Each spring, Judianne Davis-Van Nostrand of Setauket raises Katahdin sheep and brings them to Hallockville Museum Farm where they stay for the season.
The animals are used for educational purposes during the upcoming Fleece and Fiber Fair and for tour groups with children and in the farm’s summer camp program.
Calliope (pictured above) gave birth to three black male lambs on April 20 and Freckles (below, right) gave birth to two white females on April 27. The mama sheep and their babies, along with sheep Luna and Shorty, will be on display at the farm (behind an electric fence) all throughout the 2015 season.
Katahdin sheep are a breed that was developed in north central Maine in the mid-1970’s and were developed to be self-shedding so they don’t have to be sheared. Breeder Michael Piel named them after Mt. Katahdin, the highest peak in Maine.
Davis-Van Nostrand uses the sheep that are kept at Hallockville for sheep herding demonstrations. The sixth annual Long Island Fleece and Fiber Fair is next weekend Saturday May 16 and Sunday 17 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Long Island Livestock Company is co-sponsoring the event, which will feature demonstrations of shearing, wool dying, weaving, basket weaving, rug hooking, and many other folk art forms.
Your North Fork Sunday Scene features weekly snap shots of life on Long Island’s top fork.
Previous North Fork Sunday Scenes:
Aquebogue peacocks with spring fever
Baby doll sheep at Jason’s Vineyard
Crocuses emerge at Peconic River Herb Farm
