Sheep Shearing with Navajo Grandma and Cedar Mesa Ranch in Colorado 

Thank you Judy, there are the manual and electric which we definitely showed here. The manual seems so slow but it was a time of conversation, singing to the sheep we are shearing, showing love and kindness with gratitude for their wool, then coming together as a community or family and enjoying the long shearing that happened throughout the day. It was done by men and women, no gender who ha. You helped and it was subsistency we all strove for. Then a wonderful meal. The next day again until the shearing was done. These Churro sheep are wonderful as you get to shear twice a year not once. Wonderful for the Dine' people. Thank you again for watching and learning. Hugs. Navajo Grandma

I am happy to have brought memories back of your father. He was a good man who did what he did to provide for his family. Wonderful memories and you need to sit down and write what you remember, what he looked like and all you remember about him. Posterity or not, it is good to keep record as your memory won't remain the same and when you sit down and read back what you wrote your heart will be filled with joy. Even for those dark days. Hugs. Navajo Grandma

@@NavajoGrandma That's a great idea. I miss him and I do cherish the memories of him. Thank you Navajo Grandma.

Excellent comment and every bit of it is true. You have a great understanding with wisdom. Back in the day, the Dine' people prayed for their sheep before tying their legs and sang to them, talked to them and yes, it was a slow process but the sheep got accustomed to it and rather enjoyed the process as they laid relaxed. Little ewe I sheared seemed relaxed till I nicked her twice. Ouch. I cried but oh well, Andrew said the nicks were small and would heal immediately as these ewes are quite resilient and excellent healers and that is why they are the best to have in any region. Watching Andrew was like watching someone cut butter, amazing. Yes, I would opt for that but you needed to see both. Thank you for your excellent comment. Navajo Grandma

@@NavajoGrandma Thank you for your kind words. 💕 It's funny that you mention the prayers and relaxing measures you took. The whole while watching the video, I was thinking that if I had sheep, how I would get them used to me, and would be talking so calmly and sweetly to them and petting them and making sure they're not stressing out. lol Prayers work miracles, too! ☺️

You don't have to be Dine' (Navajo) to love the Dine' culture. I truly desire for each of my subscribers to learn, implement parts of my cultural values into your lives, as I encourage all to be self sufficient and non dependent upon our gov't and others. How important this is and that is what happened to the Native Americans as they were put on reservations and how they had to learn to exist. It can be done out in the desert and wherever you may be at the time. You never will know how our circumstances will change and how we need to learn and be able to exist in whatever is handed to us now and future. So far I am very concerned about life, my children and posterity that they learn to be strong, remember God, being grateful, humble and never believe you are greater than anyone or God. So much more to learn. I love this and so much that are correct principles to live by. Navajo Grandma

@@NavajoGrandma I completely agree! God bless.

Thank you so much! Kurt what kind words of Hozho you gave to grandma. Love you. Navajo Grandma

Thank you Tatyana, you always have nice comments to give with Hozho to grandma. You have no idea how it is appreciated. It gives grandma hope and we all need that. Hugs always. Navajo Grandma

You are so welcome and thank you for subscribing and being so diligent in watching and learning I hope. Hugs. Navajo Grandma

There will always be those who are against everything anyone does like "breathing." So I say, leave them be and stand up with strength, truth & values. These Churro sheep are sheared twice a year for sustenance. It is also very good for the sheep as well in many ways. It is humane and to the Dine' the sheep are individually known like a family member. They are endeared and taken care of. I enjoyed this shearing experience I hadn't had for a long time as most folks here on this channel had never seen it done. Awesome. Navajo Grandma

That is wonderful Melissa. Keep those happy thoughts for they are yours. Navajo Grandma

Well Marie I can understand the romp after all the hard work especially like grandma using manual labor shears. It seemed like its slower but the conversations and being together talking about how much wool and how many rugs it could make and being able to sustain ourselves was part of the talk during my grandparents days. Then the romp was a meal out in the open and it was absolutely worth the hard work. Great memories I pray to carry on by myself, sober but giving you all the baton to remember to be open to learning all types of abilities one can have for self sufficiency. You never know. Hugs to you. Navajo Grandma

