Shearing

We are heading into a very busy time here on the farm. Shearing started on Wednesday and will go for a couple of weeks. Country Boy will be helping his father to move the sheep, and press the wool into bales, as well as doing the myriad of other things that need to be done.

There are shearers coming into shear, and also people to work the table and class the wool. It is hard, physical work. FIL used to shear when he was younger, but would not teach Country Boy how to, because he didn't want Country Boy to be a shearer. The work is just back breaking.

We have visited the farm for a weekend during shearing, but this is the first time I have been here full time for it. It's feels odd to see utes parked outside the shearing shed, because normally it is just us and the inlaws here.

We are hoping that the weather stays clear for the next few weeks. Wet sheep can't be shorn, so the shearing has to stop until they dry out again.

There are about 2500 sheep to shear this year. A good shearer will shear about 100 a day, so (fingers crossed) it will take two and a half weeks. Some years there has been up to 3500 sheep, so this year it will be quicker than some others.

The kids are spending quite a bit of time in the shearing shed while Country Boy is working there. They were quite excited at the start of shearing, though I imagine that the novelty of spending so much time in the shed may soon wear off.