The Flock    by Toni Neil
       We didn't start out with sheep, but rather with horses - the fulfillment of a town-raised teenager's dream. After we moved to the country to keep our Appaloosas at home, we added milk goats, then Jersey cows, and after that some pigs, chickens, geese, turkeys, in fact, we've had all of the typical farm animals, except for ducks! They're all gone now except for the sheep, and we've kept them because they are such versatile producers, giving generous quantities of wool and lambs, but needing very little time and attention. The one exception to that last rule is during lambing, that special time of year when most shepherds descend into what a good friend calls "lambing psychosis," the state in which we cannot be held responsible for our actions (or reactions) because we're lucky if we get two hours of uninterrupted sleep in a night, and those only if we're fortunate or tired enough to fall asleep in our beds between trips to the barn to check on those ewes who are close to lambing.

       When I started spinning 20 years ago, good-quality wool was difficult for spinners to find, so some of us resorted to growing our own. My first sheep were commercial Corriedales and a registered Columbia ram. From there I went to crossbreds and a Lincoln ram, and then added purebred Lincoln ewes. I still love the Lincoln fleeces, but more spinners are looking for the medium to fine fleeces, so I moved to natural-colored Cor

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