Shearing Day

Saturday dawned with sleet, hail and strong winds... not the best way to begin shearing day.  Joe and Melvin made short work of our 37 ewes as we ooohed and aaawed over each beautiful fleece as it came off and was bagged.  We vaccinated with CDT, checked FAMACHA scores and checked body condition.  By the time we moved the ewes back out to pasture, the skies were blue and the sun was shining.  What perfect timing!
Lambing will begin in the next couple weeks.  And of course we can't wait to get our hands on all those gorgeous fleeces!

Shearing

Saturday was shearing day, and we have been blessed with a beautiful crop of fleeces.  With the fleece off it will be easier to keep an eye on the lambs' conditions in between our scheduled scoring days.  Saturday was chilly, damp and foggy, but the sun came out for just a little bit on Sunday.  Despite all the rain, the leaves have hung in there and fall has been just beautiful.

Shearing Day

Today is the big day!   Everyone is tucked inside the barn to stay dry.  We're so excited to see the beautiful fleeces coming off the sheep!  We're sure that the girls are pretty excited to be rid of their heavy winter coats. The best thing is that we will be able to check the condition of the expectant mamas.

Spring Shearing

Saturday brought beautiful spring weather for shearing.  Everyone waited patiently for their turn with the shearer.

We are so grateful to all of our helpers.  Joe and Melvin were fabulous as always. 

And, of course, as usually happens in March, one beautiful day was followed by a blustery snowstorm moving in Sunday afternoon.  It didn't have much affect on the crowd at the feeders.

Shearing Day

National Hug A Sheep Day was celebrated in grand style here at the farm.  Yesterday was shearing day and there was a whole lot of sheep hugging going on.  Forty-nine bags of beautiful lambs wool now just waiting for she who seeks wool and works willingly with her hands (to paraphrase Proverbs). 

As usual our shearers, Joe and Melvin, did an amazing job.  We are so grateful for their help and friendship... as we are, also, to our catchers, throwers, baggers and sweepers!

A cold, thick fog moved in last evening and hasn't moved an inch. As you can see it really hasn't fazed those naked lambs a bit. They were lying right out in it, chewing their cud as if it was a sunny, sixty-degree day.

Like everyone else in the Mid-Atlantic, we are preparing for the big storm headed our way.  Snow predictions range from 4 - 24 inches, wind gust predictions up to 60 mph - we're battening down the hatches hoping for the best.

Last of the Shearing

We sheared the rams this weekend, a whole six weeks earlier than last year.  We have been running a little behind on everything, so it was exciting to accomplish something on schedule!  Aragorn looked on as Poseidon was first at the clippers, then he and Liam had their turn.  All three of them have such beautiful fleeces.  Poseidon and Aragorn spent about fifteen hours in the ram cram before moving into a paddock with newly repaired fencing.  Our older fellow, Liam, went back in with the expectant mamas for now.  He is still a bit wobbly from his battle with deer worm, and is being spoiled with some extra tlc. 

Shearing Day

Thank you so much for all the good luck wishes for shearing day.  Everything went very well except for Larry, one very large six-year old wether (above), who behaved badly.  He finally calmed down, and that heavy year-long coat came off.  Many, many thanks to our shearers, Joe and Melvin, and to all the family and friends who pitched in to help!  We have 42 bags of beautiful wool just waiting for a turn on the skirting table.  You should have heard the oooohs and aaaahs as the wool came off each sheep.

We thought you might enjoy a couple before and after photos.  Daisy is pictured above and Juliet below.  It will take us about a week before we begin to recognize the sheep in the field again.  They look very different without those heavy winter coats.  It is now so much easier to gauge the condition of each sheep as we go into lambing... just a couple of weeks now.

Shearing Today

We're heading to the barn to finish shearing preparations... always a very exciting day!  It's a good thing we got everyone into the barn early yesterday because we were hit with several severe thunderstorms and heavy rain late afternoon and through the night.  You just can't shear wet sheep so we were lucky.  Family and friends are coming to help and Rebecca is coming to look at some yearlings.  Our shearers, Joe and Melvin, will be here at 9:00, so off to eat some breakfast and then to the barn!

Getting Ready for Shearing

We are busy getting ready for shearing on Saturday.  The cooler weather has been a great relief to everyone, but the sheep will be quite happy to shed their heavy coats.  In the meantime, we thought you might find this story interesting.  Our Mom ran across this while doing some research for the church; reading old newspapers on microfiche at the Terra Alta Library.

Warning! It is not for the faint of heart...

Queer Accident

Dr. Potter Nearly Loses His Life Shearing Sheep.

