Blog #48
Ice Cream Season!
So …, certain parts of shearing days are more fun than
others, which is no different than many days.
When we see deer or foxes on the drive out, or wisteria is in bloom on
the way, the miles float past. When the owner
is prepared and the sheep are dry and in a snug pen, I’m set for an efficient
day on the shearing board. But on days
when those things happen, plus there’s ice cream at the end, it’s a great day
all the way around.
This gig got started on my second shearing stop of the year. While I was shearing for The Ornery Shepherd,
her neighbor called, looking for a shearer. Unfortunately, by the time I finished that day’s shearing, I was fairly
wiped out. It took a few weeks and life
events to coordinate getting back up to north Georgia, but we did and it was
fantastic. We chose the “avoid 75”
option on Maps and had a peaceful trip on state and US highways, seeing a lot
of small and large farms on our way. We
pulled into the address, and it was exactly as described- “The first gate is
for the house, the second gate leads back to the barn, and it will be open.” We pulled in, drove back, and the sheep were
all in a pen, dry and no feed in site.
The owners and I had a bit of a discussion on the best spot
to set up, and it worked out great. The
morning was cool with broken clouds, so being on the sunny side of the barn
worked well. The owners took care of wrangling,
and having a former college football lineman bring the sheep to me made it even
better. He didn’t have to tackle many,
but he knew how to anticipate movement, making getting them to the board and
tipped very straight-forward. This was
only going to be 8-10 sheep to shear, which is very manageable for adding
another task, like vaccinations. As I
finished a sheep, one of the owners would have the jag ready, and the extra minute
of break time didn’t hurt my feelings, either.
They’d finish the shot, I’d turn the sheep loose, and the sheep would
stand up, look at us all, then wander away a few feet to nibble on some grass,
definitely not over-stressed.
Most of the sheep sheared well with no more than a few
wiggles, and that meant we had enough time and energy to shear two of the sheep
that the owners were undecided about shearing this spring. One other cool thing in this flock is a few
black sheep. If sheep are out in
pasture, especially in a state with red dirt, the wool color softens throughout
the year. White fleeced sheep become
more cream colored, and black sheep become more milk chocolate. When spotted sheep are sheared they transition
from mocha and latte-dappled to stark licorice and milk. The few dark-wooled sheep in this group came
out looking black and gray, beautiful colorations. Dede had the gear packed up
while I was still catching my breath, then drove the truck out of the pasture
while I helped with the gate.
Result? A pasture
full of freshly sheared sheep, already starting to grow a new fleece.
During cleanup we mentioned that we like to take smaller
highways on trips like this since we’d often come across fruit and vegetable markets,
and a lot of them have homemade ice cream.
The owners told us about Mountain Fresh Creamery just a few miles up the
road, and that it would be worth a stop.
They were absolutely right! Dede
went for praline and I went for peaches and cream. Yes, this did add to our overall trip length,
but it’s true: “There is more to life than simply increasing its speed.”
(Mahatma Gandhi)
Running tally: 59
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.
***
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