Actually it’s my sheep, in my minivan. And while we’re clearing things up, I put her there.
Not that it was easy to get her in, mind you. In all fairness, you might say it was pretty difficult. But it had to be done for two reasons. The first was a stop at the vet clinic for some gooey medication for her eye, which we think was scratched.
Getting her out was easier. Much easier.
The second was a trip to the farm where Lizzie was born to have her sheared.
A few days ago it was 80* and the poor thing was so uncomfortable with that wool coat! Of course, two days later it snowed, but warm weather is coming (or so I’m told) and little Lizzie really needed a hair cut.
If you have a large flock you may a trouble finding a qualified “barber” to do the highly specialized job of shearing sheep. If you have a small flock you WILL have trouble, and if you have one, lone little lamb, well, you’re out of luck. I knew my best bet was to find a friend who wouldn’t mind throwing my sheep into their group when the shearer came. Thankfully the family who gave us Lizzie is just the friendly sort who happily help a neighbor out.
They were also the sort to smile indulgently while I stood amazed at the whole thing and took tons of pictures to show you!
She squirmed at first but Lizzie settled down and didn’t put up much fuss once the shearing started.
To begin he set Lizzie on her tail and held her back up like she was sitting up.
Mailman by day, Mark is also a sheep shearer by night!
You can see the cutting shears in Mark’s hand; follow the cord back up to the frame that allows the cord to swing freely but not get tangled around the sheep. There is an electric switch on the pole that allows him to turn the clippers on and off. Right under the switch hangs a little device that keeps track of the number of sheep sheared. A toolbox on the floor holds supplies and all of this sets on a board for the fleece to fall on.
He started on her front legs and stomach
then flipped her over to do her back
and finished with her backside.
It probably took about 10 minutes, start to finish, but I still can’t get over what that 10 minutes did to my fluffy little lamb!
It won’t take too long for a little wool to start growing again, thank goodness!
Yeah, not her best look. Pretty sure not even french-tipped nails are going to help this outfit.
We loaded a lighter Lizzie back into the van (it was getting easier now, the third time) and drove my shorn sheep home. The forecast predicts 80* again by Wednesday and her eye already looks better with the medicine. I just hope my van makes a full recovery…
Daddy's Tractor 
Happy to see you found “Mark” ! your kiddos are getting lots of first hand experience early in life–good memories for all. As one near and dear to me has said, “Some day, this will be a long time ago”. And they will say, “Mom, remember when. . .?” Those ‘first’ times are so special!
Hi Kelly! I wish I would have found this post last week. We just sheared our sheep for the first time…quite the experience! Could you email me at comm@agchat.org as I have a couple questions for you about a possible feature. Thank you! ~Jenny Schweigert
So cool Kelly:)
Aww. Love seeing the process. Did you save any of the wool? I have a set of carders and a spinning wheel that aren’t being used right now. And can tell you how NOT to wash the wool unless you want to felt the whole thing with the dirt still in it :).
Oh my gosh I’m calling you!