Before and after: wooly sheep on the left, shorn sheep on the right.

Before and after: wooly sheep on the left, shorn sheep on the right. Cordless Pruner

The rhythms of spring are finally beginning to arrive this year, with daytime temps rising to the lower 40’s this week. It won’t be long before the robins arrive, and the chickadees are starting to sing their spring song of “Hey Sweetie” from the tips of the birch twigs.

Springtime means so many things on the homestead, and one of those is shearing time for the sheep. While wild sheep naturally shed their winter coat as spring arrives—rubbing it off on trees, rocks, and bushes for the birds to snatch up and line their nests—the domestication process selected for sheep that kept their coats. This meant people had to clip it off the sheep in springtime, which was more work but also a guarantee that the yield of precious fiber wouldn’t be lost on trees and rocks and bushes and bird nests.

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Laura Berlage is a co-owner of North Star Homestead Farms, LLC and Farmstead Creamery & Café. 715-462-3453 www.northstarhomestead.com

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