Look at the lustre!!
Whew! Shearing for this year is done! We’re so lucky to have sheep that make such beautiful fiber and a “sheep whispering” shearer. Mother Nature smiled upon us and gave us the most gorgeous day on Saturday. She even brought on the sun just as we gathered to finish up on Sunday.
Thanks to all who came to help, everything went smoothly. The skirters — experienced and newbies alike — did an extraordinary job. One of our CSA shareholders came from Florida via NH and she even had her husband skirting before too long! I’m betting there’ll be very little for me to do when I get back into the fleeces. And we must not forget the sweeper who keeps the shearing floor clear of debris… and those who got down and dirty in the sheep pen. Without them the sheep wouldn’t make it to the shearing floor at all! And then there were all the folks to came to cheer us on…thanks everybody! What a fun day we all had!
Here are some photos. Jim was having flash issues so some are a little blurred but hope you enjoy them anyway.
Emily gets started on the first sheep and the skirting crew waits to get their hands into the nice warm fleece.
Penelope stands ready with her broom. That floor is so clean you could eat off...well, maybe not!
Little Minh has his broom and is ready to help Penelope.
Kathy became an expert fleece picker-upper/thrower. Here she dives right in! The skirters await her throw...
Our oldest visitor (80+) and one of our youngest look on as Emily shears.
Many hands at the skirting table make light work.
The skirters roll up a pretty grey fleece.
Serafina opens a sheet for the fleece to be wrapped in.
Emily, our "sheep whispering" shearer is calm and relaxed even after 5 hours of hugging sheep.
Only a few more to shear and the girls are starting to hint that they'd like their hay.
After the sheep are fed, we head to the kitchen for a well-deserved nosh.
Looks like a fun time was had by all attending and the wool looks WONDERFUL….
Jennie 🙂
Thanks, Jennie. I’m very happy with the fleeces this year. Despite the horribly wet year we had, they’re very nice. We did get some felting on one of the ram’s fleeces but it can be salvaged for something other than handspinning.
Thanks again for a wonderful day! We had fun, met some lovely people and sheep and learned a great deal. What more could we ask for?
What a treat that you and Roger could be here! We hope you’ll come back while you’re in Maine…and maybe I’ll see you at MDS&W Festival?
Pam & Jim,
We had such a great time! We always learn a ton around our Hatchtown Fiber Diva!! The farm apprentices learned a lot. They were inspired to go to shearing school in Littleton. See you soon.