Gene Kelly's got nothing on us - we got it done. All the wool is off! We started with the Jacobs, who were very unhappy about being penned up in their stall overnight.
Samson lost a lot of his attitude ("ramitude") once he was on his butt with four feet in the air.
Despite the weather, a really nice crowd came out to cheer Danny on... Michaela was in charge of the CDT syringes, Jake kept the fleece bags at the ready...
Israel is trying to figure out how to make a break for it, now that he's smaller and lighter without his winter jammies on.
Next we moved to the big shed in the north pasture where eight boys were waiting. Itzhak takes his turn getting peeled of the lovely fiber, leaving his pink skin exposed to the fresh air again.
The kids were fascinated. Heck, we all were. Who gets tired of this?
The whirring blades and cutters glide over the sheep's skin, and the wool falls away, blow after blow. It's like a knife through warm butter...
By the time we were finishing up with the ewes and lambs in the blue shelter, the rain began to pelt in earnest. And still, the crowd hung with us. It was so worth it.
The lambs' fleeces are even nicer than I expected. The first shearing is often nicer than subsequent years, but if these little guys hold on to even
half of their fineness and crimp, they will be stars in our wool flock. What a blessed surprise they were, and continue to be.
Here's just a portion of the year's clip - I'm very, very happy with what came off our sheep this year.
I'm so grateful to this year's group of helpers! Thank you Danny, for another job well done, Mickey, for the refreshments, Michaela and Jake for your helping hands, Mike for hauling the plywood around, and everybody, for bringing your umbrellas and enjoying the show in the rain! I'm going to take just a day or so and enjoy the fact that the job is done, but then, it's time to start WASHING WOOL!
Giddy Nakedness
