Rhinebeck Sheep & Wool Festival 2012

It's finally here!  The Rhinebeck Sheep and Wool Festival!!!  I may have gotten a little excited about it. Well, at least this guy seems to be giving me a look that says - Chill!  Haven't you ever seen a sheep before!?

(I have seen sheep before - close up and personal, mind you.  Still not touching them though.)

As planned, we left super early so we could get a good parking spot right near the gate.  I know some folks like to park in the back so they can get out quickly, but we like to be right up front.  L- brought a fantastic breakfast.  So we put out the tea table and china and sat, enjoying the morning.  Spinach quiche, fresh fruit, greek yogurt and croissants were the perfect start to the day along with piping hot coffee.

We sat enjoying our breakfast and watched people who watched us.  It was really friendly, everyone so excited about the festival, groups of friends chatting about the classes and the yarns.  Some of the more distant travelers came in groups on buses.

Before we knew it, it was time to go in.  L- off to her class and I, off to ... well just stopping in the first building before heading over to see the sheep.

The farmer's were still clipping and fluffing the sheep to prepare them for the judging and auctions.  I still can't understand how they convince the sheep to stand on those tables for their haircuts (fleece-cuts?), but they just pop them up there and start trimming away.  Of course there's plenty of kibitzing about the trimming.  This guy needs a bit more off the left.

My first stop was to see the color on these beauties.   Sun bleached gold tips with a creamy base.  The picture doesn't do it justice.

The pens were filled to the brim.  Usually 2 large or 4 smaller sheep per pen.  They just hang out and eat while they wait for their turn to be fluffed.

I really enjoy seeing all of the different breeds each year.  I'm not sure just what they are, but I understand that a lot of them are rare and endangered breeds from smaller farms.

Some of them were pretty curious about the folks who were curious about them.

Some of them might have thought we were a little nuts...

Or maybe disturbing their grazing a bit...

I loved these guys though.  They had the whole pen-grazing thing down to a "T".

The guy on the right would pick up some hay and toss it back, the one on the right waited for his pen mate to toss it onto its' head, and then he plucked it off.  Much more efficient than stretching all the way to the pile on the ground.  Clever boy.

I stopped in at the Ulster County Handspinners Guild where they were giving free lessons in drop spindle spinning.  I gave it a try - it was fun!  Very calming.  Mine is the skinny piece of yarn at the top there.  I wasn't too terribly lame at it.  The beginner's drop spindle stays on the list!

Next I was off to the border collie trials.  4 sheep, 1 dog and 1 human keeping the choreographed ballet from turning into a bloodbath.

This 5-year old border collie was fast, responsive and did I mention she was fast?

She would turn on a dime, run a huge circle around the sheep and turn back again before the sheep even had a chance to take 5 steps.

Once she got them walking nicely behind the shepherd, she kept her distance and zig-zagged back and forth to keep them moving where she was told to move them.  I just can't help but think that our little pup would love playing with the sheep like this.  She's almost old enough...

After picking up L- from her class, we headed out to the shops.  First we went through the big shops.  We don't buy there, just look and occasionally touch.  But you have to be careful about touching because some of those yarns are so soft and silky it makes you want to buy then and there.  And these guys all have web sites - and sales.  Even though it's a festival, you won't find a lot on sale at these displays.

Of course they have fantastic displays.  This simple little shawl had the cutest stitch pattern.  I'll have to look it up when I get home.

It looks like little leaves all in a row.

This lady is from Wales and her booth has examples of all types of wool fun - from knitting to weaving.  I had heard that the wool from across the pond wasn't as silky soft as American wool - and after fingering some of the samples, I have to agree.  That delicate grey lace shawl in the foreground looked so lovely, but it felt like it was made from itchy twigs.  Of course, that also gave it more body to hold open the lacework patterns.  But still...too scratchy.

I had to go and look at mohair just to recover.  These were the color of the fall leaves and sunset combined.  Lovely.  Expensive!  But lovely.

This angora bunny also helped me get over the Welsh wool.  Hey - maybe our pup would like...on second thought, she would probably see this as dinner.  Nevermind.

Of course it would not be a festival without judging.  And these goats were ready for it.

This guy, however, seemed a little ticked off at his handlers holding methodology.  Since he didn't have any horns, she was forced to hang on tightly to his beard.  There was a look in his eye that said - let go.  just one second, let go.  I dare you.

We headed on home with one last look at the sheep.  Love this chocolate fleece.

And the llamas.  I think I'm allergic to these guys.  I started sneezing the minute we got near them.  That's okay though.  They spit and I'm not sure if our pup would herd them - or run far away, really fast from them.

So all in all, I got my drop spindle, roving, a hand-dyed sock yarn, a contribution to cancer research sock yarn, border collie rescue contribution and a very wonderful time with L-.  We looked, bought, got jostled, looked some more walked until we dropped.

I can't wait until next year!  Maybe after a little heating pad action on my back, but still - very excited!

Stay On Target

I have to admit that I might have been a bit distracted today.  There's something happening this weekend that may have taken up a small bit of my attention.

