Skip to content

Pine Plains Views

A Portrait of a Small Town in Rural America

Menu
  • Home
  • Photo Gallery
  • Community Meetings
  • Video Categories
    • People
    • Attractions
    • Agriculture
    • History
    • Schools
  • Community Links
    • Links
  • About
  • Contact Pine Plains Views
  • Search Pine Plains Views
Menu

You Know It’s Spring When…

Posted on May 19, 2014

It’s time to shear the sheep!

There are all sorts of signs of Spring, but I’ve picked this one to show on Pine Plains Views:  the annual sheep shearing on Black Sheep Hill farm.

These American Black Welsh Mountain Sheep are special for many reasons not the least of which is that they decorate Route 83 right outside of Pine Plains where they frame a beautiful view of Stissing Mountain.  I’ve often wondered about them and I was delighted that Irene Banning invited me to film them getting relieved of their winter coats for the warm weather.  I’m pleased to credit Don Kading of Millbrook for his shear expertise in keeping things calm and moving.  The farmers were Steve Howay and Gene Hay.

They are always under the watchful eye (some might call it a glare) of Winchester, their guardian alpaca.

Come along for a visit!

You can find out more about Black Sheep Hill on their website but you can also find their products at some of the local shops and restaurants in Pine Plains.

2 thoughts on “You Know It’s Spring When…”

  1. Lisa M McKeen says:
    February 20, 2020 at 11:06 am

    I’ve missed my Icelandic sheep and shearing is such a great skill. Thanks, Stan and company for the memories!

    Reply
  2. helen fuss says:
    May 27, 2017 at 2:02 pm

    All of these are what makes our town so special. Thank you Stan.

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

WHY THIS WEBSITE

I came to Pine Plains by choice, not by chance of birth.

But the small-town rural community I chose is changing. The farmers have, for the most part, sold to people from the city and fields are becoming lawns.

And, like the land, people, too, are becoming subdivided as difference breeds distance rather than discourse.

I have been making these videos to preserve and reconstitute what I can of a changing way of life and to share it with the community.

On a more personal level, I am making this website as a way of holding on to the reasons why I came here.

Stan Hirson

©2023 Pine Plains Views | Design: Newspaperly WordPress Theme