Friday, April 2, 2010

Shearing School..

Sorry, no photo available.



Of all the times to leave my camera home, this past Tuesday wasn't one of them.



The drive alone to the U.K. Sheep Shearing school held in Midway, Ky was enough for me to realize that I should never leave my camera home. The scenery was outstanding. Rock fences, board fenced farms... just a beautiful drive.



(I might have been a little pre-occupied with getting ready to leave that morning. I dropped Wyatt off at Grammy's and it was the first time in -well, over a year that I've been apart from him! He did fine, but mom here might have had a little separation anxiety)



The shearing school was just fabulous. There were 15 students taking the class and great instructors and staff. They first demonstrated shearing sheep on their rump, and after lunch they had a demonstration of shearing a sheep on a stand. The "hands on" is what helped me the most. I have sheared our sheep both standing (with manual blades) and attempted shearing them while on their rump with electric clippers. It's been hard for me to feel comfortable with the electric clippers while not knowing for sure if I was holding the sheep right, and I was always afraid I would cut them. This class is just what I needed to have more confidence with shearing.

I can't say that I'm excited about shearing now, but less scared anyways.

6 comments:

  1. What a great class. Is it easier to shear on a stand or them on their rump? I would love to learn. I have to look into it. I live near U Maine. Girl, keep you camera always at hand. LOL.

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  2. I hope you have a strong back! We shear our sheep on a stand in the spring, but leave it to the professional shearer to do the fall shearing. He has given us some great tips, and it's a valuable skill to learn.

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  3. You are one well rounded woman! Congratulations.

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  4. Tonya-your picture was in the Lexington paper. If you will email me privately and send me your address, I will mail it to you. Wish I'd known about the shearing on the stand part. I took the traditional (on the rump) class years ago and my back will never be the same!

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  5. Yes, ALWAYS take your camera to Woodford County farm country :-D.

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  6. Oh man, I wish I could take a class, that would help so much.

    Congratulations on your first Mom's Day Out. It gets easier...like when they're teenagers.

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