Sheep shearing & Cherry Blossom Viewing

A friend in a nearby village has started raising a small flock of sheep and we went up to visit while they started the shearing. Good job I did. They started by two people holding on to a poor sheep while one of them worked on it with some electric clippers.

First thing I showed them were the 2ways to tie up a sheep so it can be sheared by a single person.

Next I showed them how to shear most efficiently so that the fleece comes off pretty much in one-piece.

It sure was good to be covered in lanolin and sheepshit again......

Also took the opportunity to do a bit of cherry blossom viewing. I was out of the country for the mania that is Ohanami in Japan. Seems to be a thing for city-dwellers, and Ive never really gotten how getting drunk while sitting on a blur tarp indicates a unique Japanese love of nature, but up in the hills there was still lots of cherry trees in bloom on peoples farms and hillsides.

The upper photo is a Shidare Zakura, a species of Weeping Cherry and the pink/red hue was really intense. The lower photo is a Yae Zakura, with big solid groups of blossoms. I prefer both species to the standard one.

We also came across a huge pile of discarded wood that once cut and transported down the valley to our place should just about see us through next winter for firewood.

A good day.