I am glad you came to this shearing with grandma. As it is been a while I do appreciate Andrew allowing me to try my hand at shearing, and it is time consuming. You sing to the ewe and talk to it and have a good conversation. It was good and then seeing the electric side was amazing as Andrew being a pro with the electric shears showed us progress with technology. I am happy to have shown you both and thank you for subscribing and watching, learning and enjoying. Hugs. Navajo Grandma

Yes Paula, grandma did it, but look at the difference between manual and electric. Even though electric would be favored, but then again we would have missed the patience, hard work, conversations, laughing and telling stories together, then feasting afterwards on "kin neish bizhi." Navajo noodle soup with Naneeskadi. Oh it was wonderful being together. Now I am carrying on the torch to you and others by myself with the help of these wonderful folks in Colorado. Love you all. Navajo Grandma

Kimberly thank you for subscribing and being to steadfast in watching and learning from Navajo Grandma. Love you so. It is confusing but it was the way things were manually and now look at technology = electricity made it like cutting butter. Andrew was wonderful. Love you. Navajo Grandma

Ooh it sounds like fate found you perfectly. You must be doing something right! Awesome. Grandma loved Cedar Mesa and love their wool. And they were sweet to allow me to shear a little for the video. This couple is wonderful and growing their business so patronize them, invite your friends. Hugs. Navajo Grandma

It’s a blessing to learn as it may come in handy in years to come. The more self sufficient we are the better. Your children are blessed to have you. Hugs. Navajo Grandma

Well welcome to grandma's videos. How wonderful to know you patronized these two wonderful folks, Andrew and Kendra. What good people they are. You need to report to us how the lambing goes. This is wonderful. Thank you. Navajo Grandma

Yes, Robert, Andrew used the electric shear and it was amazing to watch. How clean and amazing. We on the other hand were Dine' who without electricity used manual shears but learned to be patient, full of conversation and togetherness when we sheared long ago. Still brings back wonderful memories. Navajo Grandma

@@NavajoGrandma grandma I'm glad you had a good time it reminded when you were a little girl with your grand father shearing the sheep even without electricity you must of use some light yes with shears a lot of time and patience

@@NavajoGrandma grandma you were happy that it brought a lot of good memories to you .Than you had a great happy time

@@robertcavalluzzi8112 Thank you Robert. Navajo Grandma

Sherrie that is wonderful that you were taught the correct way your family did things. It was right. Each of us do things that might seem wrong to others or way out of the realm we were taught, but that is where we all need to stand back and say, hey its not right or wrong, folks just do things the way they were taught. It is wonderful. Thank you for watching. Love you. Navajo Grandma

Words of wisdom from Naruto. I am proud of you for seeing this in such a way that it gives you humility and gratitude hopefully and yes how far we have come. Funny how I want to go back there as well. I miss real life and hard work. I miss my grandparents and my parents. If only I usually say. Just let me go back for a day and bask in the real life when I was little and looking up to my Nali and Bizhi, my Mom and Dad, they were so tall, they had such wisdom and I knew they loved me. I need their hugs so much. Then see when I read your comments its what life does, your words hug me. I need that. Navajo Grandma

@@NavajoGrandma aww Navajo grandma that was deep thank you honestly im honored and not going to lie that made me cry a little bit ....see again here i am learning and im coming to the realization i need to cherish these moments with my parents and grandparents more while i can ....imma start by improving my relationship with my dad .... thank you navajo grandma honestly i needed that .....i thank God every time i watch your videos for discovering this beautiful extended family ..... hugs naruto

Thank you Marcey, Thank you for subscribing and having patience with grandma to finally get this video out. I almost had a break down and now I am thankful you see what I wanted you all to share in. Thanks for taking the time to watch. Yes this will be a process of caring for wool. I know some women are knitters and love wool too who are watching. Hugs to you. Navajo Grandma

Glad someone agreed with me. Thank you Wendy. Hugs. Navajo Grandma

Well this is an awesome story and I am happy to hear you know how this works and it wasn't an easy job. It is satisfying because for most of my grandparents it was the amount of wool, the possible weaving and rugs that we could sell for sustenance. It was just satisfying in that way. The women were anxious to wash, card, spin and weave. It was a joyous time that was constructive and that is probably why you really liked it or it was gratifying. Hard work is very satisfying. The shears are great when they are sharpened and though I didn't go 1000 miles an hour, I did do my best. Hugs. Navajo Grandma

@@NavajoGrandma you did very well!

