These sheep have ears!

Yesterday was time once again for the ritual de fleecing of the Ryeland flock. Luckily for them we know the Captain of the Hereford Rugby team who hones his skills by catching sheep and giving them a short back and sides.

Having just helped his father who is a real farmer with lots of sheep who are bigger than hamsters Pritch was up to the annual challenge here at Rock HQ. Unfortunately for him, and the sheep, ours come with extras. Unlike commercial breeds who are basically a ball of meat wrapped in wool on four hairy woolless legs and a very handy zipper down their backs to get the fleece off, ours have the physique of racing ferrets, with lots of wool all over their legs, faces, backsides and stomachs, woolly purses on the males as well as woolly foreskins, and all with the addition of gorse bush prickles, bramble thorns and sheep pooh that makes handling them as much fun as playing catch with a rotting hedgehog. Now Pritch found this a challenge but on the whole, doable. What he could not contend with was the annoying habit our sheep had of having ears.

For some inexplicable reason our demon shearer found the acoustic appendages either side of the hapless sheep's head an affront to anyone who has wielded the shearing clippers and so manfully tried to , whats technically know as, amputate the sticky out bits. Several times Pritch disappeared in a red and wool mist as he discovered another head had ears attached. Claims that they were too low down, in the wrong place or he just forgot they were there were cold comfort to the suddenly leaking beast. The blue spray used to stem the blood flow and prevent infection coupled with the massive blue TC marks either side of the sheep contrasted nicely with the red spray patterns, in fact the flock together looked like a Banksy farmyard drawing by the end of play.

Despite his ear aversion we, and the sheep were very grateful that Pritch came over and took on this task. The scars should have healed over by next summer and if they can still hear w will call them in next summer when its shearing time.