Wednesday, December 19, 2012

Wearing Wool



Above pictured are my new shearing tank-tops I purchased a few months ago for the upcoming shearing season.  Anyone who knows me knows I'm not vain, especially about clothing.  But I show these shirts off for a reason.  They are 100% wool.  They're perfect for shearing, warm, dry (wick away sweat), and comfortable.  But that's only partly why I am starting to wear more wool.

I had a conversation recently about supporting the sheep industry.  Sure, I'm involved.  I'm into it every day.  But do I wear wool?  How many shepherds neither eat lamb nor wear wool?  I wouldn't go as far as saying it's hypocritical, but it certainly isn't helping their own cause.  We complain about the price of wool, or lamb, while wearing cotton and eating beef.  So I became convicted and went out and bought wool shirts.

I dream of seeing the sheep industry make a come back in the USA.  Many things I'm both aware of and unaware of would need to change.  But certainly domestic demand for wool products would be a great place to start.  So if you raise sheep and sell wool, then wear the final products.  Wool is great!

Sadie



This is my new dog, Sadie.  She's a red/white Border Collie.  Beautiful dog, and great personality.  She's 6 months old today, I've had her for almost 2 months.  Will she be a good working dog?  I doubt it.  I've only let her near sheep once, and she was afraid of them.  More interested in sniffing their droppings than even looking at them.  But that's ok, she's a good pet.  At times it'd be nice to have a good working dog, but if that's what I really wanted I would've bought one that was already trained. 

When I start shearing again in a couple months, everyone will ask, "What did you do in the off season?".  Well I didn't go anywhere exciting this year.  But I got a dog.