We finally have pictures of most of the lambs that are currently for sale. They are all about the same age and would be best for fall or winter shows. Unfortunately they will be too big for Spring shows. These photos were taken July 27, 2010. You can click on the small image below for a larger photo. All are wethers except for #24, who is a ewe lamb. Below: #23 wether and #24 ewe lamb, twins born 2/19/2010. #23 has been sheared again since this picture was taken.
In 1955, US President Dwight D. Eisenhower kept at least one Southdown ewe on his Gettysburg, PA farm. The president of the American Southdown Breeders’ Association bred a ewe for the President “free of charge….hoping of course that you will have some Southdown lambs for the grandchildren.” On June 28, 1811, Sir John Throckmorton won a thousand-guinea bet by sitting down to dine in a damson-colored suit made from Southdown wool which had been shorn at sunrise that very morning. Damson refers to the Damson plum, which was used for dyeing (deep purple-blue-plum color). The two sheep were shorn at 5 AM, and the tailors completed the coat at 6:20 PM. The cloth was described as “a hunting kersey of the admired Wellington color.” Five thousand villagers turned out to see Sir John don the coat! Here is a link […]
I was fortunate enough to find a book on eBay that is out of print called “The Southdown Sheep” by Valerie Porter. It was published in 1991 by the Weald and Downland Open Air Museum in the South Downs of England. I e-mailed the bookstore hoping that there might be more copies available; sadly, there are none but the bookstore manager was kind enough to send me photos of the Southdown flock they keep at the museum. The museum is more than a collection of historic buildings, it is what we call in America a “living history museum,” and they have a collection of heritage farm animals. Check out the cool wood fencing they use to keep the sheep in — wish I could have that instead of the ugly metal no-climb fencing! Here are the pictures of the sheep, […]
