Shearing sheep....Hang on Heather!! HANG ON!!!!

Shearing sheep is one of my LEAST favorite things to do here on the farm. See, we do not have electric at the barn, NOR do we have shears.....so, it is the good old Fiskar scissors. They work fine...of course the sheep will NOT win any beauty pageants when I am done...but, they are sheared and hooves trimmed. Well...3 of the 4. We still have the Ram to do, but he will have to wait for another day. My poor old back will NOT let me get down on the ground again, for a few more days. My dear friend, and neighbor, Heather came over to help with the job. It was hot...wet spots in the barn from spilled water, and a few UNHAPPY sheep made for a good fight. Shearing Bobo wasn't too bad. He is old, and after we got him down, for the most part, he just laid there and let us get him done. Next was Laura. She is young..and healthy..and a pretty good fighter. *sigh* After a few minutes working on her...she just laid there for them most part...only once in a while would she protest. Then we had Angel. Angel is pregnant...at least I think she is...and she didn't want ANY PART of the whole shearing process. At one point she was able to get up on her feet...and tried to take off. Heather hung on to Angel like her life depended on it! Slipping and sliding through the muck in the barn...Angel soon was under control again. My poor friend...she did the splits..but never let go! What a trooper!!! We were finally able to get Angel done...Both of us moaning and groaning from being on the floor, bent over, in the heat and poo...UGH! Here is a picture I took of Laura after her shearing, and Angel waiting her turn..well...something like that. She was NOT wanting a "turn" I am SO glad that is done for the year...and thankful it is only a once a year job! Before we set in to do the shearing..I had to go work in the Guinea hog pen. We have electric strands around the bottom of the fence...the other day they were rutting around the edge of the fence, pushing dirt and branches on to the electric fence. I am not sure if this was a calculated job, but I think it was. The babies are now up and out running around. I think momma wanted to stop her babies from getting into the electric fence....so she tried putting up a barrier. I had to cut the power, and go in and shovel all of the debris off of the fence line. After I finished, I hooked the wagon to the lawn tractor, and got busy moving more dirt. Yes, I am sure you will see many posts about us moving dirt, since we had 200 TON delivered last fall. We will be moving dirt " till the cows come home" I moved 2 big loads to the potato bed...got them covered again. I noticed a few had tiny blossom starts already! I am pretty excited at how well the potato's seem to be doing this year. Praying for a bumper crop. After I finished with the potato's I put away the wagon and decided to start mowing. The hubby was already mowing on the south side of the farm....so I started the north side. I only mowed about 1/3 of it...and let the hubby finish. By then it was time to start on the sheep shearing....We didn't finish with that until 7:45 pm. After doing chores....at 8, we didn't get dinner until 9pm. It was a good dinner...or I was super hungry. I think a little of both. Steaks, mac and cheese, and a jar of my pickled beets. Speaking of beets....ours are looking pretty good this year too! I need to get out there today and do some weeding...*my poor back* It is already protesting just talking about it! Suck it up cupcake...there is work to be done! Hoping to get the barn cleaned out again, and I will lay that in the garden. Helps with weed control and keeps moisture in..and don't forget the fertilizer factor. :) Well....it is time to get this day going....need to beat the heat. Temps in the upper 80's today. Once the temps get too hot to work outside, I am planning to clean out the wood stove for the last time. (i hope)