Milking a sheep...crazy!

I weaned my two Icelandic lambs last night, and we had to listen to their cries all night long! Poor little girls! It was kindof hilarious...if you've seen one of those screaming goat videos on youtube, yeah, it was like that.  I sheared their Icelandic mom, Ysabel, this morning with a pair of scissors. I had to tie her to the fence, but she stood for an hour while I worked her fleece off. I'm fairly sure the prior owners hadn't been doing the needed twice a year shearing, because cutting through the wool was like a foam mattress. I did salvage *some wool to experiment with, and the silky wool coming in underneath is gorgeous. I can't wait till fall for a good fleece!  And then...I milked her.  Never  in my life did I think I'd milk a sheep. Wierd experience. I definitely need some practice.  I've had one milk goat and she was a nice calm milker...but mostly the milk tasted like goat and I only used it in baking. I only got about 2 oz out of  Ysabel  because I think she's still pretty stressed over the weaning so I'll try again tonight. I pasteurized it because it was my first time and I wasn't sure how clean everything was.... but OH MY. I'm shocked at how delicious it is! No aftertaste...just like the creamiest raw, whole cows milk you've ever tasted. Yes, I think this will be worth the trouble! :-D
 

For more information on our farm, please visit http://samsbillthepony.wix.com/getting-liberty#