Go Behind the Scenes as Sheep Shearing Produces Beautiful Local Wool

On a sunny November morning at Browder’s Birds in Mattituck, 22 shaggy sheep are all corralled in a fenced-in covered enclosure. They are calm, some sitting, some standing, some bleating into oblivion. But their coats, all curly and furry, look as if they have yet to have their quarantine cut. The long curls are cream colored at the root but ombre out into a golden and then brown color, dyed from the dirt.

But today is the day they get a fresh cut. One by one they are led out of the enclosure and onto a wooden platform where Tabbethia Haubbold, a professional shearer and owner of Long Island Yarn and Farm, is waiting with clippers in hand. The farm hires her every year to help with the shearing. With deft hands, she turns the sheep on its back and begins shearing its stomach. The animal sits there calmly leaning back into her arms as Haubbold begins the barbering process. 

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