So I finally started shearing the old sheep.  I held off having the shearer do them in March because I thought it was too cold for skinny animals to be shorn.  But this meant I had to do them when the weather warmed.  And the weather warmed so…

First up was Tanya.  I tried to pick the sheep that looked like they would be warmest first.  I kept forgetting to get the pre-shearing photos, and it all started with the first shearing. So I remembered after I had already started.

Here is the post-shearing photo.  She does not look happy, but she is so much more comfortable with the weather now.

This is Ewegenie demonstrating the shearing stand.

For her, I was unable to get her in the stand by myself.  But while we sat on on the ground I realized that I could roo her.  So that is what I did while I waited for reinforcements (Tom).    So by the time we got her on the stand she was “sheared”.  I just trimmed her hooves and did some clean up work.

Next up was Hazelnut.  He was a handful, as always.  So I definitely needed Tom’s help catching him and getting him on the stand.  And I forgot the preshearing photo.  But here is the post shearing photo.

And here are some of the shorn and unshorn nursing-home sheep on the pasture after my first day of shearing.

And here is a enormous bag of wool resulting from just the first day in front of our feed shed.

After shearing I took the time to notice the lilacs,

and the chain of gold.

The next day I started with Jewel.  She is blind so I wanted to start with her so there was less time for her to be freaked out.  Here is her pre-shearing photo.

And after shearing.  She actually did pretty well, but I am sure was glad to have it be over.

Next was Jet.  I pick her for her black wool, figuring she would be hotter in the sun than the other sheep.  Here is her pre-shearing photo.  You can see that she is absolutely thrilled.

And after shearing.

And this morning I finished the aged sheep.  This is Amanda/Madison beforehand,

and afterwards.

Up next was Jemima, a sister to Ewegenie, and they are almost identical except the bump on Jemima’s nose.  Unfortunately she didn’t roo so I had to shear her.

And last, but not least, was Wilma.  She is a tiny sheep with a ton of wool.  It must have been weighing her down quite a bit.  I was a little late with the preshearing photo,

But here she is afterwards.

These sheep are near and dear to my heart.  And there are portions of their fleeces that appear to be salvageable.  So I will pull out some spinnable wool and save it for posterity’s sake.  This may be the last shearing for some of these elderly sheep.

In other farm animal news, I was able to make some inroads with the pigs.  Here is George checking me out.  I was actually able to scratch his snout.

I think Peppa is going to be a little more challenging.  She wanted nothing to do with snout scritches,

But she did sniff my glove briefly.

The chicks continue to grow and develop.  And they are eating and drinking a lot.  I do not remember our previous chicks going through food and water like these ones.  And we haven’t lot any which is a happy first.

And the obligatory Ryeleigh shot.  She is very expressive.  Here she is nervous about the tractor.

A closer look.

This evening we went out to the back forty, and she saw the cows for the first time.  I wish I had a camera. She was nervous and stood up like a muskrat to check them out.  It was adorable.