The shearer called Friday and said he was swinging through this area Sunday, so we will get our sheep shorn Sunday after. We shear twice a year, Maria sells the wood for yarn and roving. October is my favorite time to shear, the sheep have plenty of time to grow their coats out for the deep winter. Around noon, Red will get the sheep into the Pole Barn and hopefully, the shearer will come in the early afternoon. One of the sweet rituals of farm life. Ted Emerson came and brushhogged the pastures, another ritual and our barn is stuffed with hay. In a few weeks we hope to dig a trench and put a frost-free water pump out in the pasture so we won’t have to haul buckets in the winter.

The rituals of the farm are timeless, they define our lives here. It is good to have a dog like Red on shearing day.