile it is.


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