One of our more unorthodox residents.......

This is Leon. Leon is a chameleon (aren't we clever? We also have a female hidden in another part of the house named Cami)



Leon is very anti-social (in the animal world it's classified as asocial) What that means is this: Leon bites. hard. From nose to tail Leon measures about 14 inches and although he has very small teeth, we have found from experience that it still hurts. Chameleons do not lend themselves to cuddling and we rarely handle them. They can't be trained to like human contact and over handling will cause them undo stress. They are also stressed if they see another chameleon which is why Leon and Cami are kept in separate rooms.

And for those of you who wonder.....no, it isn't true. Chameleons do not change color according their environment. They can, but color change is more indicative of mood. When Leon is really irritated he turns almost black. His coloring in these pictures indicates he's pretty okay with what's going on around him.

Baby, it's cold outside!!

The sheep don't seem to mind the snow but I sure do! Spring where are you???

Hello Sheep!

The Counting Sheep farm is home to 16 sheep at the moment! (We are hoping to add to that number next month when lambing starts....) Currently we have: 6 Registered Cormo Ewes, Kara, Paula, Grape, Lettuce, Rhoda and Marianne and one Register Cormo Ram; Herman. Technically Cormo sheep are registered by number, not name but we like names here on the farm!

Like many Spin Off readers, I fell in love with the Cormo breed after reading an article in the magazine. I started on my search for my very own Cormo! Alas, there was not one breeder to be found in Michigan. Knowing my husband as I do, I figured that was the end of that! But I was wrong.......thanks to another Cormo breeder now located in Michigan (Charlotte Epley) and to a kind breeder in Indiana by the end of the summer we had 7 Cormos plus on beautiful Cormo/Border Leceister cross! (Her name is Leah.)


The fleece on the Cormos is beautiful! It's staple length is 3"-5" and has a beautiful crimp. All Cormo wool is white, and many have crossed them with colored breeds to produce what is often sold today as "colored" Cormo. The Cormo breed was developed in Australia and brought over to the United States in 1976. The original American flock began with 12 bred ewes and 2 rams.


If you would like more information about the Cormo Breed click here.

Herman!

Herman is our Registered Cormo Ram. He came to live with us at the end of last summer, traveling all the way to Michigan from Sue Reuser's farm in California. Herman has beautiful fleece that I just want to dive into!

Win some Merino to spin!

Want details? Click here.

Rock

Rock has been at The Counting Sheep Farm for 5 years now, the only Thoroughbred of the six horses we own. We are not sure how old Rock is, but based on the barely legible lip tattoo he is around 28 years old, give or take a couple of years. He was badly injured in a freak accident (through no fault of his owner) before we owned him and has hernia just in front of his back leg, which is inoperable because of a heart murmur. Needless to say, this guy's been through a lot. Rock is the "babysitter" and new riders usually learn their first lessons on him. He is slowing down now and the arthritis is catching up. We are having a hard time keeping weight on him this winter and I have spent many a time praying for this gentle giant. So far he is keeping up pretty well for his age. We don't know how long we have left with him but we are cherishing every moment......