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.
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.
Update. Oliver the camel, 17, better known as “Ollie,” died in the early evening of Feb. 21, 2020, following an illness and well before his typical life expectancy of 40 or 50 years. He will be missed by all who passed his home on Route 7 and stopped by for a photo or to simply say hello.
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