Oh, I loved this ram. He was so sweet and loved to have his chin scratched. I started by kneeling in front of his pen, and scritching, then tried to leave. Oh, no. He shoved his head through the bars. So I scritched some more. Then tried to leave. That’s when he climbed up.
A very nice lady, Jane Dixon, was watching the whole time (and I think trying not to laugh), and got this great picture. (Yes, that is a new design I’m wearing, and no, you don’t get a better view yet! The yarn is Dragonfly Fibers Dance rustic silk.)
Here’s a pic of him I took. He is so handsome. He nibbled on my fingers a little bit. Ever so gently. Oh, I’m in LURRRVE.
Then I fell in love with this little Shetland-with-a-pinch-of-Jacob ram (below), who fell asleep as I scritched him under the chin. If I stopped, he just opened his eyes and gazed at me meltingly. Oh, yes, they knew a sucker when they found one!
I chatted with his owner for awhile, and managed to scratch another of her ram’s chins (he came up and asked very nicely for me to do so — so for a time, I was scratching two chins at once).
Although there were quite a few very large handsome sheep (not to mention alpacas, llamas, and a couple Paca Vicunas) (pics at the end of the post), I’m really drawn to the little ones, like the Shetland and Icelandic sheep. And the Angora goats.
Here’s another adorable little Shetland. This guy is 9 months old. He’s barely the size of our English Cocker, Rigel (whom I don’t think would quite approve of sheep; I think he’d boof at them).
Their horns, nourished by an extensive blood supply, are downright hot to the touch.
What else did I do besides swoon over the animals? (I admit I did a lot of swooning — last year I didn’t really get a chance to look at the animals, and honestly, that’s one of my favorite things. Good thing I’m also a vet!)
I browsed through the barns and buildings, saying hi to folks I know: Brooke of Sincere Sheep, Morgaine of Carolina Homespun (which I keep want to call Carolina Handspun), Kimber of Fiber Optic, Sarah and Sam at Cephalopod, Carl and Eileen of Bijou Basin. Carl gave me a skein of their new sportweight yak in a gorgeous green — I can’t wait to use it in a design!
I watched the llama leaping, which was entertaining, but took longer than I thought. I’m fine seeing them in pens or walking around!
I ate roasted lamb one day, and lamb kebab the other. I liked the lamb kebab better — the lamb was a bit milder. I tried and bought some delicious raw cow’s milk cheeses from Sprout Creek Farm. (I got the Ouray & Bogart.)
The Cooperative Press party Saturday night was a success! Wing & Clover hosted it in their studio, and we had knitters packed in & spilling out into the foyer. I met up with Gryphon of Verdant Gryphon (she was dressed in linen finery!) — that’s Anna Dalvi next to Gryphon.
Sunday, after we broke down the booth (I think we were the quickest done — it’s the nice thing about only having books to pack up!), we had dinner at Mercato in Red Hook. Oh my gosh, it was delicious.
Monday I took the train to NYC and met up with my friend Claudia. I dozed on her bedroom couch while she was teaching an opera lesson (yes, I was that exhausted), then went to the Natural History Museum (caught the spiders exhibit, fun!). We ordered Mexican food in, drank tequila, and played Rock Band 3. It was a perfect, laidback evening.
And Tuesday I came home. :)
*******
Don’t forget to enter the giveaway for Audrey’s Reversible Scarves book! you have til midnight PST tonight (Oct 25).
Coming up: A review of Needles & Artifice (with accompanying giveaway) Oct 29.
