WICKER PARK — A trio of inanimate sheep grazing in a Wicker Park yard have been delighting passersby for years.
Around 7 a.m. on a recent Tuesday, Abby and Matt Schneider, along with their 2-year-old son and dog, were on the way to see a small flock of sheep on Al and Pat Linnerud's lawn near the corner of Pierce Avenue and Leavitt Street.
"It should not be this exciting. I'm almost embarrassed to admit how excited I am to see them. I look forward to seeing [the sheep] as much as our son does," Abby Schneider said.
When they arrived, the Schneiders discovered the sheep were dressed for beer hall revelry, grazing near a giant frothy stein alongside a banner announcing, "Welcome to Oktoberfest."
The ewe was sporting a long yellow wig and the presumably papa and baby lamb were rocking shiny green hats.
Schneider said that her family visits the sheep often on morning walks. And by no coincidence "Baaahh" was her son's first spoken animal sound.
Pat and Al Linnerud, the owners of the 1880s era Victorian home at 2137 W. Pierce Ave., have decked out their yard for different holidays over the 30 years that they've lived in Wicker Park, Al Linnerud said Tuesday.
Linnerud said the lambs were acquired three years ago through a family farm.
"They’ve got a following for some reason and can even be seen from Google Earth. Someone was looking to buy a house across the street and they looked it up and said that the house is across from a farm," Linnerud chuckled.
He said the lambs harken back to Victorian days when people allowed sheep on their lawns to keep the grass trim.
Around Christmas, Linnerud said he and his wife plan to set up a manger so neighbors know the true meaning of Christmas. For Easter, the lambs usually wear bonnets. On Memorial Day, there is a patriotic theme.
"This is all my wife’s idea; she is the creative inspiration for the lambs. The neighborhood seems so dull without decorations, it brightens it up. It’s all for fun," Linnerud said.
Prior to Oktoberfest, Linnerud said the lambs were dressed in a Labor Day theme, sporting hats for a construction worker, nurse and airline pilot.
Linnerud said "a fall scene" for Halloween is planned soon, followed by a Thanksgiving gathering, with "possibly a turkey," though they are making no guarantees to fans.
"Every once in a while we just put them in the back (of the yard) and take a break," Linnerud said.
Teddy Varndell, a longtime Wicker Park resident, says that he appreciates the effort The Linneruds put into styling the sheep.
"I love the sheep. They embody the humor, creativity and free spirit that distinguishes Wicker Park," Varndell said.
Elsewhere in the neighborhood, the creative couple turned heads at past Boo-Palooza festivals, dressing up with their dogs, Winston and Mac, as a fictional Scottish family called the "The MacRay Clan" and as an outlaw gang.
Pat and Al Linnerud often walk away with prizes for their creative costumes at the annual Boo-Palooza, which was canceled this year.
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