I'm finally getting to those 15 fleeces that are in bags, taking up half of the living room. It always amazes me how large the fleece is, all laid out, compared with the size of the sheep. And, of course, the cut side of a fleece reveals the beauty of the wool I've been waiting a year for. Now to wash it and get spinning!
I spent the cool of the morning skirting three fleeces; putting the dung-tagged wool in a wheelbarrow for "woolch" (wool mulch--it's great for plants and trees) and some of the less-desirable-for-spinning in a bag to wash to use for felting projects. I've skirted 7 fleeces so far; almost halfway to reclaiming the living room! Fleeces for sale are up on the website now.
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As a native Californian, having grown up with earthquakes, I never expected to be nervous about one, but our 5.7 quake on Thursday, about 8 miles from here, has me a bit edgy. Take a look at all those aftershocks! Most of them we have felt as little jolts or rolling waves that make balance questionable. Amazingly, the sheep didn't seem to react, but the cat went in the closet for the night and most of the next day. The frequency has diminished, but I caught myself jump when the toast popped out this morning... This was a particularly tough lambing season, with three first-time moms, five of the six lambs born needing some assistance from me, one three and a half pound lamb (Whisper, at left) who needed help finding the udder, and a lost twin. We have, however, six new, lively, beautiful lambs who are so very entertaining to watch leap and gambol, and get lost from their moms, and learn how to be sheep. I was thinking during each ewe's labor, "Why do I do this?" Watching the lambs now, I remember... All the lambs are out of the lambing jugs and down with the rest of the flock now, getting acquainted with Nella (our new guardian llama), trying to dodge horns ("You're not my mother..."), and leaping onto and off of rocks. The lambing shed has been cleaned for next time, thankfully many months away!
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sheep thrills
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