Shearing Day

Shearing day has come at last!  We are shearing a month later than usual.  Last year was so full of rain that lambing was filled with illness from all the wet and damp.  So, thinking I was planning ahead and filled with perspicacity, I decided to lamb later in the year.  I was trading less grass for the mommas to eat in May and June for a healthy, easy lambing period.  Well, that shows up how ridiculous it is to try and outthink mother nature.  Here we have had the driest January and February for years, and I could have my whole lamb crop on the ground basking in the seventy degree weather.

It means that the girls are heavy with wool, some of it at least 6 to 8 inches of fleece.  I have worried constantly that the hot weather will cause the Shetlands to begin to shed, the first stages of their natural process which allows their fleece to felt and then fall off.  I moved the rams up this afternoon, and sure enough, Yolo is shedding.  I am hoping some of his very fine wool will be okay.

So for those of you coming, here are the directions.  The shearing will start earlier for the members of the CSA, but we will be welcoming you to the general shearing at 10:30am.  Please bring a potluck dish if you wish to stay for lunch.  Kids are welcome, but no dogs please, or be prepared to leave the dogs in your car.

From the East Bay and San Francisco:

Drive north up the 101 and take the first Petaluma exit, Petaluma Blvd South, and head into town.  When you see the Victorian clock tower in the middle of town, look for Western Ave, at the light.  Turn left on Western (if you come to Washington you have missed it) and turn left.  Follow Western for about two miles, until you see a large green sign with an arrow pointing to the left.  The sign reads Walker Creek Ranch.  That road is Chileno Valley Road.  Turn left and drive 3.6 miles.  Look for the signs to the farm at 2263 Chileno Valley Rd.

Cell phones don't work out here in the country.