Red Brick Road Farm

We had the pleasure of visiting Terri and Randy Carlson and their family Maddie, and Spencer last evening. Terri's mother was visiting and she is a retired RN, a sister of sorts. We had received an email with an invite to supper. We arrived after dark to a scrumptious dinner of beef stew with everything you could imagine and home baked bread. It was cold out with temps in the negatives. They were gracious hosts who made us feel right at home. On arrival Terri instinctively knew that we would want to meet Echo, Emily and Cierra first. Our exact thoughts. It was dark in the barn and I didn't want to take pictures and frighten everyone, so we waited to take pictures of them this morning. Their home is a beautiful Victorian built in 1860. They have painstakingly restored it to it's former elegance.

The sheep were already having their breakfast of hay. What a beautiful array of colors. Her sheep all are horned. It makes a handy apparatus for catching when necessary.

I think we were being watched.

Yep, we were definitely being watched. This leader ewe kept a close eye on our every movement. Leader sheep are a genetic line of sheep within the Icelandic breed that have shown leadership qualities instinctively. They check things out first, watch all newcomers, enter first
and have been known to move the flock to safety. It is a very desirous quality in sheep. Because of the flock nature of sheep they have been branded with the label of "stupid sheep". This very trait is what keeps sheep safe. Icelandic sheep are not weak nor frail. They are hardy and are able to survive and thrive harsh climates such as their homeland and namesake of Iceland.

Meet Echo. He was born on Hawkes Mountain Ranch in Gaston, OR. He has a mild personality and will be a welcome addition to our farm. I think Truffles and Baby will be curious but get along well with their new buddy. Just look at those horns. I think the girls will be impressed.

This morritt ewe is Emily. She is Spencer's ewe. Her fleece is incredible, soft and long. We hope to get a morritt ram from her to expand our flock.

Cierra is hiding behind Emily. She is the black mouflon on the left. She is tall and long, beautifully constructed. Cierra belonged to Maddie. Both ewes are hopefully bred to Finn, a ram that remains with Red Brick Farm. We tried, but they wouldn't let us take him too. Darn!

Sheep....

more sheep.....

With the addition of a bale of our hay, the back of the pickup should be comfortable for our new passengers. With a bale of their hay to our hay, hopefully no gastric upset will occur.

Halters made the move much easier. Echo was such a gentleman and made no fuss.

Halters on and ready to move...

One of the ewes came into the barn to see what was going on. She had better watch out, we would have loved to tuck her in the truck too. Better run while you can!

The sheep led very well. They are experienced with this due to having been to fairs and being handled by Spencer and Maddie.

They fit! With all that fleece it looked like it might be a tight fit for a few moments.

We are on the road again with the addition of rear passengers. We will stop every few hours to offer water. We brought a muck bucket to fill and remove so there won't be any spills. They look comfortable back there. They are standing, eating hay and watching the scenery go by. I guess for a sheep this is an adventure too. We will be stopping in New Stanton, PA for a rest. We had intended to drive straight through but the sheep will be cozy and we want to be safe. We will continue to update. Thank you for coming along. The more the merrier. Much Love and Prayers from your really Mobile Mainely Ewes Farm.
Kelly and Alex

Really Smart and Really Brave or Just Plain Stupid

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We have been planning a trip to Red Brick Road Farm in Dixon, Illinois for about 6 months now. We were reading Terri Carlson's blog and fell madly in love with a handsome ram by the name of Echo. It didn't seem that far. The more we looked into it, the farther away it got. It seemed like a great idea in August. We planned to pick up 2 bred ewes, Emily, Cierra, and Echo
Jan 2, 2010. It sounded like a perfectly good time to drive west of Chicago from northern Maine. Well, I hurt my back last week pulling on patients and was in bed for 4 days. Then, this giant snow storm came up the coast to eat Maine. We had decided to reschedule for a later date. With work and weather it seemed like an impossibility. After waking up Friday around 4pm and watching the Weather Channel we saw a break coming to Illinois and the possibility of leaving Maine very early and making this happen. After a quick call to Terri, who probably at this time thinks we are insane, we decided to take a more southern route through Pennsylvania. We may only make it as far a New Hampshire but we are going to give it a try. Up early this morning, loaded the truck, a fresh bale of hay to layer truckbed with and a muck bucket for water. We are ready to hit the road. It is snowing lightly as we leave. Here is Alex and I with a self portrait.
We are taking 95 South with reduced speeds on the Maine Turnpike and one clear travel lane. So far the roads are pretty good. However, we are only 25 miles from home.

We are equipped with Verizon MyFi for the trip and plan to blogg our way there. We could use a few serious prayers and feel free to comment. Please keep in nice. I don't like being called stupid. It is not a word we use in our house. Hairbrained, idiotic, just plain dumb are acceptable. We are armed with coffee and high spirits. Much Love and Prayers from Mobile Mainely Ewes Farm.

Kelly and Alex