We've got our sheep lined up

Shhhh, I'm hiding in the office, hunched over the laptop, sneaking in a post...

We're shearing tomorrow. All of our ewes. Some are mothers to our Autumn lambs, others are (hopefully) pregnant with Spring lambs. The rams have been in with them and were only removed on Saturday. The ewe mothers are in the shed, the rams are in the shed (so the dew doesn't settle on them and they stay dry overnight) and the poor little lambs are in the yards baa-ing for their mummies! They don't realise that they're not so little any more and it won't be long before they are paddocks away from their mothers. Callous young things don't even seem to remember one year later just who their mothers are anyway! And the pregnant ewes have set up camp in the front paddock in the high corner near the dogs - might be a noisy night. But they're all lined up ready for tomorrow.

The boys are down at the shearing shed with the small people just fixing a gate. Otherwise the shed's ready. Luckily. It's pretty much dark. And it's freezing! Almost literally. We had a frost here this morning (I've got pics to show you sometime) and we'll have another frost tomorrow. We'll certainly feel the frost when we hit the shearing shed at 7:30am! Ok, so I won't get down there until after the bus goes at 8am and I've put dinner in the slow cooker, but I'll bet it will still be very cold!

That lamb above is the only lamb in the Autumn mob who Mr Perfectionist got the ear mark wrong on. You see ewes get a mark on the right, and wethers on the left, or it is the other way around?! I can never remember!!! This lamb got it in both ears. And of course, this lamb just happened to be the one lined up against the sunset :-) I can laugh 'cos he did the marking and he took the photo! Clever isn't he?

The following shots are the small people atop a log, atop a hill. Taken by me, last night. When we got a spot of wood to keep us going through the week. Am so grateful we got it! We'll need the warmth and our tummies will need the hot food from the wood stove. The first shot is the one where I told them to stand apart, the second is a more natural shot and their own choice of stance. Such lovely little people :-) Which one do you like better?!

 

Am now off to finish the tea, pack the lunches for tomorrow, take the meat out of the freezer so it defrosts overnight ready for the slow cooker in the morning and... what else? Am sure there must be something. Oh yes, cook some pudding for tonight. Shearing in the cold weather is the perfect excuse for pudding every night! There's got to be some advantages...

Before I go, just letting you know I'll probably be scarce on here this week. I'll try but if I don't manage to post be sure I'm cooking, rouseabouting and/or running around after sheep or small people. Have a great week!