Sheep: May 2006 Archives

 

I came home Sunday night thinking that I would look through my pictures and get a post together.  Travelling to MS&W is such an energizing activity.  I get to see a whole collection of wonderful people, from blogger land, I get to dive into a sea of color and texture, and for two days there is just nothing more important than soaking in the atmosphere created by thousands of people who share passions similar to mine.  But after I got off the plane at O'hare and said good bye to my best buddy and excellent travelling companion, Julie, all the activity of the Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival caught up with me, and about all I was good for was dinner out with John and a bit of TV. Today, as I was looking through my meager collection of photos (someday I will get better at taking pictures at events) I decided that I would break things up a little bit.  This post is all about the creatures that we saw. 

 

There are lots and lots of creatures at MS&W.  No surprise there, eh?  A sheep festival that has sheepy participants.  In fact, there are lots of other creatures there, too: llamas, alpacas, angora goats, and angora rabbits.  But the sheep are really what get my attention.  I like sheepy faces and sheepy voices.  I think the chocolate-y colored gentleman in the picture above is a Corriedale, but I'm not completely sure.  I'm still working on becoming a good identifier of sheep breeds.  No matter, he had a regal bearing that drew me to want to take a picture of him home with me.  I am very much drawn to rich and dark colored sheep.

 
 

 

There are an incredible number of interesting breeds at the show.  I learned more about Lincolns and Karakuls and Shetlands and Romneys.  No pictures of course. This breed, however, should be one that most new spinners should recognize, at least by breed name: the Blue Faced Liecester.  It's hard to see, but they do have a bit of a blue cast to their faces.  They also have what is referred to as a "Roman" nose.  Personally, I really loved their ears, which reminded me of llama and alpaca ears.  The BFL seem almost aristocratic.  And these were clearly enjoying a little rest in a barn that was blissfully cool due to both shade and a nice breeze.

 

 

I wish I knew for sure that these were angora goats.  This little pen of creatures was just adorable.  When I was much much younger, my aunt had goats on her small farm in Colorado.  They were full size goats, and not for fiber (milk was their primary role, and I remember it being wonderful), but they had wonderful personalities.   So I have a special place in my heart for goats.  

 

I had been planning to take more pictures of sheep... really I was.  But these three pictures (one of which is not sheep) were all the creature photos that came home with me.  Too bad I can't share the vivid images in my head.  Everywhere we went there was a fiber animal of some kind... sheep being shorn or trimmed, sheep being shown, sheep being taken for a walk, baby goats being carried back to a pen or a car, llamas looking on while people strolled by, the occasional border collie.

 

So many wonderful animals.  How could one not be inspired to buy fiber?  More on that (and some of the people I met) tomorrow.