Whew! It's been a busy three days. Tonight is the first chance I've had since my farrier/shearer was here Tuesday morning to recap the event.
It was a mixed bag. Some of my sheep sheared off beautifully (Annabelle, Bart, Bittersweet, Bing, Browning), and others were at a terrible point in the rise (Blake, Bonny, Marta). Poor Blake got several nicks, making me wish with all my heart that I had persevered and rooed the rest of him, not just his neck. :-( As it is, I'm going to have to scissor-shear him, Bonny and Marta in a few weeks so that their fleeces don't end up with old growth cotted on the tips of the new growth, making their next year's clips worthless. That's what happened with Bramble; I never got her scissor-sheared after her ill-timed 2012 shearing so her fleece this year will have to be tossed. I'll scissor-shear her just as soon as I can get to it – maybe tomorrow morning.
Without further ado, here are photos from shearing day.
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| I'm sorry, Blake; next year I'll roo ALL of you! |
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| Browning, awaiting his turn |
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| A boy and his sheep |
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| Butterball Bonny demonstrating when NOT to shear |
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| Bing getting sheared |
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| Bittersweet (aptly named) getting sheared |
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| Bittersweet minus his GORGEOUS fleece |
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| Green grass; clean coats |
That's almost it for shearing 2013, at . . .
8 comments:
Oh my, that Bittersweet fleece looks lovely!
What an amazing color. You have your work cut out for you though with scissor work. I don't envy you that at all. One of the reasons my fiber goats are no longer here. But I do miss them. Maybe someday I'll find some that don't need cutting/shearing etc.
Wow! What amazing fleece on Bittersweet! It's gorgeous! I love the picture of your son and 'his' sheep. I am waiting for my shearer - he's a blade shearer and I just love to watch him work. It'll be a fast job this year, with only two.
The picture of Brian made this post! What a loving boy he must be!
Their coats look so big on them now!
You can salvage Bramble's fleece by cutting off the cotted tips. I cut the tips off all the time if their tender because if they're left on and sent to a processor, they become neps. I hate neps...
Wouldn't it be great to go in for a haircut and walk out looking that much more slender!? :)
Maybe some day I'll be lucky enough to get a baa-baa black fleece from Bing, and Bittersweet's fleece looks just as luscious. I love the pic of Brian and Browning. I remember the first picture I ever saw of this pair, and oh my! The boy is ever so much bigger now! Happy knitting!
It's not too early to reserve one or both from NEXT year's shearing, Shelly. :-) (Provided they don't go to fiber pet home; but I like their fleeces so much that I might have to keep them.)
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