It's RHINEBECK TIME!!!!!!!!

Yes, tomorrow is the Sheep and Wool Festival over in Rhinebeck and I am ever so excited about it.  My friend, L-, and I have been planning since - well, since last year's trip.

All day my mind was wandering while I tried to get through the commute, the work, the evening commute, making dinner.  All I could think about was the wool.  I'm clearly obsessed.

We start the day early, have breakfast in the parking lot and then she'll head off to a class while I head off to see all of the sheep.  The afternoon is all about the shopping.  Fiber direct from the farmer, yarns I only get to see on the internet, and all of the sweaters and shawls that everyone has knit just to wear to the festival.

I'll be wearing my Jared Flood Guernsey Shawl.  I was thinking about the Citron - such a pretty carrot color.  Then I thought about the Line Break shawl - all the blues and browns.  But I've finally decided on the Guernsey.  The cocoa color with the rich textured stitches.  Perfect!

I might be a bit preoccupied going over and over my little list of planned purchases.  I won't be getting a ton of stuff, that's for sure, so I'll need to stay focused.  I'm going to try to get a drop spindle lesson and if I like it, I'll get a beginners drop spindle.  And some roving to spin from one of the farmers.  Then some pretty sock yarn that isn't scratchy - because even though I've only made 1 pair of socks, I still believe that I will make more of them.  And give to the Border Collie Rescue - because they always have a booth there - and people continually see the border collies on tv ads, then they adopt them, then they find out that these dogs really need a lot of attention, exercise and interaction or they become destructive little creatures driven to madness through boredom, so they dump the dogs.

It's not that the dogs did anything outside of their nature.  This is how they are.  Just like our little pup - just a step down from a border collie.  But not everyone does their research before they get a dog.  Then the people aren't happy, the dog gets abused - it's just a bad situation all around.  So the Border Collie Rescue comes in and saves the dog, finds it a good home and all around does good things.  (Stepping off of soap box now...)

And sadly, no, I won't be bringing home a little sheep for our pup to play with this year.  Once again my DH has pointed out that it really wouldn't be fair to the sheep - or our gardens - or him since I'll be at work and he'll be the one having to take care of it.

Maybe next year!

1st Blog-a-versary

A year ago - for some bizarre reason known only to the me from a year ago - I decided to start writing this blog.

I was driving past Farmer Sophie's place and the cows were out grazing - it really summed up the reason that my DH and I moved here from the city.  So bucolic.  So pastural.  So calming.

My sisters (hi sis! hi sis!) and brother (hi bro!) got a chance to see where I'm living and what's up.  My friends got a chance to see what in the world would be worth commuting so far every day.  When my friend L- got into her accident, she got to keep up with the outside world as she healed.

My mother, though, doesn't have a computer.  Well, she has a computer, but she isn't a big online computer kind of person.

So to celebrate my 1st year of blogging, I'm podcasting all of my posts and recording them onto a DVD  with the photos and pictures and sending them to her for Christmas.

I can't think of a better way to celebrate a year with you than to share it with her.

So - happy 1st blog-a-versary!  Here's to another year of gardening, baking, chainsaws, haiku, diesel engine maintenance, knitting, puppies, charities, DH, friends, flowers, commuting, sheep in the country, sheep in the city and all other kinds of things!

Alpacas on the Farm

Since it's National Alpaca Farm Days this weekend - you've been waiting for it too?  I know, right? - I'm off to visit a local alpaca "hobby" farm.

The main difference between a farm and a "hobby" farm is that on a hobby farm, the animals aren't paying their way - nor are they making a little extra for the farmer to live off of.  They're fun, but not necessary to the financial success of the farm.  Or as my country friends say - they are for city folks who like to play farmer on the weekend.

All of that aside, the owners of this farm are really getting into the spirit of boutique farming.  They have a small herd of alpaca who are in excellent health, sweet demeanor and (mot importantly for my knitting habit) have the softest wool ever.

The boys were down in the lower pasture.  They're not very outgoing - even towards each other.  But oh so gorgeous!  They were shorn this past Spring, so their fleeces are still growing in, but they should be ready for winter in a month or so.

The ladies in the upper pasture were much more friendly to humans.  Curious and alert to sudden movements, but not standoffish at all.

The owner took me into the pasture so I could meet the girls up close.  I got to feed them some grain (lucky day for them - extra grain!) and they came right up to my hand and ate it.  After my experience with feeding carrots to the horses a few weeks ago, I was a little nervous about the alpaca, but they pick up the grain with their lips - no teeth involved.  All was good and they were oh so gentle.

I thought this young lady and I made a real connection.  I fed her a lot of grain, she let me pet her neck a little and give a scratch to her head.  I could feel a real kinship developing.

Then she got startled by a bird screeching and spit all over me.

I think I'll stick to knitting with the alpaca yarn and leave the raising of alpacas to the farmers.  It's the way to go.

