Every spring, our sheep get their annual haircut.

These lambs were born in November, so this was their very first shearing this June. While I sheared most of them, my 83-year-old grandma still wanted to shear a couple herself. I finished them afterward, but having her hands on the sheep was what mattered.

Our family has been raising these sheep since the 1950s, and shearing day has been part of that tradition for generations. Some skills aren't just about getting the job done, they're about staying connected to the work, the animals, and the people who came before you.

This is No Signal, Life happens when you put the phone down.

Gear used:
Columbia PFG sun shirt
Premier sheep shears
Sony a6100
Leatherman multitool
Work Sharp sharpener

#SheepShearing #FamilyFarm #Homesteading #NoSignal #RanchLife

Five years ago I stood at the starting line of Ironman Coeur d'Alene. 140.6 miles. 105 degrees. A record heat wave moving through the West. I wanted to finish sub-12 hours. I finished at 15:58.

This is what happened in between and why it was still one of the best days of my life.

No Signal, Life happens when you put the phone down.

Last week we butchered one of our lambs. My two boys sat in the dirt and watched the whole thing.

I'm not going to show you any of it. No blood, nothing. This isn't that kind of episode. But I am going to be honest about what the day actually was.

I believe if you can't kill what you eat, you shouldn't be eating meat. I think it's wrong to hand that off to someone else and then look down on the people who do it. So we raised this animal, we fed it, and when the time came we did the hard part ourselves and I let my sons see where their food comes from.

Then they drank a soda in the dirt and went back to being kids, because to them it was just another day on the farm. Maybe that's the whole thing right there.

A note before you start: nothing graphic is shown or described in detail. If the subject isn't for you, skip this one. But if you've ever wondered where your meat comes from, this is an honest look at it.

No Signal. Life happens when you put the phone down.

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