I had already done some shearing and boy can you get a huge sweat and I was ready to give up. I marvel at how modern technology is a quick and easy smooth shearing that was amazing to watch. Long ago it was only with a scissor. Those were my Nali's sheers. Love you all. Navajo Grandma

Thank you very much! I have to tell you when you don't shear but only yearly its still quite intimidating and I bless this dear ewe who allowed grandma to shear her half way. Andrew finished the job. These sheep are strong and tough. Thank you for watching. Hugs. Navajo Grandma

Daniel thank you for watching. Please don't give up on grandma as I am having some issues as I don't have my editor anymore and pray you all will stay with me and continue to watch and learn. Love you all. Navajo Grandma

@@NavajoGrandma of course I won’t give up on you. I love the info you share. I would love to sit down and have a coffee and talk. I have lots of questions. I don’t think that will happen so I watch and listen on you channel. The sheep shearing was awesome. I saw the old way and the new way. I see the new way being embraced to get the job done very efficiently as well as seeing traditions being kept for the history and heritage of the people. Perfect!

Denise, glad to know you are still believing in grandma. I have had to learn how to edit videos myself and driving myself nuts. Its okay as I have made tons of mistakes but here I finally got my first video on Wool Washing. Not perfect but moving forward. Thank you for subscribing. Grandma loves you and prays always for all of you my dear subscribers. Navajo Grandma

@@NavajoGrandma it was great! As grandma’s we can do many thing’s. Your awesome and an inspiration. ♥️♥️

It didn't seem like it was ever going to come along, but it did. We made it and yes I am seeing the stark difference from manual labor to electric labor. Guess which one I would prefer. But then again in the reservation the manual labor brought families together and taught us patience, fortitude, great lessons on being self sufficient. I wouldn't want that changed. It continues to this day around the reservation. So happy that I was able to use my Nali's shears. Slow but awesome. Hugs for watching. Navajo Grandma

Thank you for taking the time to watch grandma and for subscribing. Love you. Navajo Grandma

@@NavajoGrandma my wife and I thoroughly enjoy your channel. We lived near to Ojo Caliente NM and we appreciate your sharing of customs, knowledge, traditions, beliefs, and the ways of The People. ❤️

@@Smiling_mike Thanks to the both of you, as it is not Hollywood style but simple videos that are from a grandma's learning and culture. I know some of my people get nasty about how they know better and can do things better than me, but this is never a contest, it is making record of what I know, what I experienced and that it was me who experienced all of what you watch and hear. Our own story is so important and so happy to share what little I do know and I have found there is so much more. Its fun and grateful to you both for staying and hopefully enjoying. Navajo Grandma

The goodness and good traditions and cultural learnings are always wholesome. Thank you. Navajo Grandma

Rightly so, you are a rare breed nowadays. Keep it up. Yes, the ewes were scampering around light as a feather. It’s delightful to see in person. Navajo Grandma

You’re welcome 😊!! Navajo Grandma

Isn't it though. Thank you Lori for taking the time to watch and subscribe. You don't know how much grandma appreciates you and prays for you always. Hugs galore. Navajo Grandma

Yes, the shears are sharp but you have to be very careful and know how to use them. I hadn't sheared for quite some time and nicked the poor ewe twice but little nicks. Eventually when you do this daily or yearly, its not as intimidating to watch or perform. I wanted so much to let you see what the difference was in manual and electric and I think you saw that in our adventure to Colorado and meeting a wonderful couple, Andrew and Kendra. Great people. Great comment, watching and learning. Hugs. Navajo Grandma

Yes, it was amazing to see the difference, one that took days and the one electric that happened all in 4 minutes like cutting butter. Yes, this is how our ancestors got their wool off the ewes. Memories from long ago with my Nali and Bizhi. Hugs to you. Navajo Grandma

@@NavajoGrandma 🥰❤

Thank you too Michelle for always taking the time to watch and comment. Grandma appreciates your subscribing, watching and learning this Dine' culture. Hugs. Navajo Grandma

Joyce how cool was this adventure. I am so thankful that some of you or all of you have enjoyed this experience seeing for yourselves how wool is sheared. Hugs. Navajo Grandma

