Category: Sheep

Shearing Week 2012 at Rising Meadow

Farm, Sheep
Every year, mid February at Ron and Ann Fay’s Rising Meadow Farm in Grays Chapel, North Carolina means sheep shearing, and this was the week. Ann and Ron are fortunate to have master blade shearer Kevin Ford come in to do the job. Kevin is world class (he’s a member of the US Blade Shearing Team that competes in the World championships in New Zealand) and it is amazing and fascinating to watch him work. Blade shearing is done with hand powered shears, no electricity here. Sharp blades, care and finesse is the order of the day. Kevin was assisted this year by local shearer Joy Moore. While Kevin and Joy worked the sheep, Ann with the help of friends and neighbors, inspected, cleaned and weighed the fleeces which will be on sale this Saturday.

(Photographs copyright 2012 by Dan Routh)

I Saw Esau

Animals, Farm, Sheep

Esau is a ram at Rising Meadow Farm near my home in Grays Chapel, North Carolina. Farm owner Ann Fay said he was named for an old playground ditty. For those that don’t remember the rhyme, it goes in one version:

I saw Esau, sitting on a see-saw,
I saw Esau, he saw me.
I saw Esau, sitting on a see-saw,
I saw Esau, he saw me.
I saw Esau, he saw me, and she saw I saw Esau.

(Photographs copyright 2011 by Dan Routh)