Shire is a traditional term for a division of land. It was most often used as a suffix to the name of a town (usually named for it's lord), to reference the country around it. Davishire is a little patch of country in Northern California... our Shire. In addition to the Danes, it houses a collection of chickens, sheep and, often a cow or horse.
The chickens... +
We love our entertaining little hens. There's nothing like sharing your morning coffee in the barn or adjoining garden, with the ladies. Our flock consists of silver pencil plymouth rocks, silver laced wyandottes, a gold laced couchin, a blue splash maran and some barred rocks.
The sheep... +
Our sheep are haired breeds, so they don't require shearing. They molt in the spring and develop a thick coat for the winter. We have had black dorpers, barbados/dall crosses, which can also be called painted desert sheep and some katahdin.
The cow... +
There have bee a variety of bovine at the Shire over the years. Our first, Dexter, came home from the UC Davis dairy and bottle raised him. A holstein steer, he grew quickly and became quite a character!! Butterscotch was an unwanted beef-master free martin calf, who became a wonderful pet. Annabelle came in an indirect route from the auction & had to be nursed through pneumonia as a babe.
The horse... +
Henri lived out his twilight years here. Full of character and fun, he was the ultimate helper for fence repair, planting.. well anything he took a fancy to. He was always picking tools from my bucket or pockets.
