First Shearing

The annual right of passage for the teenagers took place last week...their first shearing. With show season fast approaching and fleece length requirements at some of the earlier shows we decided to shear the yearling ewes.

The day before the weather had been sunny and in the 60's. On the day we sheared it was barely in the 40's with a cold, wet drizzle by afternoon. As the local weatherman said it has been a "wintery mix" since that time. Fortunately for the girls they have taken over the hay barn "playland" we made for the lambs and appear to be warm and toasty. With daily outings to their pasture they seem to be enjoying the freedom of going naked for a few days since I haven't put their blankets back on yet.

The great news is there are some gorgeous fleeces among the lot. I haven't had time to skirt them yet, however I think there will be some crowd pleasers. In fact, we had a spinner friend of my neighbors stop by to look at the babies about a week ago and she reserved one of the fleeces while it was still on the ewe.

Although I really like the overall quality, I think there are a few fleeces that deserve mention. First is Moo, our little Romeldale cross fine ewe out of Star. She is a black and white ewe colored like a Holstein cow. She also has varigation throughout her white spots under the wool. It is a gorgeous fleece to look at and it doesn't disapoint when you get your hands on it. It is soooo soft...just like her mom. It has not been reserved for this year.

The two Lincoln fleeces are also nice. Sparkle, the black girl has a wonderful silver to it and Lily's fleece is really long with a lot of luster. I need to get these fleeces on the skirting table to get a better look, but at first glance they are really nice.

I also have several of the dark brown yearling fleeces that have a lot of character to them.

We should be skirting the fleeces somtime between now and the first part of April. If the weather starts to warm up we wil also be shearing the older ewes and rams soon.

If you have questions or comments, please email me at ktjones@crestviewcable.com.

Sincerely,

Kris Jones

Kristie Sheep Farm

Home of great Montadales, Lincolns, Romeldales and Natural Colored Sheep

Prineville, OR