Just thought I’d update you on what’s going on at Mt Nicholas at the moment. We are currently in the midst of shearing – we shear the merinos once a year, starting with the ewes (the female sheep). The reason we start with the girls is that they will be having their lambs in early October and we need to get their fleeces off before then. There are several reasons for this, one of the main ones being that once they have their fleece off they are more aware of the temperature and will take their lambs to shelter when it’s cold or stormy.
As we shear the ewes when it’s still quite cool at night we use a special comb on the shearing machine called a ‘cover comb’ or snow comb’ this lifts the shearing machine off the skin and leaves a thin layer of wool on the sheep for warmth (much like they are still wearing their icebreaker base layer!) so they don’t get too chilly.
Shearing is a great time of year as we get to see the results of all the year’s work in looking after the sheep in the quality of the fleeces that they are producing, I’m pleased to report that the wool’s looking great so we’ll have plenty to send on to Icebreaker! I’ve included some photos of just before the sheep are shorn, during shearing in the shed and after shearing with them just wearing their base layer!
RIP Shrek – not the curmudgeonly green ogre, but the woolly colossus who made headlines around the world after evading mustering for six years.
Shrek was no ordinary merino. If anything, he looked more like a giant cauliflower than a sheep.
By the time Shrek was discovered in a cave on Bendigo sheep station near New Zealand’s Southern Alps, he had avoided the shearer’s blades for six years. His 38cm (15ins) coat of merino wool had kept him alive despite the region’s harsh, snowy winters and searingly-hot summers.
Shrek had the full Brazilian – and more – on an iceberg off the coast of Dunedin. Shrek’s fabulous ‘fro yielded 27kg (59lb) of merino wool, which is six times as much as the average sheep.
Icebreaker stepped in to keep the newly-naked Shrek cosy with a specially-made coat, which he wore for an audience with then Prime Minister Helen Clark in Wellington. He flew in planes, visited hospitals and was immortalised in best-selling books, and in the process raised money for a children’s charity.
Fame never turned Shrek’s head, and his owners said he was a sheep of exceptional personality.
Alas, Shrek’s dream run has come to an end. At 17 – almost double his life expectancy – Shrek had to be put down after suffering health problems. Station owner John Perriam described him as “a great old mate” who was ready to go to sleep.
John wants Shrek’s ashes to be scattered at the top of Aoraki/Mount Cook, New Zealand’s highest mountain, so he can look out over his old stamping ground. A service for Shrek will be held at the appropriately-named Church of the Good Shepherd.
“Layer up for warmth” is one of our favourite phrases at Icebreaker, and we’ve never met anyone who did it as well as Shrek. Farewell, old friend – we’ll miss ewe.
Icebreaker was featured on Shaw Television’s (Vancouver) show Urban Rush on November 17, 2009. On the show the Fall Winter 2009 clothing line was presented. Director of Marketing, Deb Boswell, speaks about the benefits of Merino clothing and the superior fabric that is chosen for Icebreaker clothing.
