At the beginning of this month, we sheared our sheep, one of my favorite times of the year, even though, as I’ve written before, it’s a time of uncertainty. Late winter weather is almost always our biggest uncertainty. An optimist might frame it like this: The one thing we can count on at shearing is a storm that will delay us at least a few days!
Not this year. Every time I’ve mentioned shearing in casual conversation, I get some version of the response, “You had beautiful weather for it.” And then the small-talk smiles slide off our faces as our minds turn to what that beautiful weather implies. Our record-breaking temperatures and lack of snow pack is setting us up for a summer of drought and fires and none of us want to think about how bad it could be.
Whatever the weather, we still had a job to do. Per tradition, the kids stayed home from school to help us out, and also eat unlimited cookies. As soon as we got to the barn in the morning, they headed off to the different jobs they like: moving sheep up the allies, sorting wool, stomping wool, and yes, getting into the cookies.
Most years we’re bundled up and still heading into the barn or the car to warm up, but this year, we were all shedding layers, enjoying the sun on our skin, and, most amazing of all, a day with no wind. It was beautiful weather, but there was a twinge of guilt enjoying the weather knowing that we’ll pay for today’s comfort later this summer.
And yet, what do you do? We have a job to do; the day is pleasant. It does no good to hand-wring about future weather we have no control over. And yet, we’re human; we can imagine future suffering. Of course we’re going to hand-wring. So what do we do?
We headed to the barn and worked sheep. We enjoyed the weather, the kids running around, the company of everyone there to work sheep. Sometimes, as we swapped news, our worries seeped in, and we talked about that too. Somehow, worry feels a bit better when shared.
Below are some pictures I took from around the shearing barn on this strange year.
Vegetarian Ranchwife 