Thank you Jackie, soon I should have you out there shearing too. Navajo Grandma

This was one of the best comments I read when I noticed this video finally came on. Love your comment. Navajo Grandma

Wonderful memories I hope you took a picture of her hands. Our mothers hands are Gods hands. Navajo Grandma

@@NavajoGrandma I've watched my hands my whole life. Really after comparing my little unwrinkled hand as a child to my young Mothers hand, and also to my Grandmothers hands. So I've enjoyed watching my own hands age and they now are my Grandma's hands. Lol

Find out what it was used for if it is that important. Write it down and make it a part of your understanding. Navajo Grandma

Well I can see why you all sheared sheep, your land is known for sheep, or use to be. Actually still is to a certain point. Thank you for sharing the story. Its wonderful to hear the memories that are being laid open, it means you all need to write these wonderful memories down as no one else will remember like you did. It might seem small, but when you read back your writings you will smile and be proud of yourself. Your memory doesn't remain as keen as you grow older and we need to strike the iron while it is hot. They say. Wonderful comment. Hugs. Navajo Grandma

❤ your words are so true. An I find myself sharing stories from an of my old people to my kids. Sad an happy at the same time. We all dearly miss them an their wisdom. Even the growlings, not so much the stick 😂. But hei aha 😁. My siblings an I learnt real quick 😁. Thank you grandma ❤.

Chila Jeffrey, you spoke the truth and that brings happiness to my heart. You are so right that now today most wouldn't know how to survive, too spoiled and dependent. That is what I want to teach is how we can be self sufficient and self taught. How wonderful it is. So proud of you for the hard work you did, as it was not fun at the time but you learned hard work and earned your money or your meals or just being part of family. Those were the days my friend, I thought they'd never end... Remember that song? So long ago but grandma has passed the baton to all of you. Love you. Navajo Grandma

Thank you for coming to that understanding iakanml, it is true coming to work together was the ways of our elders. In some instances, if you didn’t work you didn’t eat. I am grateful my grandparents raised me on wisdom and not by my own choices. Because I was raised uprightly thus, I am more responsible to my community to be an example for good. I take that seriously. Too many are now not working & getting handout monies from this whacked out administration in the Whitehouse. More so with ulterior motives. How evil does that get? I do believe our ancestors would’ve physically thrown these clowns out first day due to questionable tactics for themselves. We are to be honorable, trustworthy, prayerful, humble in doing good to all mankind, not destroying lives with God given rights & country. I pray we do work together to uplift each other like here with Navajo Grandma. Signed: NAVAJO Grandma

Well both seems to be ok to me. The shears just takes so much time but back in the day it was just the way it was, now its a quick shave and walla, out to the fields they go, the sheep scamper and jump around as if they are joyous the heavy coat is off. The shearing is done twice a year. So they are ok with it. I was mesmerized watching the shearing, It was so fast and to me saved the little one from having to lay there for a long time to have me shear it by hand. That is grandma's opinion. Love you. Navajo Grandma

j o I see you visited an old video and how grandma sheared. You are so sweet to revisit these vidoes. Hugs. Navajo Grandma

Hugs. Navajo Grandma

Funny Guy. Well no, no dog shearing so far that I know of. Hugs. Navajo Grandma

Thank you for watching and learning. It was fun. Have a happy week. Navajo Grandma

Thank you for your comment, this is true. There is such a family and neighborhood time to spend when manually shearing. We had a wonderful time with friends and family too during the first and second shearing these Churros. Thats the beauty of having these type of sheep, there are always 2 shearing times not just one like other sheep. Navajo Grandma

It is definitely an adventure to see the difference in shearing and then using my Nali's shears makes this experience even more precious. and meeting Andrew and Kendra just topped it off. What good folks. The next videos will be processing the wool. Hugs. Navajo Grandma

Thank you for watching and I did use grandpa's shears. Andrew sheared with his automatic shear and wow!!

