Sheep are Shorn



The yearling fleeces came out nice, but all the sheep older than that really had gone too long. There is some from them that might be salvageable, but salvage is going to be low priority. We sheared one white lamb who had grown out well and had such beautiful, soft, lustrous wool that I wanted to play with it now. He really is a pretty boy, and would make a nice herd-sire if anyone is in the market. The rest of the lambs will have fleeces at their prime this fall. I hope we manage fall shearing this year. We never seem to, and last year we managed to skip the whole year, which really was not good. Why did we do that? Two reasons - I dreaded shearing so much because I hate seeing my sheep get cut so much, and they do. We had a miserable experience the last time we sheared. There were two cousins who came, and they seemed insistent that fastest time was the goal. We kept telling them that we cared a lot more about the sheep not being hurt and about the quality of the fleeces, but they wouldn't listen. This year's shearer was one of the same guys, but his cousin had to work. He listened this year and did a great job! The other reason we skipped shearing last year was because between depressive episodes and being busy going back to school, I just couldn't find enough motivation and initiative to call a shearer.

I still need to get the two Angora goats and Dolly shorn for this spring. Sheep shearers don't want to try shearing goats or llamas. We always ask. That's okay - they are easier to shear than sheep, and I can take my time with them. The goats stand on the milk stand. Shearing sheep is back-breaking. I have tried it and it is well worth paying someone else for that job. Like the Churros, Angora goats need to be shorn twice a year (I did manage that last year). Dolly can get away with every other year, with brushing in between. She is going to be at least a two-person job, as she will cush but will not stay cushed on command. Doesn't she look smug now that the sheep are all funny-looking? She doesn't realize that her turn is coming up very soon.



Talent Show

Carol, who chose to go back to public school for fourth grade rather than home schooling with her brother and sister, because she wanted to make friends, has really taken advantage of her social opportunities. Her test scores and academic performance are not as good now as they were at the beginning of the year, and the teacher always has to tell her to stop being social and do her work, but she has really enjoyed being with the other kids.

Today was the school talent show, and Carol was in it twice. She danced the Highland Fling:


Yes, she is dancing in mis-matched socks. We haven't gotten her gillies yet, as she ought to have, along with white knee socks (or tartan knee socks), and her dance teacher encouraged mis-matched socks for practice. I'm not sure if it has to do with luck or some similar concept, or simply making it easier to tell your feet apart, but my kids always wear mis-matched socks, even when they are not dancing, and they quote Libby when asked about it. (All three are taking dance, and all three do the mis-matched socks thing).

And she played recorder with the group of students who learned it well enough to pass off their music:


She did quite well. Her dance looked good, and the recorder ensemble sounded nice too. Some of the other performers also showed a lot of talent, especially some of the singers. The audience (mostly peers) was polite and clapped for everyone, even those who made mistakes or didn't quite perform as well as some. I was impressed.

I'm happy for these kids. But I was also fighting my own feelings of, let's call it jealousy, that they have opportunities like this, and I didn't at that age. Fourth grade was one of my worst years. We had just moved, leaving a best friend behind, and I was hurt about that. I didn't trust other kids either, because I had been a victim of bullying before we moved, and I had a tendency to be overly sensitive. My fourth grade teacher, Mr. Melavik, was abusive too. I was often distracted and off-task, and he walked up and down the rows of desks, stopping suddenly at mine to yell at me and rip the page out of my notebook to show the class how little I had gotten done. He explained to my parents that he was irritable and short-tempered because he was a Vietnam War veteran, and was left with tinnatus. I was told that I should be patient with him because the ringing in his ears made it hard for him to be patient with kids. So, why was he teaching fourth grade, then?

Mr. Melavik was the only male teacher I had until I reached eighth grade. Carol's fourth grade teacher, Mr. Matthews, reminds me of my fourth grade experiences but only for superficial reasons. Mr. Matthews is a good teacher, and is patient, and smiles most of the time. She has had a good year.

Broccoli Slaw

I really like Broccoli Slaw. It's way better than coleslaw. You can find lots of recipes for it if you do a search, but I have figured out how I like it. Don't use coleslaw dressing! I like a lite Three-Cheese Ranch dressing, and I add Parmesan cheese, black olives, and a liberal sprinkling of lemon pepper and black pepper. It's good with tomatoes, cottage cheese, ... pita bread would go along with it nicely too. Maybe I'll have to make some. I'm wishing that I had kept more dairy goats. With Jitterbug feeding a lamb, there is not enough goat milk to make cheese, and I wish I had some Feta. I could buy some, but it's just not the same.