Always a stressful and exciting and stressful day for both me and the sheep comes every spring on shearing day. The sheep must be kept off food till they are done and packed tightly into stalls to await their turn. When I first got my Wensleydale’s I imagined that I would eventually shear them all myself. But since the first time I witnessed the hard work and finesse of a professional shearer I have since changed my tune. A good shearer is worth his weight in gold and I tip mine heavily to be sure he wants to come back next year!
All the fleeces must have to be skirted before they are bagged to remove all the dirty bits and vegetation that has found it’s way into the fleece. This is a delightful time to see what has been growing all year and the results of months of energy. I had never seen the Karakuls shorn before and so it was fun to see what they looked like under that lofty coat! The photo of the gorgeous fleece shown above is from a shy sheep named Ferdinand. His fleece is large and absolutely unique. He is a Karakul, Romeny, Wensleydale cross and the attributes of each show up in his beautiful fiber!