Wrestling Sheep

I’m a hands-on sort of girl.  I like soap made the long way that has to cure for several weeks.  I like to make cinnamon rolls using yeast and flour, cinnamon and yummy local pecans.  I tend to do most things the long way just because the process seems to interest me.

So, you shouldn’t be surprised to learn that when my farmer-friend Susannah asked if anyone was interested in helping shear her sheep I volunteered.  There’s a method to my madness.  We use Susannah’s fleece for some of our felted soaps and how better to be able to chat with my customers about this fabulous product  (felted soap) than to start at the beginning with the actual animal.  So off we went.

It’s about a 45 minute drive along beautiful country roads and this morning’s weather was spectacular.  Fields gently brushed with pastel purple and vibrant yellows rolled along both sides of the highway.  We arrived at the farm just past 9 a.m. to find Susannah waving us in at the gate.  We set to work immediately.

The first task was to coral the sheep so the trick of catching them for sheering one at a time would not involve the entire pasture.  Susannah was dragged around minimally by our first victim before securing her with a harness.  She guided her butt first to the shearing area and then turned her around.  My job was to hold the Shetland/Finn around the neck and keep her from butting while she was sheared.  Keep in mind that I grew up on a busy street in Cincinnati….

I really enjoyed this intimate tete a tete with the sheep.  After some time she began to feel somewhat secure with me and rested her head against me.  This of course was peppered with jolts and lurches in response to the buzz of the clipper and sometimes the tension on her skin as the fleece was pulled away.

About two hours later we finished our first girl, whew.  Her fleece was ever so thick and hard to cut.  Initially Susannah thought something was malfunctioning with the clipper but it turns out that between her very thick fleece and what looked to me (the Cincinnati novice) excessive lanolin it just ended up taking a very long time.  Susannah is very careful with her animals not to nick or cut them.  She explained that a professional could do the job in a fraction of the time but she prefers to do it herself.  The fleecing of the next two sheep went much faster and the clippers went through the fleece like butter, as Susannah had predicted.  The second girlie who was a twin daughter of our first sheep was intent on putting me through the back wall of the shearing pen.  She tried ramming me and kicking up with her front feet but alas to no avail – I was actually capable of holding her steady.  I think I was more surprised than she.

Our third sheep was a neutered male with a roman nose and enormous bony eye sockets.  He was actually kind of scary looking.   I can’t remember his breed.  He was sizably larger than the other two and I felt a wee bit reluctant to hug his neck.  Turns out he was the gentle giant of the pack and behaved very nicely – much better than the girls.

What a great day.  We took a tour of the farm and enjoyed a wonderful lunch together, visited the angora bunny who is beyond beautiful, checked out the garden and then headed home.  I wish I had some photos of the day but my camera never even made it out of the car!