I wish each of you would have been been there to actually have a hand at this shearing manually as well as using electric shears. I wouldn't have envied the ewes though. I nicked her twice and my tears just gushed out. I have gotten too soft hearted and prayed for this little one. Thank you for coming along in this video. Hugs. Navajo Grandma

@@NavajoGrandma Big Hug to you too, you have such a generous heart. That 🐑 probably knew you were trying to be gentle & careful. Animals can be pretty intuitive & sensitive to our feelings,...like Chogo! (Well, maybe she isn't quite as smart as that AMAZING stallion 😘🐴)

Patricia thank you for subscribing and taking the time to watch grandma shearing. It was a good trip to let you all see this adventure using manual labor versus electric labor. Which one do you think I would've preferred but then we would have missed out on the patience, the learning experiences, the laughter, stories and wondering how much wool we were shearing to make how many rugs and more so how much money it would bring into the family for self sufficiency of long ago. Things are different now but still somewhat of a challenge we all face to learn now ways of survival and if grandma can do this so can you. Love you. Navajo Grandma

Its wonderful to see that I have subscribers from a lot of tribes watching and learning. I even have some Dine' who are learning their cultural ways through grandma. I pray each of you do learn and realize our ancestors did a lot to teach us about self sufficiency that they never wanted us to be dependent and I pray we move away from dependency on the government. Thank you for watching. Hugs. Navajo Grandma

Actually I have and just look into my videos and you should find one. Can't remember the name. Hugs from Navajo Grandma

Kisses and hugs to you too. Love you Maria. Navajo Grandma

I am happy to know that you appreciate working with wool and alpaca. This is rewarding to grandma as this is totally in line to help you and to see things like this and where wool comes from and how it is sheared. I love it. Navajo Grandma

Kerry you are so cute! Well don’t laugh that is what happens after shearing, the dogs get it too. Love you. Navajo Grandma

Moriah how awesome this is. Where are you located? What type of sheep do you have. These were Churro sheep. So good for weaving. Let me know. Hugs. Navajo Grandma

@@NavajoGrandma I have a mix of sheep. I started taking in sheep from people who didn't know how to care for them and gave them a proper home with basic facilities and veterinary care. I sell the wool to hand spinners plus hand process, spin, and then weave or a couple of shawls each year in order to support them. Right now I house 12 sheep. Four are very high end registered Romney, and the rest are a mix of various other breeds including a proper hair sheep mutt. Iris is my favorite. He likes hugs and will join me when I forage herbs. My little farm is in the backwoods of Tennessee. I use the manure in the gardens as well to grow food to eat and to sell. I don't breed them. Some of my ewes had such bad lives before as lambs that they did not develop correctly and lambing is dangerous for them so they just stay here their entire lives. At my farm they just have to eat, sleep, and do some yard work. I really enjoy them and being with them has taught me so much about myself and life over the years. I am well blessed to be their caretaker. I am VERY excited to see more about the sheep. My late grandmother said her father (Apache) told her they were very important to the people of several tribes practically and spiritually. Thank you so much, Grandma, for sharing and teaching us.

Love you too. Navajo Grandma

@@NavajoGrandma 🥰❤

I am glad you had a taste of manual labor shearing. Yes, when you shear the sheep some things appear that you don't realize these little sheep critters can pick up. I have never ever in all my life on the reservation seen ticks on the sheep. I guess some did have them in different locations. Not sure. It was hard work and always was a wonderful time that we all came together afterwards and had a wonderful meal talking about our shearing experiences and especially how much wool we sheared for market eventually with the rugs. Love it and miss all who once were there making memories for me to continue by myself nowadays. Passing it on. Hugs. Navajo Grandma

​@@NavajoGrandma thank you for your reply,,,yes the ticks were a problem,,some were the spotted tick,,,,,the rocky mountain fever tick,this was in idaho, high desert country,,flys were a problem too,,,my mother loved sheep,, myself,,i like cattle better, but i do like the mutton to eat,,,,i have cattle today,,,,the wool prices at times were very cheap,,,,sometimes she sold to people who made things out of the wool,,,,nowdays there is almost no sheep here, everyone has quit them,,,,i am glad you still have sheep, there,,,they are a good part of life,they are needed,

I never thought of asking if he did, he had some huge dogs there I think Great Pyranese or something of the sort. They were huge and they were the sheep herders. It was awesome. You made me laugh. Navajo Grandma

@@NavajoGrandma if you could have seen those dogs covered in "cockel burrs" you would have them shaved also, i dont know where they found the burrs at but find them they did

@@yoopermann7942 Yes, our sheep dog use to come home with porcupine quills and we had to use pliers to pull them off. He withstood the pain but yes, dogs are doggies with such an adventurous hearts. Love them. Navajo Grandma

