Will That Be One Hump or Two?
The last thing anyone driving along scenic Route 7 in Ferrisburgh, VT. would expect to see is a camel. That’s right a camel…with two humps. The Bactrian camel, named Ollie, is part of what Judith Giusto, owner of Round Barn Merinos, a farm and shop in the small, northern Vermont village, calls her “fiber zoo.” Judith obtained Ollie in September 2002, when he was just two months old. She decided on a Bactrian camel with two humps rather than a Dromedary, which only has one hump.
One of the other things this location was famous for was it's round barn, which was very similar to the one at the Shelburne Museum, just a few miles north of Ferrisburgh. Unfortunately, the barn fell into disrepair and has been gone for several years now.
The down from Ollie’s coat, along with the fibers from over 100 merino sheep are used to create sweaters, scarves, afghans and many other pieces of warm clothing, a must during the cold Vermont winters.
With the Camel’s Hump mountain range looming in the distance, perhaps Ollie the camel isn’t really all that out of place. As a matter of fact, despite the bewildered double-takes by passing motorists, he fits in to the Vermont landscape quite well indeed.
Latest news: Sadly, Ollie the camel in Ferrisburgh died in late February 2020. We're going to miss seeing him!
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