Sheep Maintenance

Yesterday was a good day, unless you were a sheep in our neighborhood. Because yesterday was the annual shearing at our wonderful neighbor's place a half mile up the road. We bring our three sheep, Knuckles, Spot and Wooly, up to be sheared and have their hooves trimmed along with Georgia and Patty's 24 sheep and another neighbor's two. 

I've been to this annual Sheep "Spa" Day three times now and it's unlike any other experience I've had. It's a little like what I imagine a barn raising to be... a large gathering of people, friends and family, from near and far brought together to get a job done, then a lot of eating (potluck style) and visiting. It's a fun day, but not for the sheep who are clearly not happy about being man-handled and striped of their wool. Speaking of man handling, the Australian-trained shearer, Elizabeth, is the most able sheep wrangler I've ever met! She handles the littlest to the largest as if she is a sheep whisperer.

After the annual shearing, it's always funny to see how our three sheep respond. They seem to not recognize each other without their heavy winter coats. They approach each other with caution or sometimes a bit of aggressive head butting. In a few days, they seem to remember each other again. 

Wooly is our one sheep that does not get sheared because he is a hair sheep - his wool sheds naturally as the weather warms. The birds love it for nests and during the spring we often see little birds perched on his butt, thieving his wool... but Wooly doesn't seem to mind at all.