Tuesday, May 29, 2012

Naked Sheep!

Here are the ladies...pre-shearing.

   Well, today was the day that my shaggy Scottish Blackface Sheep got sheared.  It also happens to be my 7th wedding anniversary.  So, all in all, here at the Shepherd's farm, it was and still is a very good day.   :)  I have been desperately looking for a shearer for the past two weeks and this kind gentleman was the only person to call me back.  I am very thankful for all his hard work because I sheep aren't exactly 'tame'.  Being the professional that he is, he got the job done in no time and now my sheep are nice and cool.  Just in time for the summer heat.  Yuck!  I am not ready for the 105+ weather, but it's coming whether I like it or not.  Unfortunately.
   The shearing actually was the easy part.  (Easy for me to say I know)  However, I can make this statement due to the fact that getting the sheep into the small pen was no small feat.  Five sheep got sheared today.  Two were my neighbors and they are Montedales.  The other three are mine.  Now they do flock together (as in hang out in the field together), however, when it comes to herding them, the two breeds split.  The Montedales like to go one way and mine another.  Talk about frustrating.  Plus, Seth and I were trying to get them into a pen with a small opening.  Doubly frustrating.  After about 10 minutes of running around the field like two morons, we finally got the sheep into the pen...and lets just say, we were all panting.  Did I mention that Seth and I were in our nice clothes, freshly showered when doing this?  Yes, poor planning on my part.  I forgot that we needed to pen the sheep about 15 minutes after we were supposed to be gone to a friend's house for a BBQ.  By the time we got them into the pen, and got back into the house, Seth and I were covered in sweat and I felt like I smelled like sheep.  Which I probably did.  We did make it to the BBQ and had a wonderful time.
   My kids absolutely LOVED watching the sheep get their 'haircut' and gave the shearer quite the chuckle.  I hope you enjoy all the pictures, because my sheep are enjoying their new sleeker selves!

Flora was the first of mine to be sheared.  She had about 6 inches of wool on her!

Not sure if you can see, but Flora is rather speckled under all that wool.

And here is Juice.  She is the prettiest of my three sheep and was actually quite good for the shearer.

Horns make good handles.   :)

Look at all that wool and spots.  Juice isn't as spotted as Flora though.

Here's Fernie.  The craziest of the three.  She did better than I expected, but was still a little on the ornery side.

My two lovies focused on the entertainment.  This was probably the only moment that they were standing still.  They LOVED watching!!!


And here are the girls.  They look so nice!

My three.  From left to right...Fernie, Juice, and Flora.

   I was very curious to see what my trio looked like once they were shorn because when I got them them were a little on the skinny side.  I think they look fabulous and have filled out rather nicely!  So happy!!!

***My adorable children are now obsessed with pretending to be sheep...mainly Jude.  When they got into the bath, Jude told me that I wasn't washing him, but that I was shearing him.  He also informed me that I was to call him Jude-Sheep and sissy was to be Ella-sheep.  Oh, and one last thing...his ears are horns.   ;)

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