Monday, October 27, 2008

Shearing Day Photos


With Patrick out of town for the weekend, Erin and I were on our own for shearing day. We got up at five to start rounding up the goats and setting up the shearing pens.

We used Andy Rice this year instead of Jeff, our regular shearer. We sheared the first goat, Roquefort, at 7 a.m. over at Tisbury Meadows.


Shareholder Jenny and her cousin Leslie made the trip from Boston.

Erin couldn't resists holding Chipotle, her favorite little peanut of a goat, after his haircut.
We all took a break for lunch- Thanksgiving sandwiches with pumpkin cake and brownies for dessert.



I'm always astonished by how clean the goats are after shearing. This is Hannah after her turn in the barber's chair.

We were a little worried about the little kids being cold after the shearing and with rain in the forecast we didn't want to take any chances. We gave all the peewees their own shelter and penned them in. We also put sweaters on some of the smallest kids.

Cini doesn't like changes in routine and pouted all day after the shearing. 
It was a lovely day all around! Erin and I worked our behinds off. The shearer didn't do anything but shear, leaving all of the goat "management" to us. That meant we had to catch each animal, pass them to him, take them after he finished, worm them, delouse them and give all the kids vitamins and iron. 

By the end of the day we were beat! And we still had to do our regular farm chores. We got home around 7:30 p.m., about the time Patrick was getting home for New York. Then we collapsed.

Thanks to everyone who came for the shearing. The Spring Shearing will once again be part of the Martha's Vineyard Fiber Fest on April 18th, 2009. Mark your calendars and start looking for cheap plane tickets because this year's festival is going to be even bigger and better than last year. 

12 comments:

Unknown said...

And when will the New York shearing be? (Maybe I can get to both?)

Maggie said...

Susan! Where are the pictures of goats in sweaters?!?!? I NEED to see them!

Aren't you glad it's over? And the sheared goats look like wet cats :)

Sue said...

Great pics. I wish I could have been there....*sniff*

Katom Burke said...

i'm sorry that i missed it! 4/18/09 is on my calendar!!!

Jenny said...

I had a BLAST! Thanks!

4/18 is on my calendar too! Now I'm off to find that bread recipe.

Anonymous said...

Sorry I missed it, too, but everybody (except Cini) looks happy. And, well, the sheep and goats DO look awfully different after their haircuts, maybe Cini is confused?

Turtle said...

lol, i was looking fot the sweater pics as well! maybe spring...that is just days before my birthday so.....

Jean said...

Oh how I wish I could have been there, but Virginia is a bit far for a day trip. Maybe some other year.

Anonymous said...

Love the pictures!! Where do you get a big white lamb house like that!? I wonder if my dog would like that....

Anonymous said...

So much fun! I'm jealous!

Barbra said...

Sounds like an exhausting but incredible day!

Anonymous said...

Just like Deb said, sorry I missed it... but hopefully we'll be at the April festival.
As usual, great pictures.