Some sad, sad news from last week....

Hello from Maybelle Farm on Thursday May 23, 2013.  This is a day that I have been dreading for quite a while.  It was time to say good-bye to my very sweet old lady Tally and her daughter Willow.  Tally arrived in the spring of 1999 from West Hill Woolies Farm in Wallingford, VT.  Her little daughter Willow was only two months old.  My starter flock consisted of Tally, Willow, Matylda, and Blake.  Of those original four, only Matylda is still with me.  I know this is part of farming, but I certainly am very sad to say good-bye to any of my sheep.  Tally has always been my boss-lady.  Whenever I needed to move the flock, all I had to say was "Tally, come"!  and she would lead the sheep wherever I wanted her to go.  She was an excellent mother and even helped her granddaughter Maura when she had triplets.  Tally tried very hard to claim Ripley, one of Maura's lambs, as her own but we did manage to get him away from Tally and back with Maura.  She was always more than ready to take on any dog that dared to come near the fence to get into the pasture.  Willow was a very nice white Shetland ewe and gave me two sets of white twins.  She had a beautiful black beauty mark on her white nose and was a wonderful mother.  I have Siobhan that is Willow's daughter.  I now have just Siobhan and Arly that are white Shetland ewes.

Well, I have to close for now and go to bed.  Farewell  my "Fierce Tally" and  "Sweet Willow".  I hope your tired, aching bodies find peace, lots of green grass for grazing and many, many wooly friends.  I will miss you every day I am here at Maybelle Farm.  Rest in peace my sweet friends.  We have buried them in the field next to our proud old ram Blake across from the farm house.  Goodnight from Maybelle MaMa.

---