Hudson River Valley Ramble

Today my DH and I went on a ramble.  In other words, we took an historic tour of the hamlet just south of us.  We usually don't spend a lot of time just looking at the buildings and the history when we are down there - we're just watering the planters.  But today we "stopped and smelled the roses", so to speak.  Of course, it was a charity event to raise monies for the roof of this historic chapel.  That made it all the better a reason to go and see this little hamlet.

This chapel was built around the turn of the century - last century, that is.  Even though there was a church a mere 7 miles away (by horse-drawn cart), the Lady of the town decided that the children needed a place for worship closer to home, so she convinced her husband to build this cute little gem of a place.  I'm guessing that is the reason that they put 'flowers' on the roof tiles.  (Okay, I'm probably wrong about that!)

 One of the main businesses that they had back in the day was charcoal making.  This huge kiln was where they would burn hundreds of thousands of trees down and churn out the charcoal.  I can't imagine the amount of smoke and soot that must have covered the valley back then.

You can still find little pebbles of creosote scattered all over the paths and roads that are left-over from the charcoal burning.  The current owner of the property had the kilns restored several years ago, so they are safe to go into.  The beehive shapes have a keyhole opening at the top to let the smoke out and the air in.  Of course, once they cut down all of the trees in the area, this business kind of fizzled out.

Fortunately for the hamlet, they had a river running through it, so another business could start up.

And it did.  The Borden Milk Company set up shop right in downtown.  Out of all of the little tidbits of information our lecturers gave us, the most interesting thing about the Borden process was Gail Borden's insistence that the milk be untouched by human hands from its' journey from the cow to the can.  Even though he didn't have the benefit our knowledge about germs, I think somehow he must have known it.  The little tin cans of milk are also credited with helping the Union soldiers win the Civil War.  An army, it's said, marches on its' stomach - and with milk to keep them going, the Union soldiers had the advantage.

They built the plant right by the river - and right by the rail lines.  With power and distribution so close, the business succeeded.

Now the plant manufactures industrial plastics, so we couldn't go inside.  We did get to enjoy the park across the road while our lecturer described the processes that went on there back in the day.  (Lovely park - some of the planters that my DH and I water are dotted around the grounds.)

Next we were off to the mill.  Maxon Mill has a very tall grain elevator - 17 stories high.  In these parts, 17 stories is huge!  And since it's not the city, there's no elevator to the top - well, for people.  The purpose of the mill was to create a blended cattle feed - richer in the nutrients that they needed.  After all, they had to produce a lot of milk for the Borden plant across the street.

Inside the mill, you can look up the elevator to the top.  The beams used to construct this place are smaller than I would have thought.  Only a foot wide in most areas.  When you think about all of the weight of the grain bearing down on those timbers, you have to credit the architect of the place.  Well, that and the fact that this wooden building is still standing after so many years.  They now use the place for an artist in residency program - the studios are tucked into the corners and in the summer they have an art festival.  It's quiet fun...if you're prepared to climb the 17 stories to see all of the work.

Finally we were off to Luther Barn.  In a way, the tour seemed backwards.  After the charcoal business, we looked at the milk, then the feed for the cattle, so at the end we went to see the auction house where the cattle were sold.  This place was actually still in business when my DH and I moved here from the city.  They only stopped the cattle auctions a few years ago.  But they still have the tractor pulls, the pasture next to the barn is home to some horses (and a goat), and the barn is now used for more artist studios.

I liked the way that they left little reminders around Luther Barn of what its' original purpose was.  A 60's poster of horses - the tack that is used for the horses out in the pasture.

But it's the little details about the place that make it special.  The details that are built-in, not added for effect.  These hinges on one of the cattle gate, for example, have a little star cut into them.  It serves no purpose (maybe to use less metal?) but it adds a bit of charm to this barn.  Considering that it was built as an auction barn - a very utilitarian type of place - it's nice to see that whoever built it (not the guy who paid for it, but the guy who did the work), took the time to add a bit of beauty to something as simple as a hinge.

Church Picnic

My DH and I attended one of the church's picnic benefits today.  All of the monies raised went to their food pantries - and all of the food served was donated and prepared by members of their congregation.

We had a great time talking with neighbors - it seemed like everyone was there.  The food was amazing!  I couldn't help but think it is because this is more of a farming community.  I think that everyone who cooked a dish knew how much effort went into raising the crop and bringing it to the table.  So when they prepared a meal, they did it right - really "respecting" the ingredients.

There was probably a bit of competition going on as well.  They had at least a dozen different types of cole slaw - each one fantastic.  From a plain coleslaw to one with dill and another with apple.  The chefs for the day outdid themselves.

We saved a bit of room for dessert.

Magnolia's had better watch out, because if this lady decides to go into the cupcake business they will have some serious competition.  The lemon cake was moist and light, the frosting was homemade - just the perfect balance of sugar and fat (I believe she used a butter and shortening blend) - and to top it off was a perfectly candied lemon rind.

I'm always looking for new cupcakes, so I tried the parts (cake, frosting and lemon peel) both separately and altogether.  Either way you sliced it, this was an incredibly good cupcake.

Of course, the best part of the day was raising funds for the food bank. But I'll put the cupcake in at a very close second place!