Fair Time!

Those of you who don't know me personally, may have wondered why I included "sheep" in the title of my blog. Even those of you who know me from years ago, may wonder, why I included "sheep" in the title of my blog. Sure, I work in the veterinary industry, so that is a tie to the woolly little creatures, but read on to learn more about my personal stake in the sheep business.

I grew up a farm-girl in southwestern Manitoba, Canada. There, I was active in 4-H, the Manitoba Junior Angus Association and the Canadian Junior Angus Association. It wasn't until my involvement in the cattle business led me to my husband and my life in Iowa that I became involved in the sheep business. My husband (Mark), also a born and raised farm kid, grew up on an Angus farm, however, he also raised purebred Suffolk sheep.

Our paths in life have led us away from the farms, but we've been fortunate to stay involved in the agriculture industry, me with my job at GlobalVetLINK and my husband as the managing partner of the CUP Lab (centralized ultrasound processing). Although we no longer live on a farm, we still believe in the values and lessons that can be learned from involvement with livestock projects through 4-H and FFA. It is for this reason we've given our kids the opportunity to be involved with sheep.

I will admit, the sheep thing was foreign to me. There really weren't any sheep shows or even many sheep flocks where I was from. But, once I convinced myself to see them as miniature steers, I started to develop my eye for lambs. I must say, they are pretty fun little animals, and great for kids to show.

Our county fair lamb show was yesterday so I'd like to take this opportunity to do a little bragging about the great job the kids did. I'm entitled, right? It's my blog! We took 10 head to town, between the three kids that are of age to show. It was hot and it was humid. It's Iowa in July, so we expect nothing less. We were so proud of the job the kids did showing their lambs. We live in one of the toughest counties in Iowa for sheep shows, so were very happy to come home with a couple seconds, a bunch of thirds and a whole lot of purple ribbons. Even better than the ribbons was the time we got to spend with the kids at the show. With all the hustle and bustle of daily life, juggling 4 kids, baseball, soccer, dance, sheep, school, the list goes on and on; the sheep are an activity we can all enjoy together.

I am thankful for the time and effort my parents put forth to allow me to be involved in 4-H and the junior cattle activities. I realize the opportunities these activities presented for me and the life lessons I learned. My hope is that we can provide some piece of that for Morgan, Madeline, Jack and Chloe through their involvement with sheep.