It was a fun Thursday morning here on our little farm: the shearers came to buzz our sheep! The sheep were a little upset and/or confused at why they had to be penned up and then manhandled by some very large men with buzzing metal contraptions, but overall handled it fairly well. At 9:30am the shearers called us up to let us know they were here and I let them back into the area we had the sheep penned so they could set up their equipment. I can't say enough positive things about this shearer. He and I have been playing phone tag over the past month trying to figure out a day that would work best for both him and us in getting these sheep sheared. Unfortunately, in Utah it seems like it's pretty hard to find a shearer. People just don't have a lot of sheep here, at least in Northern Utah. Central Utah is a different story, where there's plenty of sheep and shearers. He was very gentle with our sheep and even the ram, who was less than enthusiastic about being shorn.
About half way through the shearing our nanny brought the kids outside to watch. They were fascinated by the entire process, and also a little confused at why there were people in their backyard. In the end our haul was 2 absolutely gorgeous fleeces from our ewe and ram. After this shearing I definitely want to add at least 2, maybe 3, more sheep to our flock to get not only some more genetic diversity to our flock, but also for the fleeces! It's motivating me to brush up on my knitting skills and learn how to spin.
Our newly shorn sheep actually glisten in the sunshine. Their wool has a luster to it, just like silk! Honestly, I wasn't much of a fiber enthusiast prior to this shearing, but now I have to say I'm sold. These are some gorgeous sheep. Even the shearer was impressed with these guys - he kept commenting on how he wanted to get himself a few of these sheep because they were just so nice.
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