(Sorry, I don't know what got on the lens!)Today we ventured out on a field trip that we have been waiting MONTHS for! When we first got down here, I heard about this farm called Shepherd's Cross. I liked the name, because our school name is an acronoym for it: S.H.E.P.H.E.R.D. (For those who want to know, it stands for School of Home Education Preparing Hearts for Eternally-Rewarded Devotion. Pete and I stayed up late one night five years or more ago brainstorming a name for our home school.) Anyway, this farm is just past the dairy farm where we get our milk every week and we heard that in the spring, they open their barn for visitors to learn about the sheep-shearing process. We have been counting down the months/weeks/days to it and were so happy it was finally here.
A few weeks ago, we had taken a pre-visit to the farm to make sure we knew where it was and check it out without the crowd. The kids fell in love with the big sheep dogs, named Titus and Esther. They kept asking when we would get to go back and see the dogs, so naturally, that was the first thing they wanted to do when we arrived today. Unfortunately, these are working dogs and we only got to see them for a minute before they noticed a potential danger to their flock (it was just some cows crossing the field across the street in another field!).
To start out the demonstration, the owners showed us a wooden shepherd's crook and how they use it. The sheep shearing was quite a sight. The most interesting thing was that when they put the sheep in the position shown in the picture below, they immediately stop fighting. They said this is what is meant in Isaiah 53:7 where it says "he was led like a like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before its shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth." They explained how Jesus willingly and obediently went to his death silently so we could have the gift of eternal life. The thing I like most about this verse is that it was written 500 years before Jesus was even born, but the prophet Isaiah was given this prophecy to tell of our coming salvation.
The shearing looked like difficult work, especially with the sheep that were having it done for the first time. One of those, a one-year-old ewe, also had her first baby recently. Her lamb had a broken leg and so they splintered her leg at the same time as her mom was being sheared. They couldn't keep them apart and the ewe had to see her lamb the whole time the shearing was happening or she would protest. Afterwards, we all got to pet the soft, black, little lamb. It was soooo cute. We decided that if we ever got to start our own farm, we would definitely have sheep. The owners said they are wonderful and easy farm animals to start out with.
The owners, pictured below, use this farm as their ministry to reach out and share the message of the Great Shepherd with people. Their youngest daughter, whom is still homeschooled (yeah!), is pictured on the right. She had her grubby work boots and her big belt buckle on and wasn't afraid to get in there and help. That's my kind of teenage girl!
So before shearing:
And after:
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