Stories from the Farm

Over the last couple of years, we have added sheep from a good distance away…Georgia, Kentucky, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Nebraska, and California – but this girl gets the award for farthest traveled…

Huntsberger Venus.

Her story starts back in 2003 when Jaime Huntsberger contacted Betty Berlenbach to see if she knew someone that could help him roundup his Jacobs and move them off Butter Island.  The sheep had been living there for 7 years with very little human interaction. Royal Unzicker heard about this opportunity and I haven’t known him to turn down an adventure, so I’m not surprised he said ‘yes’.  In the middle of July, they took Jaime’s lobster boat 1 hour off the coast of Maine and set out to capture approximately 80 jacobs that had complete reign of a 300 acre island.  7 people and 1 border collie headed out and by the afternoon they had 65 Jacobs caught.  I can’t imagine what that would have been like and I wish there was video of it 🙂  The escapees were left on the island for another time.  Jaime was moving the sheep because he lost the lease he had for the island.

The sheep were moved to the lobster boat and loaded up for the trip back to the mainland.  They moved them from the boat up the dock to the trucks…that must have been a sight!  From this roundup the sheep went to several different locations and Venus made the trip first to Pennsylvania with Royal and then to Oregon with Ingrid Painter.

While I was visiting Ingrid in August, I saw that Venus was for sale.  She is up there in years and has only had 2 lambs for Ingrid, but I thought she was worth taking a chance on.

Photo by Joan Gross

This is Puddleduck Button, owned by Joan Gross at Mud Ranch Jacobs.  She is a granddaughter of Venus, isn’t she pretty!

Since Venus has been here, I have really enjoyed her personality.

She is a watcher and a thinker.  While the other sheep are grazing away, she is always aware of what is going on.

She isn’t overly flighty, but she always knows where the exit is and stays close to it.  She is last in the barn at feeding time and she prefers to sleep outside, even when the rest of the sheep are inside.

She is never far from Cleora, another ewe from Ingrid, and at night they can be found sleeping next to each other – Cleora inside and Venus outside.

I am keeping my fingers crossed that she has lamb(s) next year.

When I look into her eyes, it is apparent that she would have many stories to share if she could.