merino sheep | knitting with heart

Shaun the Sheep sheds shorn merino fleece ❤

Click image to watch video of
Shaun the Sheep getting sheared!
— image found on facebook —

Earlier this week, a wayward sheep made headlines around the world when he was found hiding amidst the scrublands at Peter and Netty Hazell’s farm in Tasmania. The couple caught him fairly easily, since the wool had grown over his eyes. Naming him Shaun, they carried the living, breathing ball of merino woolliness into the yard for closer inspection.

According to his tags, Shaun the Sheep had been on the run across Australia’s island state of Tasmania for 6 years. Having never been sheared, his wool had grown to half a meter (20 inches) in length—compared with approximately 8 cms (3 inches) average length. Speculating that he might possibly be the world’s woolliest sheep, they scheduled Shaun the Sheep to be sheared on Thursday.

Shaun’s shorn fleece fell just short of the world record (held by a now-deceased New Zealand sheep named Shrek). But he’s surely pleased to have discarded his 23.5 kg (52 pounds) burden of fluff! I hear there’s a new ewe-friend in his life now too… woohoo! 🙂

cheers for shears without tears ❤ Jackie