Last week, we took you to Stoney Mountain Farm where professional shearers were on site to give the sheep their "North Carolina summer cuts". Today, we share a close up of sheep in the catching pen. In the photo, some of them are shorn (fleeced- we joke) and some are still awaiting their annual cut. It is amazing how being shorn makes the sheep behave differently. They jump for joy and wiggle around and then resume their normal stance. They are like poodles at a grooming. As with poodles, you almost don't recognize the sheep in the before and after shots. The sheep in the front row center was about the same color as the sheep immediately behind his backside. Once the wool was gone, she looked so bright.
While life in North Carolina is not quite like it was in medieval England where it was a June event culminating in a feast, it can be a fun event when farms like Stoney Mountain share the experience with the public. The largest sheep shearing and handling contest is the Golden Shears event held in New Zealand. If you are left wanting to know more, visit here. With this weather change, these creatures were probably cold last night. We know we were!
Interesting process. There's a lot more to shearing a sheep than I thought. Do you know if the shearer you saw used the Tally-Hi technique? I'd hate to think the poor sheep might get cut during the procedure.
Posted by: Jane Mitchell | Monday, March 18, 2013 at 09:35 AM