Blanche is here......and other thoughts

Blanche has arrived from Michelle's! She flew lots of miles for lots of hours to make it to Alaska but she acted as if she'd just been put into the crate when we had our first meeting in the back of the truck! She announced her arrival all the way through the baggage claim area since this particular airline doesn't have an airport cargo facility........
so lots of 'tourists' getting off the plane made silly comments about a sheep in the crate and what a strange dog she was. Alaskans of course are much more polite, with kind words of 'how exciting' and 'will you be at the (State) Fair this fall?'.....most Alaskans are considerate and kind people......
so once outside I loaded Blanche into the back of the truck and gave her water and fresh grass to help soothe her tummy and talked to her and pet her. She quieted right down and muttered sweet nothings to me while I talked to her and told her she had another hour's ride home and then she'd have her freedom back. She was very happy to be with the others and eat hay and drink fresh water!

WE know how expensive it is to fly up our precious animals, anywhere from $200 to $400 a crate!! JUST for the airfare. A few dedicated breeders up here, and I will include myself in that bunch, fly up new genetics and continually keep improving our breeding quality, selling at the SAME prices people in the lower-48 sell their animals for even tho it often costs us twice the amount to feed them too. We do it for our love of the breed. We WANT people to buy our lambs and become part of our extended family. We here know best how to care for them in the long dark days and the cold, with what feeds and supplements WE have available to us. Afterall, I wouldn't tell Peeps what she should feed her sheep in Missouri and she certainly can't tell me what to feed mine because we live in two totally different places with totally different needs and resources.....resources being the key word. Our dark winter days, especially further north from here, requires certain supplements if you're going to have a healthy immune system in your sheep. People in the 'lower-48' just don't know that. And that's another reason we started an Alaskan Only sheep discussion list - to provide help and support to other sheep owners and create a healthy network of caring individuals. Alaskans REALLY hate to be taken advantage of...and that seems to happen often enough up here too which is pretty disgusting actually. People in the lower-48 used to ship up their '2nd best' thinking we were uneducated and wouldn't know the difference.....and yet in the dog world we have some of the best in the breeds in the whole US. Same for the goat world, and certainly is the same in the sheep world too I'm sure. Alaska is a small place in it's own way, thankfully, and we eventually find out some interesting things about some folks in the lower-48 that saddens us. That is why we have good email networks now, and good email lists for conversations and education.


I think Blanche is stunning, a beautiful example of the breed, and will be a wonderful contributor to using Awt in my breeding program. She is what Alaska needs. And I'm sure my lambs that will fly up next year if all goes well will be just as spectacular as Blanche and also my beautiful Minwawe sheep that are already here from last year.

Here's to honest people and good shepherds!