2018 Sheep Shearing Day
Report and photos from Janine Lavarello
The annual Sheep Shearing day was held on Saturday 15th December 2018. The day started a bit dull and gloomy but this did not stop the majority of the community heading out to the sheep pen for the day. The sun soon came out and most people were in T-shirts, shorts and sunhats. The children were soon happily running around the pens with their crooks busy catching lambs while the older people knitted and watched on. The sheep after being sheared were then marked with paint in a variety of colours. This is to help the owners to tell their sheep individually along with the marks. At around midday everyone came home and got together in their groups, enjoyed braais, and cooked meals, this went on until well into the evening.
The community gathers at the Patches Plain sheep pens for the annual Sheep Shearing Day. This is also an indication of the latest transport as families use modern vehicles to travel around the village and to and from the Patches. |
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Marking sheep. | Choosing the best batches of wool for use in making knitwear. |
Views of sheep in pens - families have their own distinctive paint markings to identify them admist the communal flock. |