Tending the Flock, Round-the-Clock!
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by Ann Kaiser
Editor Caring for cuddly babies and preparing to greet guests leaves little time for county sheep. Families flock to Alice and Ray Antoniewicz's A-Z Sheep Farm near Oregon, Wisconsin. They want to share the wonder of perky little lambs bounding at their mothers' heels, have a chanced to pet their oh-so-soft coat or maybe even see one born. "We'll likely have hundreds of visitors for today's Open Barn," Alice predicts as we hurry to finish chores... 9 a.m>> The barn's abuzz with cleanup and setup. There are 100 eyes and 93 new lambs–it's likely as many more will be born by the end of the season! I help Alice and Ray feed the sheep. Their kids and grandkids tend to their goats, exotic chickens that lay colored eggs, an incubator with chicks and a potbellied pig. A neighbor arrives with two dairy calves in tow. "Some of our guests have never been on a farm, so we try to give them a varied experience," Alice says. 10 a.m.>>Guest flock in to the Open Barn! Seeing me feeding lambs, children are eager to help hold the bottle. "How old is the lamb?" they ask. "Is it a boy or girl?...What's itsname?...Why do some of them wear coats?" Antoniewicz family members stationed throughout the barn talk with guests about sheep farming, sell blankets made from their wool and run a concession with hot chocolate, cider, coffee and snacks. A few friendly vendors also have set up displays–a handspinner, a felter, a custom carding and woolen mill, a wool- and sheep-themed gift shop. There's even a photographer to take pictures of kids or families with a cute, live lamb. What a fun event! The Antoniewiczes invite the public on three consecutive March Sundays during the peak of their lambing season. |
 Woolgathering kept Ann and hostess Alice Antoniewicz busy at lambing time. 11 a.m>> "I didn't know they were so curly," remarks a young girl, stroking the short, wavy fleece of a 3-week-old lamb I hold for guests to pet. Another youngster snuggles her cheek against the lamb's fuzzy head. |