Shearing Days are here again

Icelandic Sheep are special in many ways, but one of the particulars about these sheep is that they get shorn TWICE a year. They have an amazing double wool fleece: the tog and the thel, a fluffy inner wool that is super insulating and a long often wavy outer wool that is water proof. Many shepherds shear the “modern way” with electric shears, or hire a professional shearer to come in a shear the whole flock in one fell swoop. I’m committed to shearing “the ancient way”: with hand shears. At least for now, while we still have a small flock.

Now that we have fourteen sheep, shearing season means getting up extra early to shear a sheep (one per day) before work. Mark holds a resistant and tense sheep inside outside upside down while Joanna performs back breaking acrobatics to snip every lock. We’ve gotten the routine down to an hour per sheep, but it is exhausting for the poor sheep and for us. BUT— I love the intimacy of shearing: getting to check over every inch, getting to bond with each animal (or at least kiss them a lot while they are being held still!) getting to practice the kind of quietness and calm that sheep appreciate over all other demeanors.

Fall shearing season is over. I have so much gratitude that it is done. I’m a bit impatient to start spinning some wool. And just a little bit sad that we’ll need to wait six months to do it again!