On Monday while Dr. W. R. Potter, who resides on the old homestead, a mile from Kingwood, was shearing a sheep, the animal suddenly kicked, struck the shears, and knocked them out of the Doctor's hands.  They went over his head, struck a beam above, and the Doctor dodged them with his head, they came down and the blade entered the calf of his leg, and made a deep and horrible gash, severing an artery and a vein.  The Doctor held on the the struggling sheep, unaware of the seriousness of his hurt; but presently, feeling his boot full of blood, he had it pulled off, and tried to stop the flow.  Feeling himself weak, he sent the little boy who was with him to the house for help.  His sisters came, but before they could get the blood stopped, Dr. Potter bled at least a gallon.  He was removed to the house, and before surgical aid could be gotten, he had a spasm and became flighty.  The Doctor came near bleeding to death, and it was some time before reaction set in.   He is now getting along as well as could be expected.

~ from an 1888 Preston County newspaper (perhaps the Kingwood Chronicle?)

In other news, on that same page...

Wanted at I. Armstrong & Co.'s, Bruceton, W. Va. - 100,000 Lbs. Wool.

(presumably for the woolen mill that was located there)

Alright... after all that excitement... we will now return to our regularly scheduled programming...

pretty sheep pictures.

{this moment}

A Friday ritual.
A single photo - no words - capturing a single moment from the week.
A simple, special extraordinary moment.
A moment to pause, savor and remember.
Participating with the SouleMama blog.

Catching Up

Last weekend we moved the rams into the barn for an evening then set about shearing them the following morning. Such nosey boys... Liam and Aragorn are right there watching as Poseidon gets his haircut. After the 24-hour ram cram we moved the boys into the goat pen as the goats are still in their winter paddock. This has worked out great as the grass was pretty high, so on top of having a great deal to eat, the tall grass has seemed to cut down on their ram hi-jinks following the shearing. So far, no bloody heads and not much neck wrestling.

We also moved the yearling group from paddock three of the barnyard into the paddock vacated by the rams.  We must remember this moving schedule for next spring (hence recording it here) because this was the easiest (on the shepherdess/s) succession of paddocks we have ever done.  The sun has been so hot, everyone has been enjoying the shade.

Spring Shearing

Saturday dawned crisp and cold but sunny... the perfect day for spring shearing.  Shearers Joe and Melvin arrived and quickly set up shop.  We brought the yearlings over from the graveyard field while the bred ewes and wethers spent the night before in the barn, ensuring that their longer, thicker wool would be dry and easy to shear.  Our family and friends that pitched in to help are becoming quite experienced, almost a well-oiled machine once we get rolling.  There are stories told, memories shared, tears, hugs as well as laughter.  Sheep are caught, thrown for the shearer, belly and britch gathered when thrown to the side, sheep collected as they jump up from the mat, fleeces bundled, mats swept... then on to the next.  The shepherdess/s give CD+T vaccinations and a dose of garlick to each sheep on their way back to the pasture.  The bred ewes go out the side door, back into the barn paddock; the yearlings back in the pen awaiting their return to the graveyard field.  Granddaughter/great-niece, Harley, arrives to provide even more entertainment, moments of comic relief, games of tag, rock collecting, worry over the sheeps getting their shots and of course, more hugs and more kisses.  As the work continues...there are snacks, water, juice and Mom contributes cupcakes and cookies.  Wool fumes are heavy in the barn, and as we make our way through the 54 sheep each fleece is ogled and exclaimed over.  The excitement over a new crop of lovely fleece builds as the morning goes on. 

Finally, we are finished and the sheep head quickly to the feeders.  It is much more comfortable to be sheared with an empty belly so they have not eaten in nearly 12 hours.  They are now rewarded with feeders full of hay.  The yearling ewe, Maebh, has been moved in with the grown-ups so that we can keep an eye on her; she could lamb at any time.  Everyone heads home, except for one who remains to help the Shepherdess/s a little longer... there are yearlings to move, temporary fences to take down, and so on, and so on...

The scene in the pasture is quite different on Sunday morning with temperatures in the low 20's and snow on the ground.  The pasture and the feeders are completely empty... not a sheep to be seen anywhere.  No sheep... that is until we open the barn door and there they are... all those nekkid sheep huddled in the barn.  Not to worry... in a few days their wool will have grown and they will, once again, be oblivious to the snow, wind, rain and pretty much whatever Mother Nature throws at them.  That is the way with sheep.

Shearing Day

Thursday dawned cold, wet and foggy; pretty miserable.  Luckily we put the lambs in the barn the night before, so they were warm and dry. 

We had a wonderful group of helpers - Jonathan and Travis caught and threw the lambs, Mom prepared bags and made notes, Nancy bagged and David and Delores were the shearing mat sweepers.   Now, I know you are wondering what were those two shepherdesses doing?  Well they were helping with all of the above, along with fleece grading, catching and sorting ewe lambs from ram lambs.  A busy, busy barn full of somewhat damp and chilly but cheerful workers.

And these two guys - the shearers - Melvin and Joe; we can't say enough about how great they are.  We sheared 49 lambs and were done before noon.  Thank you everyone for all your help... feeling so blessed to have such great family, friends and neighbors

Now onto the big job of skirting... hope to start that later today!