Nettle or Onion as she was also called came to live here with her friend Mango on the 7th March 2019. They came from the same flock as Nora, Doris, Alice, Dobby, Hagrid, Hermione, Luna, Xena and Spot. Nettle and Mango were hand-reared lambs and had previously been someone’s much-loved pets. Unfortunately, when that lady had to sell her smallholding she couldn’t take her sheep with her and so a lady in Dollgelau kindly offered to take them and a few others to save them. They were older girls and most certainly would likely have met a horrible fate had they been sold in a market or even privately. But in 2019 the flock in Dollgelau was also dispersed due to the owner relocating and I was asked if I could take 2 of the old sheep. Initially, a different elderly Texel ewe was supposed to come too but sadly she became unwell and passed away before I could collect them. I was told Nettle was called Nettle but since I took her and Mango in I have actually been in contact with the original owner by the power of Facebook and I have learnt that Nettle is actually Onion which does rather suit her. It’s hard to change her name back to Onion now we all know her as Nettle. Her original owner thought she was at least 12 years old. Which makes sense as Nettle has no teeth at all. Despite this, she has no trouble grazing and eating hard food and looks incredibly well for her age. In the Summer of 2019 Nettle suddenly disappeared from her field one day. I spent all afternoon and evening searching through the undergrowth and driving along the lanes looking in fields for a Welsh Mountain sheep with a small scrunched up ear… There are hundreds of Welsh Mountain sheep in the fields near our home and I was terrified she would get lost amongst them and we’d never get her back. When I rang my neighbour that evening straight away he asked if I had lost a sheep. To my relief, there was Nettle in with his flock. She came trotting over and I popped her collar and lead on and walked her back home along the lanes. Quite how she got out we will never know as that field is very well fenced and the one we actually use for the rams during the winter so it has to be secure. Since her adventure Nettle has not gone missing again. In early 2020 I got a request for some Welsh Mountain fleece from a lady on Instagram who needed some for a project. Some of Nettles fleece was sent to her and she used it for weaving in a display of British Rare Breeds which sadly never made it to the show/fair it was intended for due to the Corvid 19 pandemic… I have also used Nettle’s fleece myself as core wool for needle felting and for making my needle felted Welsh Mountain sheep models. I plan to spin her fleece from 2020 and the leftover from 2019 to name a lovely woven rug. To think Nettle’s fleece would be worth about 20p if it was sold to the wool marketing board is crazy! It is such a fantastic versatile, durable wool and I very much enjoy working with it – thanks Nettle (or Onion!)
