Our shearer, Jim McRae came to shear our sheep this afternoon with his partner Tom, before he came we gathered the sheep in the Pole Barn, and they gathered around their protector, Maria.  I call them the Class of 2017. Unlike me, she does not harass them with dogs all day, and they are always eager to see her.

They are not so eager to see Jim McRae, a legendary shearer from Vermont. I wanted to post a before photo, as I usually do. We collect the wool and bringing to a mill in Vermont, where they spin it and clean it into yarn and roving. The wool this year is spectacular, our softest and most beautiful yet, we both agreed. It’s also the first time we have shorn the Romneys with their coat fully grown, and we see now why the Romneys are so esteemed by spinners and weaver.

Maria and I love every single thing about shearing. Gathering the sheep, keeping them cornered and calm with Red, gathering up the wool, skirting the wool, taking it to the mill, going to get it. Beautiful rhythms of our lives.

Jim even let me try a portrait of  him on my new Petzval lens. When Jim isn’t shearing, he’s training border collies to herd sheep and repairing old film camera. He’s a loving man and a happy man and an inspiration to anyone who seeks a meaningful life.