Gathering at the fank

Some of the tasks of the crofting year are still carried out on a communal basis.  Gathering the sheep for shearing is one of those. Most of the sheep have been on the croft land, but after shearing in early Summer, they go up onto the common grazing land - the hilly terrain that surrounds the flatter low lying croft. The sheep were brought in to the fank by various means - herded by dogs, or quad bikes, or  driven in trailers.  Our two were herded into a corner of our feild by a neighbour's dog, and brought along in a trailer.

Once all the sheep were gathered in, it was decided by all that it was not a good day to do the actual shearing - it had rained earlier and looked likely to again.  So the big moment was put off until the next day, and the sheep were left in the field at the back of the pens.  Look at the two Maddies at the front there.  What a fine pair they are!

The next morning, John got going with the shears - much encouragement and gentle leg pulling came his way - all in Gaelic, of course, but he soldiered on and soon completed the shearing of Maddie Mor.

And there she is with our flock mark decorating her new hair do. Ok - maybe he missed a bit, but in two weeks you will never know the difference.  The rest of those sheep were sheared with electric clippers, which gets much closer to the skin.

Then it was Maddie Beag's turn - she is much much harder to catch and hold - and photograph

But in the end - she also wears the red dot .  Look at her giving us a twirl there!

James was there to watch and learn too - he feels pretty confident he says.

And there are the girls waiting for their holiday transport to depart.  See you at dipping time!

Although we did spot Maddie Mor having a wee sunbathe on the lower slopes the other day.