Japanese and Kiwi shearers
This year, our shearing crew arrived late. This meant that the ewes trailed, in the wool, to the Cottonwood lambing grounds to get shorn. Many years, we shear them in the Badwater pasture, some 45 miles north, then trail them on to the lambing grounds north of Dixon. This has to be done before May 1st if they are to have time to travel and be in the private, BLM and State lands when they start to lamb a week later.
Dixon is close to our community school in Baggs, and many years third-grade teacher, Miss Cobb, brings her students to watch shearing and learn about it. This year, it was easy, since the shearers were so close. The third graders were joined by the fourth grade class and their teacher, Mrs. Herold.
Cliff Hoopes, the shearing contractor, took time to show the students around. He even brought them, five at a time, into the shed so they could watch the shearers at work. This year’s shearing crew included one man from Japan, which was a first.
We were starting to lamb by the time the last sheep was sheared.
Cliff tells students about his shearing business
Cliff answers questions
Purple (the shed) is Cliff’s favorite color and pink (the chute) is his wool classer’s favorite color
Siobhan, Meghan and Filo bring up the unshorn ewes
Inside the shed
Hoopes Shearing wool classer
Pepe sorting at the chute
Cliff explaining wool classing
Mrs. Herold leads students into the purple shed
sheep bells
Cliff and Landon inside the shed
shearing tools
freshly shorn ewes
Ladder Ranch
Meg Glaser
July 4, 2013 at 11:26 AM
Nice story! Thank you. Love the colorful equipment and clothing.