It is really hard to tell what lies under the surface at times. This years wool crop is not great and has been really impacted by the rainy weather we have had this summer. The white sheep look gray. The moorit sheep look dingy tan/gray and the black merinos look brown.
Shearing at Black Ram Farm will be on Monday if the weather holds.
Green Top Farm sheared this week and 
the rams got in on it. Here is a before and after shot of Jason. 
Jason is Moorit. That means that he carries a color gene, much like a chocolate or brown lab. He has a liver colored tongue and liver colored skin. Brown hooves and a true brown fleece. Moorit color is a natural color, not a breed. It is found in may different sheep breeds and is found in Merinos, but it is rare in the United states because of the lack of interest in the fleece. The moorit lines in the US generally come from gene lines out of Australia.
Compare the moorit color to that of the black merino.
Black merinos have black skin, black tongues and black hooves. Black is rare as well and is do to the lack of desire of the black fleece.
black fleece from Moses and moorit fleece from Jason. You can see the brown tips on the black fleece and the lighter tips on the morrit fleece. The coloration is due to the sun. The more sun that the fleece is exposed to, the more color change. If you want to keep a black fleece really black, then you would have to cover it. Same for the moorit fleece.
The black merino has a higher micron count then the moorit or the white. Jason’s fleece is only 7 months growth and it appears to be in the super fine category. I will have to send some off to Yokem-MaColl to have it tested, but his father had a superior fleece, so I am thinking he will to. Maybe around a 18 micron. Moses fleece seems to be about at the norm for a black merino, most likely around a 22 micron.
Washing merino can be tricky because of the high lanolin content and the fineness. Here is my recipe.
1. Fill the sink with the hottest water you have. Our water heats to 120.
2. Soak the wool in the sink without soap first, for about 10 mins. Do not agitate. This will remove a ton of dirt and will allow the soap to work better on the next step.
3. Fill the sink again with hot water (same temp as before) and add enough dish soap (Dawn, Joy, ect.) as to make the water soapy.
4. put the fleece in and do not agitate. simply poke the fleece down so that it is covered. 
Soak the wool for 15 minutes. The soap has an emulsifier that lifts the lanolin and dirt away from the fleece, and traps it in the bubbles. The heat of the water opens up the wool shaft and opens the scales on the wool, allowing the lanolin to be released.
The issue is that when the wool scales are fully open and there is a lubricant, soap in this case, then with agitation or movement of the wool fibers against each other, felting can occur.
Keep the wool fibers open by keeping a hot temperature. Cold temperatures will close the scales. If the wool is tangled together, simply shocking the wool scales closed with cold temps will also cause felting.
5. Pull the wool out of the water and gently strain the soapy water out.
6. Fill up the sink up again with hot water and add soap ift here is a ton of lanolin. If not then with just plain water for a rinse. Place the wool in and let sit for 10 minutes.
7. Stain again and rise with hot water coming right from the tap. I use the little sprayer to do a gentle rise.
8. Shake out as much water as you can, then I squeeze the remaining water out by hand. No rubbing, just squeezing.
The wool is then dried on a screen. Do not dry out in direct sun, as that will make the wool brittle.
If you are going to dye the wool, then you can leave a little lanolin in the fleece, as it will continue to protect the wool shaft in the dying process.
If you are planning to spin the wool for outer wear, like socks, mittens or hats, then leave a little lanolin in for a better outside yarn.
