Nora is a Valais Blacknose cross Greyface Dartmoor sheep – sometimes called a Silvernose.. yep. I bought Nora in 2018 along with Doris and Alice. I went to look at some Valais Blacknose cross Greyface Dartmoor sheep after seeing a local-ish advert..with the intention of buying just the one or maybe two.. They had a pretty hefty price tag but nothing compared to the pedigree Valais sheep which I would never be able to afford and even if had been able to I couldn’t justify spending my savings on.. I can’t really say I chose Nora it was more like she chose me. She was very friendly and very cuddleable and decided she was coming home with us. Whilst I was looking at Nora I was also shown a 5 month old Valais cross GFD lamb and a very cute Wensleydale cross GFD lamb.. And so we came back with 3 – Nora, Doris and Alice. They were completely different to any of our other sheep. More like big hairy dogs with loveable personalities to match. Because of the rate Nora grows her fleece she gets sheared on an individual basis whenever it looks to be bothering her which is usually after about 9 months growth. I am lucky that I can shear my own sheep as and when they need a haircut. When it comes to Nora shearing is a truly mammoth task and I have to enlist the help of my husband to hold her whilst I do the trimming. Nora’s fleece is more like hair than wool. It spin’s beautifully and has a beautiful texture when spun. Some of Nora’s fleece has been made in to felted seat pads but I feel it lend’s itself better to weaving. Nora is one on her own she seems to have a lot more of the Valais breed about her than our other crosses and she has the most amazing sounding baaaa! The flock wouldn’t be the same without her.
