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Thursday, March 19, 2015

Shearing Day

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:

T.L. Merrybard said...

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. :)

Unknown said...

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 need orange said...

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!

Unknown said...

I love the fuzzy face that popped up briefly in the camera lense during Baaxter's shearing. And Graham's silly looks...priceless.

fjord girl said...

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?

Auntie Reg said...

Great post. Is Baby B crying out "Mom" during his hair cut?

thecrazysheeplady said...

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 ;-).

thecrazysheeplady said...

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.

Marsha said...

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?

Lorraine said...

Look at that gorgeous fleece. It's amazing how they look like a whole new animal once the shearing is done.

Marcy said...

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.

sophy0075 said...

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?

Terry and Linda said...

Graham looks like.................I'm so over this.

Linda ★★
http://coloradofarmlife.wordpress.com
https://coloradofarmlife.wordpress.com/sherlock-boomer

amyfibre said...

Check out the crimp on Spud and Murphy!! Gorgeous! Well, they all are, to be honest.

Donna said...

So much gorgeous fleece!!!! What a beautiful grey underneath. And the shearer - he is an artist.

Susan said...

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.

thecrazysheeplady said...

Um, that's what you need, 34 pounds of wool in your mailbox :-D.

thecrazysheeplady said...

Big cookie party afterwards :-D.

thecrazysheeplady said...

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 ;-).

YarnKettle said...

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.

Sarah said...

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.

Far Side of Fifty said...

So fun to watch the video! The shearer is multi talented! :)

Lisa Smith said...

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!

MarmePurl said...

I love your blog!

Henny Penny said...

Oh my goodness! It is amazing to see the sheep sheared...and how neat and clean they all look when it's over!

Windswept Farm said...

I love to see how Hershey's oops haircut turned out. Anyway to fix it?

thecrazysheeplady said...

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.

Anonymous said...

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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