@@NavajoGrandma yes i had forgetten the porcupine quills and that pretty scent of the skunk,, grand ma used to snip the ends off the quills so the barbs/quills would come out easyer and faster

Hi sweet grandson, thank you for telling me where you are from. I wondered and the sheep herding is awesome that your folks did this too. Yes, I nicked that little ewe twice and I had tears your didn't see. I apologized to the ewe and Andrew said, oh don't fuss over it, it heals quickly. Thank you for being nervous for grandma. I hadn't sheared forever so I was also worried until I began shearing. Notice it wasn't as close to the skin like the electric shaver. That made the poor ewe butt naked and yet it was amazing to watch, like cutting butter. Thank you for watching and continue to take good care of yourself and make good choices. Hugs. Navajo Grandma

Rhonda, thank you for taking the time to watch grandma and this shearing excursion I can take you all on. It is a little one compared to Sydney's show, but nonetheless, it was fun to use my Nali's shears. Its amazing to see the incredible difference between using manual shears and electric shears. No wonder folks prefer electric. It was like cutting butter just watching. Have fun in Sydney. I know my husband would love to be with you all there. His stroke has grounded him here but getting better everyday. Hugs to you. Navajo Grandma

Thank you for subscribing and appreciating this video. You are so important to grandma. Hugs as always.

Now just because there are metal shears, these ancestors of ours did have amazing sharp knives that they used to cut their hair, and whatever they needed to cut. I watched my Nali used a blade I thought was a knife when in essence it was a long rock that had been shaped and man was it sharp. They used that to butcher and clean the lambs fleece with. I looked at it one day and I was told not to handle it because it was too sharp and I could cut myself with it. They had tools that you can't imagine that were better than what we have now manually. They were very intelligent. Navajo Grandma

@@NavajoGrandma Thank you very much for this answer. I had the same question, and this makes sense. Blessings to you for continued health and long life. Love your videos.

@@NavajoGrandma I know rrrright....way better than surgen scalpels... I'm enjoying your clips. Plz keep it up. ✌😉 10-4!

👈😉 BTW my logo means 333 in binary coding. (Means Mind, Heart & Spirit....)

I hope you had a hand at manual shearing Elsie. The memories are wonderful in my mind and here I carried the torch of my grandparents to all of you to try or one day you might have to do this. You never know. Hugs to you all. Navajo Grandma

Cedar Mesa Ranches HOA Address: 211 E 1st St, Mancos, CO 81328 Phone: (561) 389-4436 Call these folks they are wonderful. Ask them and they are so willing to share information. Thank you for your comment and hope this information helps. Navajo Grandma

Yes this is awesome to use those shears especially when they belonged to my Nali, Paternal grandfather. They are so precious and worked quite well. Thank you for watching as always. Hugs. Navajo Grandma

David it was like watching Andrew cutting butter and so easy and smooth. Unlike the manual labor job of grandma. Thank you for watching and learning. Hugs. Navajo Grandma

Lisa, I am not a doctor but what I did for my husband was this trick and remember there are areas of the body you can't put this on. Do you have the grey duct tape like from Home Depot. Sounds crazy, but tape pieces on these warts and leave them on for as long as it takes. When he showers some will fall off then just put them back on. It worked on one that my husband had about the size of my thumb nail. One day it just popped off and whoa it was awesome. It took awhile though. Navajo Grandma

Well Kurt tell me what you want to purchase and grandma can see what she can do. Write to me at: nativereserve@outlook.com. I thought you had written to me already for some weird reason. But just write there and tell me what you need. Love you. Navajo Grandma

What? I have never involved myself in sheep breeding and that would be way down the list of grandma's videos. Seriously that would be a strange subject for me. Grandma

@@NavajoGrandma Sheep breeding is important for Navajo-Churro shepherds. Have you heard of Jay Begaye? He is helping improving the Navajo-Churro wool by carefully selecting the Navajo-Churro rams for breeding with the ewes. The Navajo-Churro sheep nearly died off during the Long Walk and again during the 1930s.

@@NavajoGrandma You should meet up with Jay Begaye or Nikyle Begaye and do a video together on why it’s important to preserve this breed as Navajos. :) 🥰