Spring Starting Out--Expectations

First post, Martin's Shearing Blog, January 2025

So ..., I've been thinking about moving from a social media platform to a blog and eventually a full website for a while, and now it's time to continue along that path.  Major decisions in my life require rumination, and this is one of those decisions.  When I got my first tattoo, I'd been sitting on the design for two years.  When I got my ear pierced, that had been rolling around for over ten years.  I've been back at shearing for about two years and writing regular posts for about a year, so, yes, it's time to jump from a safe, secure media platform toward an independent blog.

Shearing 2025 kicks off next month.  Last year was a lot of fun, a lot of work, and a lot of opportunities.  This year looks to be the same, yet also a bit different.  2023 was just getting my name established in the local sheep community, and 2024 was spent learning where I fit the best.  2025 looks to be shearing for many of the same folks and the same sheep and also being involved with the Georgia sheep and agricultural community.

For those who haven't read my existing posts, most of them are illustrated recaps of shearing gigs.  Some have been about food preservation, and some about gardening, and even a few about life events.  Occasionally I've brought up something that impacts agriculture at large, since, face it, without farmers we'd all be hungry, naked, and sober 24/7.  On those occasions that I bring up legislation, I will always urge readers to educate themselves and to learn the intended and unintended results of the act or action.

Finally, agriculture is biology, and biology is messy.  Sheep are biological creatures and they are messy, whether it's a bodily function, a medical action, or just the facts of life and death.  I'm not going to sensationalize events, but I refuse to sanitize them.  If you or you children are averse to seeing realities of birth, digestion, death, or anything between any of those events, please pay attention to any warnings you may see at the top of a blog entry.  I'm not going to put a "Parental Advisory Warning" on an entry, but I will post up front if the entry will include blood, death, or similar photos or narratives. If any of you remember the warning labels on records and cassettes in the '80s, all those did was make kids want them even more. If I put a notice at the top of a post, it's to inform, not serve as click-bait.

Now, though, it's time to make sure my cutters are sharp, my gear is cleaned and in good condition, that the schedule will flow, and that my skills are up. As a shearer I want to ensure that sheep I shear can stay as healthy as possible before, during, and after shearing, which is a vital part of a wool sheep's lifecycle.

Thanks for stopping by and check back for the next post soon.

C-Ya!

*** No animals were harmed in the making of this post. Shearing is an important part of sheep farming for the wellbeing of the sheep. ***