At every Open House, we shear the sheep, skirt the wool and send it up to Vermont to be turned into beautiful yarn. The sheep were not in a good mood yesterday, they broke out of the Pole Barn and it took Red and the rest of us nearly an hour to get them back in.

Jim McRae, our shearer brought in some of his gates from his truck and Ed Gulley figured out a way to create a tunnel that pushed the sheep back into the barn. Red was a wreck afterwords, he gulped down a bucket of water and nearly collapsed.

Ed Gulley is our hero, there is no better human to have around than him when there is trouble. After we got them in, about 40 or 50 people came into the pasture to watch Jim and his grandson Ian shear the sheep. Jim is retiring after this season, he is a legendary shearer and a great friend. We will miss him.

For those of you who will ask me about it, the sheep grow back a thick coat in about six  weeks, well before the harsh winter comes. It is much more comfortable for them when they are shorn.  They will have plenty of wool for the winter.