Relief

Well shearing went extremely well on the 20th and I got some spectacular wool from all the sheep, especially the BFL crosses. Thanks to the now well oiled shearing team of Karen Childs, her huband Brian and her parents John and Kathy all the critters received their haircuts. My hubby does a fantastic job catching and penning the sheep, and my friend Sherrie and I do the skirting and prepare and serve the lunch. There were more animals than I thought, and I think they were happy to lose their fleeces. The next day they were all out in the sunshine frolicing in the snow and having a great time. Today,of course, they are all happy to be in the barn as we are getting dumped on with snow. We also found out that we had missed a ram lamb, so I might have a few more babies than expected this spring as well. Oops! Enjoy the pics.

Shearing Time

This has got to be the most nerve-wracking time of the year for me : shearing time. This is pay-off time for me, the harvesting of the crop. The sheep have already started to lose some of their fleece and I need to hope for good weather this week, to keep them dry until the 20th. Most of the fleeces are very nice looking, but there are a few showing the stresses of large lambs and winter weather. Time will tell. My first show of the season is in April, so hope to be there with fresh gorgeous rovings.

Groundhog Day

Well it looks as if Wiarton Willie may have made an accurate prediction this year, judging from today's weather. We had some snow and some sunshine today and it still feels very "wintery". The dogs love the snow and were running around like a bunch of crazies: rolling and digging in the snow. Kayla prefers snow to rain, as she doesn't like to get her paws wet. Nick just doesn't care about weather, as long as his meals are on time. The sheep don't really care either, so long as there is some shelter from the wind. They are starting to shed their fleeces, so I am glad that we will be shearing in a couple of weeks. A few of the older girls have spent a good part of the winter inside. They usually bowl me over when I open the door to put out the hay, and there is no way they are coming back out again. I guess age does have priviledge. Enjoy the pics.