Outback
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I'm glad I didn't cut my braid. The fourth one was also the last one. This morning, they ate from my hand again. They don't seem to be angry with me, but they don't trust the sleeping stable any more and sleep in the shade of trees.
...Sheep shearing in Co. Mayo, Ireland. A professional can shear a sheep in under five minutes, and charges three Euro per animal. An average sheep produces two kilos of wool, worth all of 40 cents at market. Shocking.
Mungo Woolshed, Lake Mungo, NSW, Australia
This was originally a 30 stand shed in its heyday. More about it here: www.nationalparks.nsw.gov.au/things-to-do/historic-buildi...
I've been shearing the two younger sheep today. The photos were made right after I started. When we let the first one (Lamm) run free, she was jumping and started a sheep race with the two older ones that were still outside. We'll try to catch the older ones tomorrow. But now they know we're up to no good. Evil humans. I got no photos of the shorn ones yet. Some time after we left the stable, the sheep went back inside. I was full of wool, blue spray, sheep poo and sheep pee and had to clean myself first. It was my first electric shearing. That sounds wrong. It was the first time I was shearing sheep with an electric shearing machine.
Contrary to rumors, I have not been abandoned or lost in the canyons of the southwest. Still exploring and staying out of trouble, mostly :)
This is in the canyons surrounding Zabriskie Point, Death Valley National Park.
I've been shearing the two younger sheep today. The photos were made right after I started. When we let the first one (Lamm) run free, she was jumping and started a sheep race with the two older ones that were still outside. We'll try to catch the older ones tomorrow. But now they know we're up to no good. Evil humans. I got no photos of the shorn ones yet. Some time after we left the stable, the sheep went back inside. I was full of wool, blue spray, sheep poo and sheep pee and had to clean myself first. It was my first electric shearing. That sounds wrong. It was the first time I was shearing sheep with an electric shearing machine.
Constructed during World War II.
Due to wartime shortages of building materials, the shed is clad with flattened kerosene tins.
shed wall, not much shearing here lately. like most country places, left uninhabited or used, they are very quick to decay
Constructed during World War II.
Due to wartime shortages of building materials, the shed is clad with flattened kerosene tins.
Today I'll start a new series on scenes of rural life. All the shots in this series were taken within an easy 30 minute drive from Launceston. That's the beauty of a regional city like this, you're never far from country life.
Our first photograph today is a duotone of an old shearing shed just after a huge downpour of rain. You can see all that mud in the pen.
Glencoe shearing shed lays silent - a far reach from the heady days that saw 50,000 sheep per year pass through.
Ram shearing at county fair, Ohio, 2008. Bronica ETRSi, Fujifilm Pro 160C, Zenzanon EII 75mm f/2.8. Scanned with EOS R, Sigma 105mm macro, and Essential Film Holder.
A joint effort in lots of ways
The photo was taken by a London company (Dashing Tweeds) that John (my partner) was working with to produce cloth from the wool from his own sheep. They sent him the low resolution photos (for choice).
Just for fun, we worked on this low res photo together (me editing with input from John who also chose the DDG styles). The focus on the face isn't great, and I would have preferred to leave the grey hairs there (but that's not a great look for a sheep)
John had chosen the image as an example of a perfect shearing position (he did some time shearing in New Zealand). I would have cropped its legs off, but apparently this was the important bit ... having those legs in the air. He did also explain about the position of his own legs pushing the sheep into place ... it did get more technical than I can remember!
I suggested that it looked like an old sheep that would be used to being sheared, so would just go with the flow, but apparently sheep don't think that way, and would still kick if given the chance.
I have always wondered about the timing of shearing (a bit odd right in the middle of Summer, why not at the beginning etc). Apparently it's all to do with the natural timing of the wool growth. As the new fleece begins to grow, last years fleece fibres break and are pushed away by the new ones, creating a bit of a gap. This gap is where the fleece is sheared.
I asked about the sheep walking around with half their fleece missing (before being sheared), which is due to the fibres breaking earlier than they should for a variety of reasons.
I hope you found this interesting. Farming (like most things) is a lot more complicated than it appears.
I've put the original image and a photo of the final cloth in the first comment box