Once upon a time there was a little boy, about seven years old, who went to a petting zoo with his mother. As soon as he looked into the faces of the Southdown Babydoll lambs, he knew his destiny. So he said to his mother and father, “Mom and dad, I want to have sheep like those.”
His mother and father, Natasha and Laurence McCrary, answered him, “Well, son, we’ll just have to see about that idea. What would we do with them? Where would we keep them? How would we care for them?”
Well, Gamble McCrary, the little boy, had an answer for that. “If we got some Babydoll sheep, we could sell the wool and the manure. We could charge photographers for taking their pictures, rent them out for Nativity scenes, and sell tickets to see them.”
Then his mother got to thinking. “We live in this quiet historic village of Mooresville, Alabama, with lots of land around it, so maybe having a couple of lambs, maybe a few chickens, a nice garden where I could grow lavender would work; it might teach the children things like responsibility and give our family a project we could do together.”
The True Part
While that conversation might be made up, it’s close to what really happened. They all got their wishes -- 1818 Farms was born and began taking on a life of its own.
And, wow, what a life it has become in less than two years after the spark lit the idea in Gamble’s imagination: First came the Babydoll sheep and some exotic chickens that would later lay pretty eggs the Easter Bunny might bring, and several cute pygmy goats that had to be bottle fed at first.
Well, these adorable creatures had to be protected from mean predators like coyotes that live in the open fields and woods along the Tennessee River where Mooresville sits; that called for a guard dog, a Great Pyrenees named Kroaker, also adorable, who flew from California, where he had never met a thunder storm but, in Alabama, had to face them by jumping in people’s laps for safety. On sunny days the cute goats loved sitting on Kroaker’s back for fun. After that, a Great Pyrenees puppy was needed for Kroaker to mentor to become the next generation of a working guard dog, so the family had to travel to south Alabama for Justice. What a cute puppy! The next trip was to Tennessee for these really cute chicks that would grow up to lay gorgeous eggs. Then it occurred to everyone they needed barn cats, so they went in search of adorable kittens that would grow up with the chicks so all would live in harmony. But the first crisis occurred: a couple of the lambs got sick, including Buttercup, whom you can meet later in a video. Serious medical attention was called for, and everyone rose to the need, which included inserting medicines into certain orifices we’ll skip over. Soon came the first eggs – a pink one and a blue one. Last fall Cupcake arrived, a pot-bellied piglet who loved to climb on Justice’s back and loves to get her stomach rubbed.
While this peaceful kingdom called 1818 Farms kept growing, reality often intruded. Buildings had to be built, fences erected, lavender and vegetables planted; 1818 Farms lip balm, bath teas, gift baskets, and other products had to be made. T-shirts had to be ordered, a Web site developed, parties planned, manure cleaned from the stalls, winter coats made for the baby goats who weren’t used to such cold weather. Birthday parties and storytime events had to be scheduled. And the Italian crystal chandelier had to be hung in the Garden House where bridal lunches can be held.
I watched 1818 Farms become real vicariously through e-mails and pictures from longtime-friend, Laurence’s mother. She pitched in and did her share as well, including designing the logo, administering medicine, and trimming hooves. I dreamed of getting up there to see it all, and my dream came true this past spring.
A Blackberry Winter Sheep Shearing
Under an April-bright cloudless sky on a Blackberry Winter day, the Hutts went to an exciting and, to us, unusual event: the 1818 Farms First Annual (2013) Sheep Shearing day. It was pronounced the “First Annual” at the end of the day because of the event’s maxiful (made up word) success.
Joanna Leigh wandered around taking pictures, petting Cupcake’s belly, trying to photograph Frosty, the small white fluffy chicken that lays little eggs of a pinkish tint (pictured right), patting the wooly faces of the Babydolls, and peeking into the chicken coop during the laying.
Professional shearer Charlie Meeks, himself a sheep-farm owner, had a recent back injury from having been butted in the behind by a ram, so he served as emcee as shearer Jimmy Parker gently relieved each Babydoll of its wooly coat. Meeks prepared the crowd, particularly the kids, for seeing the Babydolls being sheared, being careful to explain that “nicks and cuts” do not hurt the sheep and that shearing means harvesting a natural product which turns into flax and then into sweaters and blankets. Excitement built each time as the four Babydoll sheep, LuLu, Buttercup, Static, and Daisy, were summoned, prodded, and led to their very first “haircut.” The two Great Pyrenees Kroaker and Justice kept anxious eyes on their charges from their enclosure, as Parker gently tucked and held each in their turn against his legs and began the shearing, first around their tummies, then the legs, then those cute faces, and finally the backs. Their wool slid gently into piles under them; when each was patted on its behind to scoot off to their enclosure, Parker scooped up the valuable wool and passed it around; those who handled it felt the soothing lanolin on their hands.
Shearer Jimmy Parker with Buttercup, below
The Happy Ending
And so the McCrary family’s hard work and determination created 1818 Farms, making their dream of a family project come true. People came from far and wide to this magical three acres to watch the cute animals romp, lay eggs, lie on their backs to get their stomachs rubbed or climb onto each other’s backs, and live happily ever after.
Watch the 1818 Farms video at the following link: http://www.youtube.comwatch?v=LJfaWNTWnLw
More links:
http://www.ourvalleyevents.com/story-time-adventures-at-1818-farms/
http://www.al.com/living/index.ssf/2013/04/mooresvilles_1818_farms_is_lif.html
http://www.noalapress.com/huntsville/read-online/?i=mayjune-2013-huntsville-edition
