The Difference A Day Makes

After my bad Tuesday I didn't get to the remaining two ewes, but did manage to finish them on Wednesday. I wasn't even sure I would be able to do it then because Wednesdays are the days Gus and I go to the convalescent home. I leave here around 3:35 to get there as close to 4:00 as possible. My round of visits usually lasts 20 to 30 minutes and then I head home, usually arriving just at 5:00 or slightly before.

This Wednesday, however, we have a new Hoffman Hound handler who along with my supervisor came to watch Gus and me in action. So with the inevitable questions and chatting that goes along with it I didn't get home until after 5:00. My concern was that with my "new" (at least to me) method of shearing the sheep it might get too late since it is definately getting dark earlier now (and a bit cooler in the evenings).

I know I've said this before but if you are a new reader I feel I must give my usual explanation of how things are around here. I'm a hobby shepherdess and by no means an expert. So if you are an expert don't laugh. If you are a novice please don't take everything I write as gospel. These are my own experiences and may not work for other people. That said I shall continue.

Since all my tools were ready I decided to go ahead and take the plunge and finish the shearing.

I had wanted to call a professional sheep shearer when I first realized it was time to shear again but I couldn't find his number. I was trying to find a way that would take a little less time and be easier on me and easier on my blades. It seemed that I was having to change the blades once or twice because they seemed to be getting dull terribly quickly. The blades would start getting hot quite rapidly too. I was using Blade Wash and Kool-Lube like it was going out of style.

I know shearing a dirty sheep is a lot tougher than shearing a clean sheep. The blades will get duller faster cutting through dirt than through clean wool. When the sheep aren't washed the blades also get clogged up with lanolin, particularly on the finer wooled sheep like the Dorsets. Then they start to run really hot and the sheep jump around too much because the blades are burning. Then they start to really jump because every time they jump I cut their fine skin with the blades. Then I feel really bad and swear next time I'm calling a professional.

I also remembered when Carli was in 4-H she had to keep her sheep slick shorn. (That means shearing all the wool off--not in a "show clip" like the breeding animals have. The equivalent would be like a show dog poodle with his show clip vs. a home poodle in a typical smooth puppy clip.) One of the tricks her 4-H advisor used to help with the shearing was a spray bottle of water she used to spray an area of the sheep prior to shearing, like they do sometimes at a beauty salon when they cut your hair.

Another thing I remembered was one time we went to wash and shear her lamb and I kept getting electrical shocks. Everyone knows (or should know!) that water and electricity don't mix.

I decided to give it another shot.

I got my area all set up with the plugs off the ground. We have one of those shower hose end attachments for the garden and I used that to gently wet the sheep all over. Then I poured a generous amount of Dove shampoo along her back and started scrubbing all over and under and around her. I used the same shower attachment to rinse the soap out as best as I could. Then with the sheep still dripping I began to shear.

I was very careful to keep my hands dry while handling the shears. It was amazing how quickly the blades went through. The wet skin kept the blades cool. I didn't have any trouble with the blades bogging down. I only had to dip them in the Blade Wash once or twice for each sheep, with the exception of the greasier Dorsets which took a bit more blade washing. But still I never had to change the blades. I never once got an electrical shock, which probably would have made me stop right then and there. And also importantly, there were much fewer nicks and cuts than I've made in the past.

I don't think I sheared any faster than normal, as the washing and rinsing made up for any of the potential time saved. On Wednesday when I went to finish the last two sheep, Jamie and Ewenice, I decided to not wash Ewenice (the last one I had left to do), but rather just give her a good soaking. I was afraid it was going to get dark too soon and I didn't want to have soaking wet sheep at night. Sheep are very susceptible to pneumonia. (They aren't as bothered by natural rain because the rain water doesn't usually get through their thick wool to their skin.) Ewenice still manages to get a lot of dirt on her back. While it was still easier to shear a wet Ewenice than a dry Ewenice it would have been even easier to shear a wet, clean Ewenice.

Here's the aftermath of Wednesday evening (taken the following afternoon).

Ewenice feeling cooler and looking for a treat.
Francine has lost her front legs.
I finished Wednesday with about an hour of daylight left. Since it was still in the upper 90's I wasn't too worried about Ewenice or Jamie getting sick. In fact they dried off rather quickly and now all is well.

Don't Forget The Earrings

Yesterday was one of those days. It did not go as I had planned. That means things that I wanted to get done didn't happen.

It started with the night before. I did not sleep well, in spite of being tired. I felt like I slept really well then tossed and turned, repeating the cycle every hour all night long. Part of the problem was a new (to me) blood pressure medicine I was taking that makes me cough, sometimes so hard I gag. By morning I did not feel rested at all. I had a little stomach ache and forego breakfast in favor of a couple cups of coffee, admittedly probably not the best thing for my stomach. But when my husband suggested I lay off the coffee I advised him I would most like get a terrible caffeine withdrawal headache. He asked which would I rather have: stomach ache accompanied by diarrhea or bad headache. I didn't even have to think twice about that one. Give me my coffee!

As it turns out the diarrhea was probably a result of something else. Here's a hint: if you are a man you may want to stop reading now.

Tuesday is the day I get to sleep in a bit, as Carli's work day starts at 10:00am that day. Now that my son is driving himself to school I get up at 7:50 just to make sure he wakes up on time. Carli dropped the baby off at 9:15, informing me that the baby was cranky. I've been kind of dreading that.

