I miss my fuzzy sheeps, especially the boys. They all did a great job with their first hair cuts though and are officially big boys.
Spud
Woody
You may not believe me, but this is Spud!
Murphy
Murphy - close up
The one and only Graham
My big baby. Those boys never really grow all the way up. I love that he still wants to stand with me when he's scared.
Blossom
Buddy and Burrnie
Handsome Buddy
And it's nice to see Burrnie roly poly and burr free this year :-).
Hershey was quite concerned about getting a little off the top. Sadly he accidentally DID get a little off the top. I think he knows his cool hair days are over. Still, if that's the worst thing that happens, it's a good day shearing.
33 bags of wool. We use sheets instead of bags though. Easy to use and breathable. 33 bags because we didn't shear Jester. I'll do him myself when it gets warmer.
And here's Baby B's first hair cut. This is the normal way to shear sheep, not standing up like Maisie.
28 comments:
Oh dear, poor Graham Lamb's poppy eyes! I love that grey wool coming off those baby boys. It would make the most wonderful jumper (sweater). Actually I like our British/Oz term of jumper better. It makes me think of sheep. :)
Such beautiful wool!! I was surprised to see that several of the boys' wool was neutral in color until you started shearing and then they turned into marvelous silver and black. Do they remember (older ones) from year to year the shearing or do they just get scared all over again? That's a big mountain of wool!!
I think your shearer is an artist. Such a smooth, sure, *knowing* job he does! Thank goodness for people who know how to do the old jobs so neatly and so well!
I love the fuzzy face that popped up briefly in the camera lense during Baaxter's shearing. And Graham's silly looks...priceless.
So fun to see this- thank you for "shearing"- (sorry couldnt help myself) them with us. That must be so satisfying to see all that wool- your sheep are so beautiful, a true reflection of how loved and cared for they are.
Can ask you a question(s)
Your images are so clear and crisp, do you use a Nikon and do you ususally use a higher F/stop?
Great post. Is Baby B crying out "Mom" during his hair cut?
Yes, I use a Nikon camera and lens. Our barn (as are most) is dark so I had to upgrade to a pretty spendy lens and full frame camera so I can shoot at high ISO and I usually shoot fairly wide open to capture as much extra light as I can which sometimes allows me to use a higher f/stop. I take a lot of un-sharp pictures too ;-).
Baaxter didn't make a peep. He was very fascinated with the equipment and basically volunteered to go first :-). I think that's mostly Spud and sometimes Woody hollering.
Baaxter was such a good boy. He's so cute. It's fascinating to see the fleece underneath. Do they get shivery after their haircuts?
Look at that gorgeous fleece. It's amazing how they look like a whole new animal once the shearing is done.
It is so amazing how the shearer is able to take off the fleece almost in one big piece! I guess he has to be a real artist. Thanks for sharing.
What beautiful fleece, especially the grey (I have a thing for grey fleece). Love the sheepy photobombing towards the end of your video. Do you reward (comfort) your sheep with cookies or Cheerios after their haircuts?
Graham looks like.................I'm so over this.
Linda ★★
http://coloradofarmlife.wordpress.com
https://coloradofarmlife.wordpress.com/sherlock-boomer
Check out the crimp on Spud and Murphy!! Gorgeous! Well, they all are, to be honest.
So much gorgeous fleece!!!! What a beautiful grey underneath. And the shearer - he is an artist.
Funny seeing the others running around going..........OH NO, we're next!! Baaxter is just beautiful, what a good boy.
How about (raw or roving) getting together a package of 1/2 to 1 lb of each of their fleeces to sell to us, um, fleece W _ _ _ _ s.
Just a thought.
Um, that's what you need, 34 pounds of wool in your mailbox :-D.
Big cookie party afterwards :-D.
Well, I watch the weather and hope we don't get a fluke cold snap. They were cold the other day when the wind was blowing in the south end of the barn so I closed the doors. Getting out of the wind and getting extra hay to eat helps keep them warm. That's why we didn't shear Jester though. He's so thin that he wouldn't have enough fat to keep him warm, so he still needs his wool. The others...pretty fat ;-).
Please post all the shearing videos you have. It takes me back to when I lived on the farm. I never got to watch for very long. I find now it is sort of mesmerizing. Plus it is amazing to see what color is under the wool.
Can you get a picture of Ewen with his new hair cut. I am interested to see what he looks like in short hair.
I've watched this at least 3-4 times. I'm in awe of this process. I'm amazed how calm the sheep are and how the wool comes off in what looks to be a sheet. Thanks for sharing these videos.
So fun to watch the video! The shearer is multi talented! :)
I love the sound of the clippers! A very soothing sound, to my ears anyway. I had my question answered above . . . as to why you don't shear Jester yet. My first thought was because of his age? But that stands to reason . . . most elderly anybody is on the thin side, it seems. Can you just not shear Jester at all; would that be a problem in the warm weather? Thanks for being so sweet to answer questions!
I love your blog!
Oh my goodness! It is amazing to see the sheep sheared...and how neat and clean they all look when it's over!
I love to see how Hershey's oops haircut turned out. Anyway to fix it?
It's actually growing on me! And I gave the chunk of dreds to the person who bought his fleece and she's going to do something fun with them :-D.
AWWW!!! I love the pic of your sheep looking to you for security! And Baaxter! Thank you for posting his shearing video! What a handsome boy. :)
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