It's sheep shearing time around here. My electric clippers died so I am using hand shears to cut their fiber. Wow, it is a lot harder then I thought it would be! I have a ton of respect for the people who use hand shears to shear thier animals. I can only shear for an hour or 2 before me hands hurt too much and I have to stop. But I think I almost like the hand shears better then the electric ones. You can pick the length of hair that you want left on the animal and it seems you have a little more control with the hand shears. 

I really love my sheep. We raise them from babies, the sheep we have now where all bottle babies. We fed them and cared for them, I shear them myself, I clean card and spin the fiber myself, sometimes I dye the yarn and then I decide what to make with the wonderful yarn. We even milk some of our sheep! It's hard to exspress how wonderful that all makes me feel. It is a happiness unlike any other. 

I hope you all have an awesome day!