Friday, January 09, 2015

From Carlisle to Bristol train station.....then

Jenny loaded us all up and we headed to the Carlisle train station.  The train took us to Bristol and there we had a bit on confusion concerning which of the 2 train stations we were to meet Lesley Beazer and ended up there for about 3 hours before it got all hashed out.  Sue Watson generously volunteered Tim's services and he picked us up and whisked us off to Lesley's house for an amazing meal with Maurice & Gilly Wakeling, Sue Watson, our hero, Tim and Lesley.  
Carlisle train station-lovely place.

Garrett being a seasoned British traveler waiting for our train

Lesley Beazer.......Here we come!
I loved Lesley's home.  
We really like this oil stove.  The top has griddles where you simply remove the cover on the griddle and toast bread or place your pot for cooking, make grilled cheese........the possibilities are endless.  They don't use these in the summer as the oil stays heated continually and that would make it too warm in the home, so there's a conventional electric range to the left of this one.  Lesley had hundreds of rosettes and awards from showing her sheep hanging all around her home, you can just see some of them hanging along a beam in her kitchen. 

Lesley with a few of her ewes

A simply stunning grey kat ram lamb

More ram lambs
Moorit ram fleece shot
Grey kat fleece shot


Some of the adult ewes

Ewe lambs

Yummy grey fleece

A nice shaela fleece
Next stop............Somerset with Maurice and Gilly and visits with Jean Curitis, Mary Gibbings and Heather Chapman a day trip to the Shetland Sheep Societies JIP meeting, dining in a castle, visiting Stonehenge and more.......all done in the R.A.I.N!!!! 

Thursday, January 08, 2015

More UK trip photos

A cozy English pub
Ulverston
Garrett and Jenny heading back
You can see she truly loves her sheep.

Jenny thought we might enjoy a break from endless sheep viewing and took us to visit a really nice Cashmere goat operation.  Forgive me for not remembering the name of the lady that owned the goats.  She welcomed us to her beautiful farm and gave us a little tour of her barn and pastures.  Check out the horns on that buck!!! 

Here are a couple younger goats doing what goats do......play. 


Here is a really nice shot of the goats in her pasture. 

Her pasture was so beautiful, I just adore the rock formations all around her farm

Don't you just love the head and horn structure on this boy? 

Mike saying hi to one of Jenny's friendly sheep.  I'm sure he was quite sick of seeing sheep by this point in our trip.  Such a good sport about it all.

Fleece shot of one of her sheep.  Very nice.

One of her young rams

Fleece shot of the above ram

Sheep grazing on the fell
We actually did go into Ulverston and visit a trendy little tea shop, had some lunch, bought me some wool socks (I was cold, wet and freezing) and then stopped at a little pub down the road from Jenny & Chris's house to have a couple pints.  They even had the old style taps that you "pull" beer up from the basement with, a true muscle building activity for the female bartender.  Chris had a nice stew for us to eat in the evening and we sat around the fireplace and talked......about sheep of coarse. 

Mike and I

Mike and I
Mike and I at Nick and Emily's wedding

Raised beds & chickens coops

Raised beds & chickens coops
Can't wait for this stuff to actually be food....