It seems just like yesterday that we sheared our sheep; however, it was actually May. These photographs were taken right after Clover and the other nine sheep were sheared last spring.
Now, they’re all woolly and ready to be sheared, again!
Categories: Photography, Reflections on Farm Life, Sheep Keeping, The Weekly Bleat
My name is Tonya, and I grew up on a 300-acre farm in rural Virginia that has been in my family for over 100 years. After graduating from college, receiving my master’s degree in speech and language pathology, and living and working in a small city for six years, I decided to return to the place of my childhood. Here, in this rural area, on this patch of green, where for four generations my family has farmed, gardened, and lived, I, too wanted to be a part of this continuity. As a fourth generation farmgirl, I have many interests that not only include, but also go beyond the basics of farming, gardening, sheep and chicken-keeping. It is all of this and more that I plan on sharing in this blog.
fourth generation farmgirl 
They look so fluffy and cute! Do you use the wool Tonya? 🙂
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Thanks, Judy. Yes, our duvet and pillows are made from the wool of our sheep. I’ve had yarn and roving made as well. The yarn is course due to little lanolin in the wool–not good for knitting. These sheep are known more as meat sheep. Less lanolin means the meat isn’t as greasy. Great tasting lamb…itchy sweaters. But, I was determined to knit SOMETHING with MY wool, so so tried unsuccessfully. The fibers kept falling to the floor as I knitted, and I ended up using the yarn as twine to tie up my tomatoes. 😉
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Well it is great that you have their wool in your bedding, bed it is soft and comfy, I admire you for at least having a go at knitting with it! It came in handy in the end though for your tomatoes! 🙂
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I really love that I was able to use the wool in something that gets daily use, and it’s seasonal–not too hot in summer. The yarn works great as twine for sure….had to let the dream of knitted socks go! 😉
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Wow! That’s a whole lotta wool!
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Hi Michelle! I try to use their wool as much as I can. We’ve had comforters, pillows, small baby comforters, roving, and yarn made over the years.
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They look so cute, all fluffy!!!
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Thank you, Ritu! They are so pretty when they’re all woolly and fluffy–not so cute after shearing, though. Our sheep look a little like goats after all their wool has been sheared; however, it’s really amazing how fast it grows! 🙂
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Love looking at your pictures!
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That’s really kind, Ritu. Thank you! 🙂 xo
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😊
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How many times a year do you shear them, twice?
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Yes, twice a year–usually spring and fall.
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Just like my husky, though we don’t get enough to do anything with
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😊
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I read about shearing in Enid Blyton’s Willow Farm series… This looks as happy and wonderful as the books made it out to be 😀
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Thanks, Prajakta. Our believe our sheep lead happy lives. 🙂
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I don’t know why I find this process so cool, but it is. 😊
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Thanks, Laura. I think it is, too. They look completely different after shearing. Sometimes they don’t even recognize each other. They’ll start head-butting one another until they figure it out. It’s like–hey…wait a minute! I know “ewe.” 😉
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Thank you for sharing! 🙂
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