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Picnic among the sheep at annual shearing
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At Wauka Valley Farm this weekend, the llama kisses come free.

But that is not all there is to do at the annual Sheep Sheering Weekend there this Saturday and Sunday. Attendees can bring a picnic and watch the sheep get shorn, as well as have the chance to quilt or knit if they wish.

The festival starts at 10 a.m. both days, and the farm is located on Wauka Valley Drive off Ga. 52, near Cleveland. Admission is free.

The main event, the shearing of the Johnson family's 58 sheep, might need some explanation for some of the younger attendees.

"The parents have to tell the little ones they are just getting a haircut," said Lynn Johnson, who calls herself the "head of the operations" at the farm.

When Johnson prepares for the event, she said she gets her whole family involved. "I put everyone to work, even the grandchildren."

Last year, she said she had 78 attendees watch the shearing activity in her barn, even though the weather was cold and wet.

"Hopefully, this year the weather will be better," Johnson said.

All the wool shorn this weekend will be cleaned and later spun into yarn.

"It is a lot of fun and people gain an appreciation of where their sweaters come from."