Shear Exhaustion

(Tharla na himeachtaí seo cúpla seachtain ó shin.)

Ní theastaíonn mórán cúraim ó na halpacaí, ach bíonn dhá bhuaireamh bheaga orm gach bliana: Cá bhfaighidh mé féar fá choinne an gheimhridh, agus cén chaoi mo chuid alpacaí a lomadh? Níl sé caoithiúil mo chuid ainmhíthe a thógáil chuig an lomaire; is turas seacht nó ocht n-uaire a' chloig é ann agus ar ais, agus mé ag tarraingt leantór. Ach níos tábhachtaí ná sin, bím buartha faoi stróc teasa mar ní bhíonn an lomaire le fáil go dtí deireadh mí Iúil ní mí Lunasa, tar éis lomadh na gcaorach. Agus ansin do réir mar a théan mo thréad i méid (tá súil agam), éirionn sé níos deacra bheith ag taisteal leo.

Bhí sé in am agam lomadh alpacaí a fhoghlaim. Léigh mé leathanaigh eolais go leor ar an idirlín faoi lomadh alpacaí, agus d'amharc mé ar DVD cúpla uair. Cheannaigh mé deimheas leictreach a bhfuil cuma uirlise céasta air, a chuirfeadh eagla ort súil a leagan orthu, gan teacht ar lámh. Agus fuair mé lomaire den chéad scoth ag teacht agus mé a thraenáil go pearsanta.

Ar bhealach amháin, bhí sé ní ba éascaí na mar a bhí mé ag súil leis, ar bhealach eile, ní ba dheacra. Rinne mé an-jab ag gearradh an lomra glhanbhearradh amháin, gan mórán athlomtha. (Tugann athlomadh píosaí bheaga lomra atá ró-ghearr le sníomh.) Ar an drochuair, ghearr mé craiceann Seacláide. Ní raibh an gearradh ró-dhóna, déarfá, ba dhóigh leat nár mhóthaigh sí í, ach bhain sé croitheadh asam. Dáiríre, theasaigh uaim stad ansin agus ligint do mo mhuinteoir an jab a chríochniú, ach bhí a fhios agam dá ndéanfáinn é sin, nach mbeadh an misneach agam an deimheas a thógáil i mo lámh arís. Dá bhrí sin, lean mé ar aghaidh, agus ní raibh gortaithe ar bith eile ann. Bhí an tasc maslach, ach níorbh í an obair í, ach gur chuir mé mo chroí amach leis.

Fríd is fríd, tá muinín agam go mbeidh mé ábalta é a dhéanamh arís an bhliain seo chugainn, gan aon mhúinteoir. Ní bheidh mé chomh neirbhiseach mar beidh a fhios caidé atá romham. Ach caithfidh mé fios a chur as na gardaí chun go mbeidh siad ábalta duine a chur ar fáil chun an trácht a stiúradh. Caithfidh sé go raibh deich gcarr, agus leathdosaen turasóirí ar chois, a stop, a d'amharc tamall agus a thóg pictiúirí. An rud ab fhearr ná nuair a stad bus lán de thurasóirí Seapánacha! Níl mé ag magadh, tharla sé i ndáiríre.


Alpacas are fairly low-maintenance, but I do have two minor worries each year: Where will I find hay for the winter, and how will I get my animals sheared?

It's inconvenient to take my animals to the shearer; it's a 7-8 hour round trip when I'm towing a trailer. But more importantly, I sometimes worry about heat stroke as the shearer isn't usually available until late July or August, after the sheep have been done. And finally, as my herd grows (I hope), travelling with them becomes more difficult.

It was time to learn to shear alpacas myself. I read pages and pages of information on the web about how to shear alpacas, and I watched a DVD several times. I bought some electric shears that look like an instrument of torture, scary even to look at, much less touch. And I had a top-notch shearer come to train me in person.

In some ways, it was easier than I expected, and in other ways, harder. I did fairly well at getting the fleece off in one smooth go, with few second cuts. (Second cuts yield little bits of fleece too short to spin). Unfortunately, I did cut Seacláid's skin. It's not a serious cut, and she didn't even seem to notice but it did unnerve me. I really wanted to stop right there and let my teacher finish the job, but I knew if I did that I would never have the nerve to pick up the shears again. So I persevered, and there were no other injuries. The whole thing was exhausting, not so much because of the physical labour as the wear and tear on my nerves.

All in all, I'm confident I can do it again next year, without a teacher. I won't be as nervous because I know what to expect. But I will have to alert the Guardaí when I shear, so they can send someone over to direct traffic. there must have been ten cars, plus a half dozen tourists on foot, that stopped, watched for a while and took photos. The high point was when a busload of Japanese tourists stopped to watch! I am not joking; it really happened.


Clibeanna: alpacaí, Gaeilge, Muddle-headed Wombat