Tuesday, May 31, 2011

Fluffy Sheep Clouds


Tomorrow, these two handsome guys (Ted Collins on the left, Derek on the right) will lose those fluffy wool sweaters they are wearing when they are shorn in the morning.  Just in time, I would say, both by looking at how shaggy they are starting to get and also because our temperatures rocketed to 92 degrees with high humidity today!

We sheared the ewes in March, before lambing, but left the rams with their wool as they live outside of the big barn with only a 3-sided shelter.  Plenty for a sheep in full fleece, but a little cold and wet for a "naked" sheep ;)  We no longer coat our rams.  Over the years they have managed to destoy any brand of coat we put on them, and tangle themselves and each other before they do.  I know that other shepherds get by just fine coating the rams, but we don't and I have given up trying to change it.  Life is just easier for me (and I guess them) this way!  Before they go back out to pasture they will get wormed, vaccinated and hopefully hoof trimming if they need it.  I say hopefully because neither of these guys care to have this done.

We had a heavy rain move through tonight.  Luckily, my daughter had been here to help me get the rams shut in the barn so they would be dry when Dave, our shearer, gets here in the morning.  Unlike so many other showers lately that only seem to bring more oppressive heat when finished, this was more of a "normal" spring rain that brought a cool, breezy relief when it passed out of the area.  I just came in from outdoors and could have easily been convinced to stay out!  It is cool and no bugs or humidity.  The earth smells so fresh and mingled with that rain washed fragrance is the smell of lily of the valley and iris.

If it had not been already getting dark, I would have tried to get a picture of a cloud that hurried by in the northern sky.  It looked for all the world like a sheep head!  I stood and watched in amazement while it blew over the pasture and woods.  I came in thinking of the words to "How Great Thou Are".

Sleeping will be a lot better tonight than it was last night.  And tomorrow night it will be a lot better for the rams ;)

2 comments:

Jody said...

Hi Cary...oh boy more wool and sheep shots. Please let us see closeups of the shorn wool..yum!
I am almost done washing all of my Corriedale. It is so easy to clean and the tips wash up nicely :-)

Inky077 said...

Coat on a ram?! Why that's like the children's book Sheep in a Jeep lol. Love to hear all about your woolies - it reminds me of thevsheep farms in the Cotswolds of England. :)