Shearing is done! Yippee!

We sheared yesterday and so glad it's over and done! We had a new shearer and he did a beautiful job in a short time. My parents came and helped too which was fun for all of us. They enjoyed it and helped so much. Really appreciated the extra sets of hands. My mom wrote out the labels as the sheep came through as we keep track of which breed and if it's a lamb fleece, etc. We sell our fleeces individually to spinners and such so it's important to know this stuff. Dad hauled the fleeces to the garage where they all sit to air dry for a couple of days before we begin skirting them. It was a frosty morning so there was a bit of frost when we began but the sun shone and it warmed up nicely so they dried off quickly.

Rams were first and they got a hoof trimming too. DH provided entertainment by slipping in the mud a few times and falling over a few times. We were sore last night...just not doing lots of activity over the winter contributed to this as we're out of shape this time of year. Even though I exercise almost every day, it's a different kind of "exercise" to wrangle sheep around and such.

And, by the way, the red spots on the fleeces are not blood but rather washable "paint" that we mark the ewes with after they got their shots a month or so ago. No worries, very few got nicks this time.