Shearing Day!

Friday was shearing day at Sarah's Sheep Farm. We were very excited to see our first full crop of fleeces. We got everyone penned up Thursday afternoon to keep them clean and dry. Last year we sheared many of them ourselves, and figured out quickly that it was a wise investment to have a professional come in and do the job in a matter of hours instead of days. We met Danny Smith and his wife at Fiber Christmas in Kellyville, Oklahoma this summer, and have heard nothing but wonderful things about him, so we asked him to do our shearing this year. All I can say is "Wow". He was amazing to watch - and just like I have always said about ice skating, a professional makes it look so easy!

Here are Samson and Winston waiting their turns:

And the ladies awaiting their new "do's". My it was crowded in there.

This is Naomi, a Shetland/Border Leicester. She is my favorite, so I took lots of pictures of her.

Wow! That is a lot of fleece!

And the tiny sheep that remained under all of that wool.

Remember the really full pen of wooly sheep at the start?

Is it just me, or does anyone else feel a breeze?

And finally, a little teaser of the bounty that I now have at my house! All 31 bags of it!

I will be skirting fleeces and deciding which ones I can pry out of my greedy little fingers, and hope to begin posting the ones I will have for sale soon.

Sunday in the Pasture

The weather has turned out very spring-like the last few days here in Arkansas. We know it won't last since it is only mid-February, so my daughter and I decided to head out the door with the camera after church on Sunday.

First stop, of course, was to see the new baby boys. They are jumping and bouncing all over the pasture now. Molly is a very good mama, especially for a first timer, and the other animals seems to tolerate the new little guys just fine.

Next, we decided to go visit the sheep. While we were out, we found the electric fence needs some repair. We had fun daring each other to be the one to touch it and find out for sure. In the end, I was the braver one.

The ladies were a bit camera shy, but we managed to get a couple of nice pictures. The shearer will be here next month, and I am very anxious to have more wool from my own flock to spin!

Then it was off to the cow pasture. We had a new addition a few weeks back.

This is Pumpkin and her mama, Gypsy. Pumpkin's dad was a black Simmental. We aren't sure where the beautiful red coat came from. But, since we had to sell my red Maggie, Stan is planning to keep Pumpkin for me. Isn't she cute? We think she is the reason the electric fence is down. My mother in law called last week and said that Pumpkin was in with the sheep and having a grand time, and they didn't like her one bit.

And finally, we ended up in the calf pasture. I guess everyone knew it was Sunday and nap time. Duke, the bull calf, was layed out for the afternoon!

Babies!!!

First babies of 2011! These two handsome fellas were born to Molly on Valentine's Day. They are about half an hour old in these pictures. Mom didn't quite know what to do with them once they hit the ground, so Stan stepped in and cleaned their noses and got them to nursing. They are wobbling around and reaching for their meals already! Molly's mom instinct kicked in pretty quick and she got them all cleaned up. I can hear them hollering from clear down at the barn - strong lungs, those two!

~Lori