[Jacob-list] re: lending out our ram

[SharHill at aol.com]

Hi all,

I need some advice from someone more experienced in sheep raising etiquette 
than I am.  Someone near me who runs a petting zoo of sorts has 5 Barbados 
ewes, and he wants to borrow, for a fee, our Jacob ram to breed them.  I 
don't really want to do it as I don't want to expose the ram to the diseases 
or parasites that the other sheep could possibly have.  I also don't want his 
sheep here for the same reason, and also since we have no grass after this 
year's drought. Am I being overly cautious?   He kept referring to my Jacobs 
as "Jacobson sheep" even though I several times referred to them as Jacobs.  
It sort of bugged me.  I know I don't have to do anything I don't want to, 
but would it be unreasonable or rude to refuse?

On an amusing note, to follow up the thread on animal tales and fiber 
stuff...Last night we had a power outage for about 4 hours as a result of a 
squirrel playing on the power lines.  We live in a 150 year old farm house 
with fireplaces, so we had a fire going to keep warm and I decided to spin 
Patchwork Dixie's wool by the light of an oil lamp and candles.  Very cozy.  
Just like the olden days, I thought.   It wasn't very bright, but I could see 
enough to spin. I haven't been a spinner for very long, so I am not very 
fast, but I seemed to be zooming through the predrafted rolags I was using.  
I was patting myself on the back for improving so much.  When the lights came 
on I found big hunks of several of the rolags on the floor that the kitten 
had secretly torn off as they hung over the side of my leg as I was spinning. 
 She even had one wrapped around her as evidence.  So much for my explosive 
growth in spinning expertise.

Sharon