Calm before the storm

Barry wrecked my weekend. I was late for Peachtree handspinner's meeting because he was fighting. He was back at it early Sunday morning. He has always been so calm, but now that the does are screaming, he is ripping the place apart. First, I thought it was Tuxedo, so I locked him in the old barn, then I moved Barry because Miracle Gro was really pounding on him, but Barry crawled under the fence and started the fight again. So now he is in isolation and everything has calmed back down, for now. Then I remembered he has Rusty blood in him. His mother is Rusty's daughter, and Rusty could not be contained if there was a doe in heat. Rusty would take his horns and raise the bottom hot wire and crawl under to get to a doe. He was very powerful with that thick neck, but he was a Fabio of angora bucks.

Trailing of the sheep

The sheep were eager to return to their fall pasture. Moved the big horse out first, then opened the gate and they all funneled in. Returned to shut the gate and they had all returned to the old pasture looking for the spot where they bed down for the day. I knew the big horse would chase them, so it was back to get a bucket of feed and call them back down, they came, this time I ran to close the gate. The bottom pasture is their favorite, plenty of space and quiet, and the mini horse loves them.

Shearing

Now that there is relief from the heat I am shearing again. Not all the sheep are so good about standing on the shearing stand, but Sunshine's boy is happy. I have learned not to let the Cormo-BFL crosses wool get so long that it wraps around the drums in the carder. I also have to hand pick the fiber before carding, as the commercial picker makes neps. There is a learning curve with every fiber that you grow, how to breed a good fleece that is all usuable and little skirting ( skirtings are thrown away).  One that is easily shorn (not a lot of wrinkled skin, wrinkles slow you down), not to much dark grease so that it can easily be washed, picked and carded and will be a delight to spin into a yarn that can be knit or woven into clothing that will reflect all the work that the sheep and shepherd have put into it for a year of their life.