Shearing Time

We missed it. I had really hoped to take the children to see how sheep are sheared. But it was not to be. The plague struck! Michaeleen, however, was kind enough to send this before picture. The beautiful sheep pictured is Jayna. She is a pure bred Shetland. Her owners are Michaeleen and Thomas Hinca from JoshEWEa's Garden. In our modern society, too often children think clothes and food magically appear. They think, "Just go to the grocery or department store and pick out what you want."

Here are Nathan and Natalia.

And not to be outdone is another mother and her twins.

For a view of another kind of sheep. Michaeleen sent pictures of Tunis sheep. Notice the red coloring.

Since the theme is lambs, I added one more picture of lambs. These are Tunis sheep lambs.


A lovely book which details the process by which clothes are made is Pelle's New Suit. Unfortunately, when they reprinted it, they made it into a smaller version. But many libraries own copies of the older version.

Pelle is a resourceful little boy, whose clothes are getting smaller as the wool on his sheep is getting longer. He decides to cut it and goes through the steps (with the help of others) to make himself a new suit. With each step, he barters to do something in return for the person providing a service for him. Many libraries have copies, but it has been republished in a smaller version.
Pelle's New Suit

 

Another picture book, which shows the process by which a coat is made is A New Coat for Anna.
It is after World War II and Anna's mother does not have much money to buy her a new coat. But that does not stop her. She decides to trade the little she has for the services of a spinner, weaver and tailor.

A favorite author who captures the essence of farm life in Scotland is Kim Lewis. If you like The Shepherd Boy, you will enjoy her other books about adorable children, lambs, and puppies. In this charming tale, James hopes to grow up to be a shepherd like his father. Along the way, we see lambs born and grow, as well as sheep clipped, dipped, and sold. Through the whole year, he carries his stuffed lamb with him, watching, waiting, and hoping.

Since it is the Easter season, I thought it very fitting to have a post on lambs and sheep. The shearing time I did not plan. Maybe next year, we won't be sick.