Sunday, May 08, 2011

2011 Maryland Sheep & Wool Festival

What a blissful Mother's Day. We went to the Maryland Sheep & Wool Festival. The weather was perfect - sunny, not too hot - and the kids were only a little bit whiny. The Lovely Daughter stayed home to study for her AP test next week, so we brought her back some soap and a tote bag.

The first time I went to this event was many years ago. TMOTH was still working at the pharmaceutical company, and was off to some scientific conference. I was home alone - with only 2 kids at the time - and got a wild hair to go, so off we went. The Lovely Daughter was maybe 6, the Karate Kid 3, so 9 years ago. I missed a year a couple of years ago because it was rainy, and regretted not going all year!!

So, there were sheep:
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Some were friendlier than others. This guy had discovered that if he stood up and stuck his head over the stall, someone would come along and give him scratches. (That's my arm there, scratching his chin. I think the Karate Kid is the one rubbing his nose.)
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You need a sweater when you've just been shorn:
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My favorites were these dudes with the dreads and the wicked cool fleece:
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I don't know the name of the breed, but I don't think we're going to be raising sheep any time soon.

The boys really liked the alpacas (they wanted to see llamas):
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I think they enjoyed it anyway.
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We didn't buy any sheep, and we didn't actually buy any wool, either (it makes me itch), but did find some good things. TMOTH and I both found nice deerskin gardening gloves at a reasonable price, and I got to pick out my Mother's Day gift. That was where the biggest purchase of the day occurred, at Earth Guild's booth. I finally succumbed to the lure of dyeing and bought a beginner's dye kit and book. I'm excited about what I can play with over the summer.

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