Shearing Day

.....is one of the highlights around here. It's the day that Tom, our fantastic shearer comes over from Vancouver Island and turns our sheep into baldies. I had aspirations of being a sheep shearer at one time. After working with Jennifer up at Jay Springs Ranch in Kamloops, BC. http://www.jayspringslamb.ca/, and then a grueling, (at least for me !), weekend course in Edmonton put on by the Woolgrowers, http://www.wool.ca/ I decided a career in sheep shearing was not for me ! I have a lot of respect and admiration for Tom, who makes it look SO easy, when I know it really isn't. I'm happy to watch a master at work.

Here he is, working on Cashew, our Babydoll/Romney cross.

And this is what we're left with.

Marmite looks like she's wondering where her jacket went.

And here's one of the fleeces laid out.

When Tom left I skirted all the fleeces and packed them up into coffee sacks until I get to processing them. I'm still working on last year's !!

All in all a very good day.

I found this quote relating to sheep shearing

“In levying taxes and in shearing sheep it is well to stop when you get down to the skin.”
Austin O'Malley quotes (United Irish leader, 1760-1854)