Shearing happened last week—the annual event that must be endured to get those heavy coats of wool off for the summer. It’s an uncomfortable procedure for the sheep (and scary if it’s your first time!) and I feel their distress—we’re all relieved when it’s over. This was Fleur and Beau’s first shearing, since they are just over a year old. I had Chloe go first so Beau and Fleur could see what it was all about. Fleur went next and her babies set up a cry immediately—their bleats sounded like “Mom! Mom! Mom!” We were all in one stall together so nobody would have to be anxious at being separated from the flock, but the lambs had never seen their mother in someone else’s hands, much less a stranger’s, and they kept up their cries until the sheep shearer had restored Fleur to them.
Beau after his first shearing
Now we can see what Beau and Fleur-de-Lys look like without all their shaggy wool.
Fleur-de-Lys after her first shearing
Snowflake and Aurora Charlotte with their mom
The babies still sound like babies, but they are almost as tall as their petite mother.
A measure of their growing up is that they are willing to be a distance from their mom, which they wouldn’t do for the first six weeks.
Since she is nursing, Fleur has to graze a lot, and the babies sometimes want to nap in the shade instead of roaming around her.
The twins taking a nap with Aunt Chloe
I was indoors writing when a chorus of bleating and baaing drew me outside to make sure all was well. The picture here is what I found. From her position in the shade, Aurora Charlotte would every so often call for her mother (I guess Snowflake let her sister do the checking in) and Fleur would answer, often with her mouth full, head still down grazing, so she sounded like she was baaing under water. When they saw me, the chorus increased all around, but the twins stayed where they were, happy with their Auntie Chloe.
