Shear brilliance

For me there are two high points in the shepherding year. The first and perhaps most obvious is lambing time, when my ewes get to reap the fruits of their labour and I get to savour the surprise and wonder of seeing the quantity and quality of my latest crop of lovely lambies.  The second high point for me is shearing time when I get to see how the previous year’s lambies have shaped up.

A Close Shave-Phil tackles Buddy's tackle!

The Ryelands heavy fleece hides a multitude of sins so it’s not until my flock is freed of all that wool that I really get to see how my youngsters are put together and in the case of the chubbier members of my flock…just how chubby they are.

Alice's aborted lamb is her excuse for a little extra condition 

Chubby Luke however does not have that excuse! 

This year’s sheepy hair cuts revealed that Buddy my coloured ram had grown up to be a rather a superb chap. Well defined, solid, dark fleece and looks in great condition. His roomie and great grandpa Luke however is rather portly so it’s easy to see who was getting the lion’s share of this winters fodder beet ration! 

Super Buddy with go faster stripes

Sweet little Tiger-Lilly was sheared for the first time too though the results were a bit mixed. Her little sheepy body looks just great but her lack of wool reveals the fact that the disproportionately large ears that she had as a lamb had not diminished with age.

Poor Tiger-Lilly seems a little embarrassed by her lack of fleece..
or is it her ears that she's trying to hide?

                                                          





























Despite the discomfort of an itchy, heavy fleece they clearly miss it when its gone and Buddy and Luke spent much of the weekend revisiting the sacks of fleece and smelling it as well as “helping” me to sort it and clean it. Perhaps I should knit them some chunky sweaters to wear after shearing next year to help them acclimatise…..