My Sheep are so considerate

Chuck just called me this morning to say he had the BFLs in the barn, ready for our annual Scrapie Certification inspection tomorrow. I was surprised to hear this, since they were in the far corner of the farm, and he had planned to set up an eletronet corridor to move them back to the barn this afternoon. Well, they must have heard that we needed them, because he looked out the door to see them coming down the road. Bob (our OLD Great Pyrenees guard) led them directly into the barn, where all Chuck had to do was open a gate and allow them into a pen.
See how nice they are - they saved him a couple hours of work this afternoon. And for some reason, he was mildly annoyed with them. >:^)

Tonight, we'll run them through the chute to check for proper ID tags and make sure everyone is accounted for. The APHIS vet will come by around 10AM tomorrow to check them off and get a copy of our up to date ear tag log and sales/deathloss record. Then we'll be done and in compliance for another year.

Angora Yarn

Here are the 100% angora skeins I have(had) in stock. Most are red Satin Angora or fawn French, with the center one being chocolate agouti SA. I'm about to mail them to their new home, and wanted to show them off. I'd better get after those rabbits to grow more fiber!

New BFL lambswool Angora blend

Just as I expected, this roving arrived the day after A Wool Gathering. :^( Oh well, its beautiful, and a breeze to spin. Its a blend of a natural colored lamb's fleece from Jillian and some fawn French Angora I've been "hoarding". There is 55% angora in the blend, so the yarn has quite a bit of bloom already. Its a hard color to decide upon - is it grey or is it brown? I think taupe, actually, and it spins up heathery. Very nice and soft. Its $5 per ounce. I spun an ounce last night, and got 54 yards of sportweight yarn.

A Wool Gathering 2009

This is my friend, Jane, who is in the booth beside me every year. We've been friends for years - first meeting at a rabbit show. She's gone from guinea pigs and rabbits, to llamas and sheep, and now has horses. Most the roving is from her own flock of sheep. She also is a Babe dealer. We had dinner together Saturday evening at "El Toro", a mexican style restaurant in Springfield. VERY GOOD FOOD!

This is Judy, teaching drop spindling to anyone who will stand still long enough. :^) She loves to teach, and is very good at it.

The Rouge Lucet - a fun way to make cord.

The Shepherd's Rug. Letty Klein was not there, but these ladies were demonstrating the technique and selling the finished rugs and the book.

A different kind of rug - these are woven.

Joan is an Ohio artist, and I LOVE her sheep and border collie prints. Someday I'll commission something with BFLs.

These are only a few of the vendors - the festival has two huge tents - I'm guessing about 40x200 feet, plus a tent for exhibiting fiber animals and demonstrating shearing. They have a lot of free beginner classes, and are especially geared toward youngsters.

Despite concerns about the economy, the festival was well attended, and my sales were excellent.

I don't have a picture, but my friend Annette came and sat with me all day Saturday and brought along some bunnies, angora pins, and note cards to sell. You can see pictures of us on her blog.

BFL wethers at the Stark County Fair

This is Alex with her two BFL wethers. She placed 3rd and 4th in her division, which is quite an accomplishment for a pair of lambs that don't have black faces. Dad says the Leicesters made quite a stir in the barn when they arrived. They were 4 months old almost to the day, and weighed in at 104 & 105 pounds. Alex bought their dam from us last winter, and raised the twins herself. The dam is SHF Keryn, and the sire is SHF Lockerbie. A local fiber artist bought the lambs after the show, so they will live out their lives in a fiber home.

Will all this stuff fit in there????????????

Getting ready for A Wool Gathering tomorrow. No way will all this stuff it inside the Explorer!
6 storage boxes, and 7 big cardboard boxes.....

Sure it will, with room for a couple rabbit carriers and a couple more boxes!

Champion AOB open class Stark County Fair

This is Madelyn and her ewe lamb, "Babydoll". Madelyn bought a bred ewe from us this fall, and Babydoll was born in April. They placed second in their class in the 4-H competition (behind the Montedale ewe who won champion at the Ohio state fair). Then in open class, she won the AOB ewe lamb class, and then champion AOB ewe, beating out the yearlings.

Babydoll's dam is SHF Lyric, and her sire is SHF Larkhall.
Babydoll also got to star in the shepherd's lead competition. I believe they got reserve.