According to the Tibetan calendar, 3rd March 2003 will be the first day of Tibetan New Year -- the Year of Water Sheep. So, what about sheep? Rather than looking at the characteristics attributed to a person born in the Year of the Sheep, it might be more fun to think about where we would be if there were no sheep at all. no wool! No lanolin! No shish kebab! England would not knit, New Zealand would not shear, France would not have Roquefort, shepherds would not roam and the New York Yankees would not have baseballs! Imagine a world with no sheep!

As I look around this room where I sit writing, I find I'm toasting my feet in felt slippers made from the fleece of a Cheviot sheep from England. Flung on the corner of the chair is my husband's sheepskin jacket, and I'm wearing a cozy sweater from Scotland knitted with yarn spun from the fine fleece of Shetland sheep. Oh-and my socks are hand-knit with sheep's wool. I'm thinking about my gloves that are lined with Persian lamb, and my Tu minority hat-the brim of which is black sheepskin trimmed short so its curls show. My so has just walked in wearing his Tibetan jacket lined with the white and black skins of newborn lambs that didn't survive the cold winter weather in Qinghai. And in my hallway lies a colorful felt carpet from Kashgar. And I've just given my friend a super hat designed and hand felted from Australian merino fleece by a woman in Beijing. My car has sheepskin seat covers and on my bed is a comforter filled with woolen batting.

Sheep are grazing animals that flock together and follow a leader. Usually the leader is a ram that has proven his superiority in the flock. Sheep are split hoofed, cud-chewing animals, often with a pair of hollow, unbranched horns that do not shed. Sheep average 1 to 1.5 meters tall and weigh 75 to 200kg at adulthood. Most have short hanging tails, pointed ears and a long narrow muzzle with no beard (goats have beards and standup tails). Most sheep have wool that varies in texture, color, length and curliness. Sheep can live to 20 years. A ewe will have one to three lambs after a gestation period of about 150 days. Lambs stand as soon as they are born, can romp and play within days, and become as surefooted as the adult sheep before reaching four months.

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