Shearing Day 2022 - Part 2

There are photos from Shearing Day here, but of course I have more to share.

John shearing Meridian Pistachio.

One thing that is so fun about Jacob sheep is the variety of patterns in the fleeces. This one is Terri.

Here she is after shearing.

This is Hazel after shearing and two weeks before shearing day.

Quora had a coat all year . The photo on the left was taken a about six weeks ago when the coat was changed for a larger size. The main purpose of the coat is to keep the fleece free of VM (vegetable matter) but this photo shows another benefit. The coat protects the tips of the wool from being sun bleached—compare the neck wool to that on the body.

Pecan is another sheep that was coated.

This was taken during a coat change about 6 weeks before shearing. You can tell how important it is to change coats. Another thing to notice here is that Pecan is a lilac ewe (that color that is a brownish-gray). It is obvious in her face, but this photo shows the difference in the fleece that was sun bleached and what it looks like when it was protected from the sun

Meridian Beauty, a ewe lamb.

Meridian Sonata, the oldest sheep here.

Meridian Marilla. Notice the freckling of her fleece. Freckling refers to those small dots of color and it usually doesn’t show up until the lamb is a few months old. Even then you don’t notice it until you part the fleece or until the sheep is shorn. It makes for a pretty fleece for handspinning, but is not a desirable characteristic to perpetuate in the flock—at least not if you want to be able to sort the fleece into black and white.

The rams taking in the sun on shearing day afternoon.

Here is some of our harvest. I have a lot of work to do to skirt and get these on the website.