Sheep shearers showed, set up in the little barn and the poor sheep were darn near outnumbered by helpers. It went swimmingly. Sue had it organized down to collecting the fleeces individually, and lunch for 15 or so. The shearers were forgiven for their Saturday no-show, in the end. They worked hard and had minimal nicks on the sheep. Sue gave them lunch, hugs and a tip in addition to lining up several other small bands for them to shear. They were staying in a motel in town which was good: their RV was one of the worst I have ever seen.
Mia was given the wrong motel room number so some poor white dude was awakened at 7:00 a.m. by a 6'3", 300 pound Indian with tattoos asking "Ready to shear some sheep?" They did the same thing to me- they wanted prints of pictures so I dropped them by about 4:30 p.m. and got the same dude. He knew how to direct traffic at this point.
Sue sells wool for crafters on eBay and the black fleeces are prized. Her grandson Hollis gathered this beautiful black wool for a bag. A Wyoming wool processor is starting up in Buffalo, WY. Sue will be one of the first customers. If I told you how diverse the crowd was you wouldn't believe it so I won't. But apparently diversity works- everybody had a good time and got a lot done.
Breaking bread together always brings out the best- the shearers, though limited English speakers, let their personalities out a bit.
More pictures at the web album which can be accessed through the link below:
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