Staying dry and waiting for shearing
A loyal and good guard dog, one of many on the farm
Their shearing time will come, but not today.
Friends helping with the just-shorn sheep. Hard to keep the ewes still!
The skirting table, where the skirters first get their hands on a still-warm fleece and help get it ready for sale by pulling out/off unwanted bits.
Blurry photo, but have you ever tried to take a picture of an awake newborn lamb? They don't stay still!
The crimp and color on this fleece had us all fondling it a little more than the others.
Those seeds are some of what the skirters take a first pass at removing. Isn't the color on this fleece gorgeous?
"Who are you, and what are you doing in my barn?"
"Don't talk to her, dear. She's a Stranger."
Mama and baby. Mama will look very different in a few hours when she's shorn, but the baby doesn't care.
Each fleece has a lock pulled for record.
Once a first pass at skirting is done, the fleece is rolled on to paper and re-weighed. It will go through another round of skirting on another day.
It takes several hands to get a fleece wrapped up well. It is not like it is a single, solid object!
Mama, having lost her fleece. It was lovely, too.
The sheep still waiting to be shorn, admiring the nekkid sheep in the next pen over.
Here's the shearer with his clippers and an interesting harness that helps carry much of his weight while he is bending over the sheep for 8 hours.
Another page of the sample book. It includes the weight, pre- and post- skirting as well as any particular descriptors the assistants thing appropriate.
Immediately after shearing, the shearer loads the fleece on to a sheet, at which point the skirters bring it to the skirting table.
It's important to get the fleece laid out properly, with the head in one direction and the tail in the other. This helps keep everything organized. The head is on the far end of the table.
Another batch of sheep coming in for shearing.
A large part of skirting involves motion, such as shaking a fleece out to get out the little bits known as "second cuts."
Even the lamb thought it was an exhausting day.
The sheep definitely expect high levels of service from their shepherd, Sue, in being let in and out of the barn after their experience.
The shearer at work.
