After all the ewes were sheared, it was the ram's turn.  Here they are waiting for their coats to be removed.

Edison and Foreman, now with their coats off, move down the chute.

Edison went first.  Foreman tried to escape when Edison was taken out of the chute, but he didn't make it far;  Robert made a nice catch!

Edison being shorn.  He was a handful for the shearer.

Edison "haircut" is almost complete.  What a beautiful fleece!  Very soft for a ram.  Silvers with black strands and a uniform wavy crimp.  His skirted fleece finished out at 8 pounds!  We are very pleased to see the quality of his wool being reproduced in his offspring.

Edison gets his new, smaller coat put on.

Foreman being sheared.  Although larger and heavier than Edison, Foreman is more docile. 

Foreman's fleece on the skirting table.

Success! The last fleece is finished!

A sampling of our freshly-shorn Romney fleeces.

(Clockwise:  Celeste, Brooke, Clarabelle, and Dolly)

Shearing Day Lunch

After shearing was finished, we all headed in the house to have a late lunch. Our stomachs were rather empty so a big meal was just what we needed! 

Diana and Emily sampling the chili.

Lunch!

The serving lines in the kitchen

Warm fellowship was had by all who came.

A big "thank you" to all the folks who came and assisted with Shearing Day! We couldn't have done it without your help!

Pre-Shearing Preparations

Preparations for our big Shearing Day, February 5th, started months in advance. Final preparations were made with the help of our friends, Pat and Lisa.  They came all the way from Arkansas!

Preparations in the Barn

Pat preparing the plywood used for the shearing floor.

Benjamin wipes dust off the panels of the sheep chute. This will help keep the wool on the sheep clean as they pass through the chute without their coats on.

Doug and Pat install a new gate in the barn.

Installing new legs for the skirting table.

All done! Doug and Pat admire their work.

Sally and Lisa wash off the skirting table so it will be nice and clean for the incoming fleeces.

The shearing floor, all clean and brightly lit.

Preparations in the House

Lisa repairs some of the sheep coats that are torn.

Sally prepares the vegetables for our big, post-shearing meal.

The chili simmers on the stove the day before. This recipe takes hours to prepare, allowing the complex, rich  flavors to blend and mellow.

Emily prepares the layers for her white and chocolate cake. This cake will serve as dessert for the hungry shearing crew.  The bottom and top were chocolate and the inside white ... we called it a BueLingo cake in honor of our BueLingo calves (black on both ends with a white band around the middle!)

The cake, all done and decorated!

Bernie's Plea

Before shearing, Bernie was heard to say:  "Will someone please trim my bangs? They keep getting in my food!"

Pre-Shearing Sheep Portraits

From top left to bottom right: Foreman, Heidi, Autumn, Dusty Anne, Celeste, Dove, and Darby.

Carolyn, Dixon, Dinah, Curlianne, Hattie, Dorcas, and Daisy.

Dora, Cordelia, Brooke, Cathy, Blossom, Deena, and Deborah.

Edison

Emily's Lessons in Spinning, Knitting, & Fiber Preparation

In late January, one of our friends from Arkansas and her husband came to visit us. Lisa is an accomplished spinner and has been knitting for almost 40 years! During her stay, Lisa taught me many "lessons" on various fiber arts.

Lisa instructed me on her Louet Victoria spinning wheel. I observed for a while and then tried my hands and feet at spinning. It sure was a challenge to keep my feet treadling and my hands feeding wool at the same time! Before long I got the feel of it and made much nicer looking yarn.

These are the first two skeins that I made. The skein on the left is Caramel's wool, plyed with Corinna and Annie's wool. The skein on the right was made from Betsy's wool.

Lisa brought some special home-spun yarn from Uruguay for me to begin knitting. Before my knitting lessons started, she showed me how turn a skein of yarn into a ball of yarn. In this photo Lisa places the skein of yarn on the swift and unties the knots holding the skein together. 

I held onto the swift while Lisa demonstarted how to use a ball winder.

After the yarn was in a ball, Lisa taught me how to knit. She started by showing me how to cast on and then how to do the knit stitch.

After some practice, I started becoming more proficient in making the knit stitch. My scarf was off to a good start!

Before Lisa and her husband went back home, she helped me order a spinning wheel. We did some shopping online and decided on an Ashford wheel and drum carder.

Since my spinning wheel was on its way, I needed some prepared wool to spin. I selected some wool we had skirted off of Cathy's fleece and Lisa and I prepared the locks.

Lisa taught me how to wash wool in a manner which avoids felting. We used the kitchen sink as our washing basin and soon had Cathy's locks washed. We laid them out to dry near our woodstove.

Coming soon... Emily's spinning wheel and drum carder arrive!

Our First Lambs of 2011

On February 2nd Cocoa gave birth to our first lambs of the year! She delivered a set of beautiful twins!

 Ellie 

11 lbs. 5 oz.

Edgar

12 lbs. 4 oz.

Cocoa had her lambs when it was -5 degrees! She did a great job licking them off. We set up a heat lamb to help the babies stay warm.

Lisa, our friend from Arkansas, enjoyed holding baby Ellie.

Baby Edgar

Cocoa says, "Did I do a good job?"

2011 Fleeces - Sneak Peek!

With the New Year approaching rapidly, your shepherds at Grace Valley Farms are preparing for a New Wool Year.  To whet your appetite, we have taken some sample photographs of the wool on five of our sheep.  You can see these pictures on the 2011 Fleeces tab.  We've also had numerous "sneak previews" of our other woolies ... wow, are there some nice fleeces under development !

Benjamin hugs Darby the lamb just before her wool was photographed.

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas from Grace Valley Farms!!

  

The Meyer Family

“For God so loved the world, that he gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” John 3:16

One Frosty Morning

After a day and a half of foggy weather, the fog lifted and revealed our beautiful frosty surroundings! Since the temperatures were quite cold, the fog clung to almost everything. These pictures were taken at 0 degrees.

The view down our driveway

Frosty clothes pins on the clothes line.

Frosty Aspen trees 

Frosty Blossom

Autumn

Hello from Edison!

A frosty hay bale

Elmer, one of our Black Angus steers, was frosty too!

The frosty grass in our pasture was a beautiful sight!