Beautiful morning... Lanolin in the air... