14 November 09
Shearing Day at Meridian Jacobs
We went to the open house sheepshearing event at Meridian Jacobs, where 65+ sheep were being shorn on a chilly but sunny morning.
Shearing sheep is intensely physical work. Jacobs are small sheep but still plenty big enough to be trouble, and they have two or four horns, both male and female. The shearer was a focused young man with huge biceps and an impressive aura of calm. Sheep panic at the drop of a hat and he gently but firmly moved them around without panicking them further, taking maybe 90 seconds to relieve them of their fleeces.
I was impressed by his hide (sheep hide?) overshoes (at left). A lot of the work is done by your feet—controlling, moving, holding—and you don’t want to slip or hurt the sheep. The booties have to be special ordered from Australia.
The sheep suffered themselves to be turned, rotated, inverted, fleeced. The shearer needs horse-whisperer-type qualities, I think, at least this one seemed to have them. I was sorely tempted to buy a fleece, but I think I’ll wait till I get more experienced in spinning and figure out a way to heat enough soft water to process it. It’s a lot of work. And I don’t have those biceps…
ETA: the 25th Worldwide Sketchcrawl is this coming Saturday, November 21. Davis sketchers will meet at the Raptor Center at 9:30 and head into town around 11. Let me know if you’d like to come.
Previous: Sitting in the Sun, Sketching Next: 25th Sketchcrawl
What a wonderful post!
That’s not something you read about much these days: shearing sheep. What an extraordinary experience it must have been!
phenomenal sketches -the sheep tension yet restraint comes through…dynamic but still .
I didn’t know they do an open house shearing day —I’ll have to try to catch it next year!
I saw you drawing at shearing and didn’t have time to stop and chat. I’m glad you posted these pictures—I wanted to see what you did. I’d like to link to your blog from mine—enjoyable reading in addition to the art you do.
Thanks, Dale, Maria, Andrea, Robin — it was a great day. Robin, of course, I’m honored! Thanks for a fabulous day.