Except for being a bit more clingy than normal, she was ok and the morning was ok. At one point I had her on my lap while checking e-mail. She kept playing with my left earring and, fearing she might try to eat it I took it off and put it up on the desk to where she couldn't reach it.

With the morning mail came a prize I won from Farmgirl Fare; a book bag and book called Comfort Food by Kate Jacobs. I got lucky and was one of two randomly chosen winners who answered the question "what is your favorite comfort food"? My answer was clam spaghetti like my husband makes and a nice rich icecream.

My husband was home for lunch and when I mentioned I wanted to go to the doctor to get my cough blood pressure medicine changed back to the original he said he'd watch the baby. I went to the doctor's office, explained the situation (which was due to a COBRA insurance change) and now that my husband was hired permanently instead of temporarily we now had even better insurance than the first time blah blah blah. The nurse gave me three weeks worth of medicine and told me to make a follow-up appointment before the end of that time. I knew I was overdue anyway and was kind of expecting that. Now I have three weeks to lose some weight so he won't yell at me. (He doesn't really yell, he just looks really disappointed.)

I went to the bookstore that was a block down from the doctor's office and got four little hard page books for the baby. I stopped on the way home at the bank and paid the mortgage and my car payments. Then I figured I better hurry home so my husband could get back to work.

He left and around 3:30 I went with the baby to the pharmacy to pick up some medications my husband had. When we got there two of them were ready but not the third. They're working on it now, I was told. Okay, I'll wait. I ended up waiting about 45 minutes. I would probably still be there if one of the other ladies behind the counter told the younger clerk to check if mine was ready yet. I wouldn't have waited if I'd known it was going to take that long. Anyway by the time I got out of there the baby was getting a little fussy again, mostly from being confined that whole time in her car seat. I still had to make a quick trip to the grocery store next door and sped through there as fast as I could. By the time I got back in the car she was very unhappy and was screaming.

I had two gallons of frozen sheep milk on my front seat and had planned on dropping them 0ff at my sister's house and picking up some finished cheese. When I got in the car, one of the containers had leaked a little of the melting milk on the seat. I drove to my sister's house, pounded on the door, and when her son opened the door I virtually ran in, shoved the containers in her fridge and ran back out to the car and screaming baby.

Once home I shoved a bottle in her mouth and she was instantly better. The problem was the whole trip lasted way longer than I ever expected it to and by the time we got home we were both a bit frazzled. The baby's daddy came and picked her up around 5:30, about an hour later than usual, because he is now working twelve hour shifts. I didn't feel like getting started with shearing the remaining two sheep at that point. My stomach was still not right and I hadn't had anything all day but the morning coffee.

It was a lovely evening and my husband and I sat at our back patio, joined shortly by our next door neighbors, Dean and Nancy. Dean is going to work in Nigeria in a couple of weeks for about three months. He had a required yellow fever shot the day before and was really feeling it. Around 7 pm we all went in to our respective houses.

As I was preparing to take a bath I noticed I only had my right earring in. Then I remembered I had taken the left one out much, MUCH, earlier in the day. So I was running around all day with one earring in my ear, and no one had any pity on me to point it out.

After my lovely, hot, bubble bath I of course put my pj's on. ~last warning for anyone not interested in bodily functions!~ I am 49 years old this year and the only one in my family who has not had a hysterectomy. My body has been going through what's commonly called "the change" this past year and I was excited that I would no longer be having my "monthly visitor". In fact I had not had it for about four months. Until last night. Which is probably why my stomach was messed up and I had diarrhea.

You know what did make me feel better finally? My husband made clam spaghetti and it was good. I held off on the icecream. I only have three weeks...

Results

Yesterday was opening day of dove season which meant I had a lot of time to myself. I'm not one to fret being alone alot, in fact some times I prefer it. I find it's easier for me to get things done when I'm alone.

Yesterday was no exception. Admittedly I didn't do much in the morning but crochet a little on a baby blanket that I started last year and never got around to finishing. That will be another story for another time.

It was getting time to shear the sheep again, not really one of my favorite duties around here. But it's something that needs to be done and I wanted to do it before it starts getting too cold. Plus the weather was just perfect--about 85. Not too hot and not too cold. It's reportedly going to be about 100 by Saturday again. Otherwise I would have had to wait until next spring and then it really would be a terrible job.

Originally I tried to find the number of a professional sheep shearer who had called me once from one of my flyers. I couldn't find it so that meant I had to do it myself. I got three ewes shorn and wormed and hopefully later today I'll get to the other two. Perry, the ram, is a Dorper. Dorpers are what is called a "hair breed" and they shed their wooly hair without having to be shorn, so he is one I don't have to shear.

I decided to try a little different technique than what I had been doing and I was pleased with the results. I'll give more details tomorrow.

Meanwhile I was very happy to see the boys came back from their morning hunt with a limit each of doves. Their afternoon hunt was not quite as successful, as they only got one between them. That's okay though, the season just started.

The garbage after cleaning the dove.

The morning haul.

I'm not sure when we'll be having these, but I am looking forward to it!

Labor Day

Happy Labor Day, everyone! This year the holiday also coincides with opening day of Dove Season. My boys went out this morning and hopefully they'll come back with a limit each. There is nothing better than a dove breast wrapped with a strip of bacon and then cooked in a smoker!