Saturday was a glorious sunny day for family fun at the farm! Everyone gathered under the old Black Walnut tree in the pasture to watch our four Babydoll sheep lose their winter coats. Charlie Meeks, owner of Wehdo Sheep Farm, explained how the shearing is a natural process done gently with special blades, and that it is performed once or twice a year depending on the breed of sheep. We can thank the sheep for giving us their wool, which will be made into useful products such as our sweaters, blankets, and socks.
Charlie’s fellow shearer, Jimmy Parker, expertly sheared our sheep, keeping them calm as the wool fell in piles around them. One of our black sheep, Static, broke loose from the holding pen, and we had to chase him through the crowd, but he soon got his wool sheared too.
A delicious lunch was provided by 306 BBQ from Athens, and we were entertained by Carol Quillen and Don Heupel who sang and played their guitars. Children enjoyed having their faces painted like the farm animals or butterflies. And, everyone enjoyed walking around the farm looking at the goats, livestock guardian dogs, chickens, our pot bellied pig, and the newly shorn sheep.
Look for our announcement at the first of the year for the 2014 spring sheep shearing party. We’ll have more sheep to shear next time, as we expect two more lambs to arrive at 1818 farms soon.