THE STORY OF THE FIVE MARYS FLOCK OF SHEEP
I love sharing this story about how we got our big, beautiful flock of Navajo Churro sheep.
We thought we’d just start with a few sheep. If you are wondering where our name came from - my daughters are also all named Mary after grandmothers and aunts on both sides - MaryFrances goes by Francie, MaryMarjorie is Maisie, MaryJane goes by Janie and MaryTeresa is Tess. They were all age 6 and under when we moved to the ranch and while we planned to be a cattle and hay ranch, “The Little Marys” had to have some little lambs!
We ended up with some Navajo Churro ewes and 3 beautiful rams and were really happy with the meat quality and hearty, fairly wild breed that did well out on pasture and without needing much assistance in lambing.
I was on the hunt for a few more to add to our small flock of 30 and maybe a new ram - but Navajo Churro sheep are not easy to come across. When I found a listing in an old pdf directory on the NC association website, I figured this aol address was probably no longer in use but I emailed it anyway. A very sweet lady named Linda Hussa called me immediately - and said “oh yes we have churros. Beautiful ones. And a lot of them. Why don’t you come on out to surprise valley next week and you can see them.”
So with my husband slightly on board with this idea of buying a few more sheep - I set off by myself to the Hussa homestead one morning. It was about a 5 hour drive and I arrived around 11am. John and Linda had a beautiful property at the end of a dirt road and a modest home with a giant woodstove for cooking and heat - they invited me in to chat.
I hadn’t seen any sheep yet and they suggested we have lunch first, and then go see the sheep. I graciously accepted and walked around the corner to a full table set with their finest plates and a full leg of lamb cooking on the stove. I realized then this visit might take awhile.
We had a lovely 2-hour lunch and as I was just thinking maybe now we’ll go see these sheep - Linda asked if I enjoyed biscuits. I assumed she’d made some for dessert and said “oh yes I do!” - and sweet Linda reached up for the flour jar to START making biscuits :) This is when I realized I might not be getting home before dark.
We finally set off to see the sheep - Linda and I riding side-saddle on the back of John’s 4-wheeler. They were indeed a beautiful flock - one they’d been breeding and raising for over 30 years! A very rare collection of pure NC sheep. And it was then they asked me if instead of just taking a few - if we’d take the whole darn flock. They were getting older and just wanted to keep their favorites - but they hadn’t found a good home and couldn’t bear putting them on a truck for the auction. It was an honor and would be a privilege of course - and an opportunity we wouldn’t find again! So of course, I said yes. I knew I had a long drive home alone to figure out just how I was going to break this news to my husband.
We brought them home in a semi-hauler and welcomed 307 new ewes and most of their lambs to Five Marys. They were so beautiful out on our pastures! But our cattle fencing held up for cows - and not as much for sheep. Sheep love to get out. And this flock was finding every hole in the fence possible and getting out on a daily basis!
Brian would come in from working and jokingly say “your damn sheep got out again” - so much so that the girls started calling them “Momma’s Damn Sheep” and that nickname stuck!
But in the end we needed a flock this big to provide enough lamb for our growing operation and to keep some diversity in meats with the boxes we’d provide to our customers.
We are proud stewards of this beautiful flock of Navajo Churro sheep, that John and Linda Hussa spent many years growing and taking care of.
And now we have plenty of chef’s choice lamb to share with our customers all over the country!
It’s funny how these things work out.
