Sheep Shearing New Zealand-style!

Ronny got a new friend!


Sean knows his sh*t

Yesterday Pierats did something they don't do everyday! We went sheep shearing (clipping) with Sean De Lacy, our friend from New Zealand. He comes over to work in Norway every annual shearing, and now he wanted Ronny and me to go with him. He was going to clip 40 sheep outside Elverum, and with him being an experienced shearer, this was something we would'nt miss!

When we arrived. Sean rigged his gear and then it was me and Ronnys job to pull in one sheep at the time, put it on it's back (now clean up that dirty mind of yours!) and hold it until Sean was ready to clip it.
Ronny worked with him last year, so he already knew the technique. That being said, these were wildsheep, and not exactly easy to pull over.
You have to hold it under it's chin and take a good hold of the wool on it's hip. At the same time you support it with your knee. Then, in one movement, you pull the head to the right, push it's hip and remove your knee. When the sheep falls over, you lift it by its front legs and support its head and back with your legs. Easy, huh?


Huuuge fella!


Cooperate!



Well, not when a sheep weigh about 220 lbs and does NOT want to be clipped! I got the technique right with most of the lambs (well doh!) and with some of the bigger ones. But Ronny had to help me with the feisty ones. Man, that's one piece of heavy work! We were both soaked, and Sean was standing there laughing of us being klutzy. (^.^)

Captain Klutz or not, at the end Sean let us try to clip! I've clipped horses before, but this was nothing like it! The wool was muddy, and sheep has really skinny legs that can get tangled in the clipping machine. Lucky for us, Sean led our hands through the leg-thingie, so no sheep was harmed when being guineapigs!
This was definitely a new experience, and so friggin' cool to be a part of! We both love trying out new stuff, as much as we love animals. And we also got to cuddle with the naked sheep (again, throw your dirty minds in the washer!), hens and rabbits. True Pierat-love!




Wrestling








Kyoooot!








Nekkiiiiid

On our way back, the traffic was suddenly blocked, and at the same time we stopped, a moose was running on a field next to us. A typical affair of a moose hit by a car. We got out and went in front of the line, and there it was, a hurt moose lying in the road. It showed no outer signs of damage, except that it was laying down, breathing heavily and seemed to be in shock. The officers of the local wilderness control were contacted, so I hope they arrived quickly to put the poor thing out of its misery.
We have a problem with crossing moose in Norway, because of great amounts of forests surrounding most roads. Especially during winter with iced roads there are quite many accidents.
The people that hit this one was okay, and that's good. I still hate when this happens, poor animals!



It's finally weekend, and it's SNOWING! Yaaaayz! We'll be up to many snowy adventures, so stay tuned!
Snowflake-hugs from Silje