Thursday, 26 January 2012

Don't their feet get cold?



"Yes. May I help you?"

I thought this might be a Herdwick, but I'm not very good on sheep so I did a bit of Internet searching and the face seemed right but the fleece was rather too soft and fluffy.

So, I consulted The Weaver of Grass and she said that she didn't think it was a Herdwick because the fleece should be coarser and black on top, but that the face looked right. She suggested that maybe it could be a cross breed; part Herdwick and part something else - which makes sense (unless you know better).

Weaver also told me that Herdwicks are not as common as they once were because their wool used to be shipped down to Kidderminster for use in the carpet industry; a demand which has subsided somewhat with the inclusion of synthetic fibres.

Maybe she's not looking at me at all. Is there someone standing behind me? I'll feel such a fool if I've been looking at her like she wants me when actually it's been someone else standing behind me all this time!

What ever it is, it posed very obligingly while I took several photos. I do love it when animals stop to stare and see what you're up to.

"Look! If you don't actually want anything, would you mind going away? Can't you see I'm trying to re-eat my dinner?"

But, looking at her carefully, she has that lovely thick fleece, all fluffed up, trapping the air and providing layers of insulation, but then it sort of stops and leaves those knobbly little legs sticking out and I have to wonder...

Don't their feet get cold?


Dropping in on Jenny Matlock and Alphabe-Thursday where the letter is J for 'Just lookin'


Posted by H at 20:42
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20 comments:

  1. 21 Wits26 January 2012 at 21:06

    I think this last cutie is trying to tell us something!

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  2. Michael and Hanne26 January 2012 at 23:03

    Hanne says it's obviously a Danish Landrace. And yes their feet do get cold.
    Lovely photos!

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  3. Steph27 January 2012 at 04:16

    I know nothing about sheep other than that they are adorable (like this one). Really nice shots.... Fun pictures and writing. :)

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  4. angryparsnip27 January 2012 at 05:54

    That has to be the cutest wild(?) sheep ever !
    and I do wonder about the legs and feet. Much like the little duck standing on the rock you had on an early post.
    Love the conversation you and she (?) had. The second photo just cracked me up. I can see her saying that.
    Your so funny.

    cheers, parsnip

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  5. anitamombanita27 January 2012 at 06:00

    what a cute face!!

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  6. Pondside27 January 2012 at 06:49

    That sheep is obviously an independent thinker - no sheep-like following the crowd for her. I think you should sew her some booties.

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  7. Rosie27 January 2012 at 11:52

    She really is interested in you isn't she? She looks so clean and white! I noticed when we were out the other day that the sheep look very clean for this time of year:)

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  8. Desiree27 January 2012 at 12:51

    What a beautiful face she has! And what a delightfully told tale of your encounter with each other. Here, the farmers always seem to shear them just when winter's at it coldest and we see those poor, bare little bodies out in freezing cold. I've never understood it. Then, in summer, when it's blazing hot, the poor things stand huddled together trying desperately to get shade from each other, because they're out in barren fields with not a tree in sight and all wearing their woolly coats. I think your little sheep looked perfectly attired for the weather and quite comfortable :) A lovely post for me to read today, thank you! I have popped by from time to time and more recently, to enjoy your trip up to visit Mark, but had not left any comments. Initially, since I was on my blogging break, then because I was feeling too low after Bonny's demise.

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  9. The Weaver of Grass27 January 2012 at 14:49

    Apparently a group of women in the Lakes got together to produce things using Herdwick wool (travel rugs, sweaters etc.) I am not sure where they are but think it is somewhere in the Keswick area.

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  10. Robin Lynn27 January 2012 at 15:21

    Oh I love these photos! where are they taken? and your sheep convo is great!

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  11. Gattina27 January 2012 at 15:45

    I don't care if it is a Herdwick or not, it's cute ! I love sheeps ! Maybe you should knit 4 little boots for it !

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  12. Michael and Hanne27 January 2012 at 19:16

    Don't Herdwicks have gray wool?

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  13. Judie27 January 2012 at 23:15

    Herdwich, Smerdwich! I haven't a clue! But your photos are sooo interesting, and the wool looks VERY warm! Good "J" post!!!

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  14. H27 January 2012 at 23:47

    Michael - Weaver's husband ('The Farmer'), reckons that although Herdwicks usually have grey backs, they don't always.

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  15. Cheryl28 January 2012 at 02:47

    When I was a teenager I raised and showed sheep for a local 4-H club. I'm all sheep'd out, but I was the Colorado State Wool Judge Champion in 1986, and I judge that wool to be sheep wool, oily, and smelly. That's about all I remember. ;)

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  16. Jo29 January 2012 at 22:03

    gorgeous shots, i love the light ... and that animal is adorable, no matter what breed it is or isnt!

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  17. Vicki/Jake30 January 2012 at 04:39

    Late visiting this week....glad I came to see the sheep though. I worked with friends on a sheep ranch for a few years. They were Suffolk and looked something like this one, but the wool was much coarser. Funny how she (?) kept looking at you and didn't run away:)

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  18. Anonymous30 January 2012 at 04:42

    Im pretty sure this is a Herdwick.

    RE A Herdwick's fleece colour: Much like Humans Herdwicks fleeces go fairer with age. They move from being a brown-grey colour at birth to a dazzling white when elderly.

    This means that although this one dosen't look it, it's probably far from being a young gun.

    Mark Roe

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  19. Louise30 January 2012 at 19:37

    Hardy 'Herdies' are one of my favourite sheep breeds! There are a few around Home, in the fields surrounding the Roaches and Ramshaws, but usually just an odd few Herdwicks in a mixed flock. I've never seen a white one and I read once in a sheep book that they are born with dark fur which turns blue-grey with age so I have to disagree with anonymous, but I am not an expert on these things! I know lots of sheep but I'm not good at identifying tricky ones! I'd lean towards this being a cross too as it does have a herdy face! Perhaps a herdwick for being a hardy sheep and something else with better wool?

    To answer your alderley edge question - no, that hill/ridge in the distance on the left of the photo is Bosley Cloud, between Leek and Macclesfield, though I expect you can see Alderley from the Roaches on a clear day as you can see most things from up there, way across shropshire and chesire and other places!

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  20. Jenny3 February 2012 at 15:29

    Ha! I'm totally cracking up over this post!

    What funny captions you have here...and they fit so perfectly with the images!

    Thanks for a happy little jaunt through the letter "J".

    A+

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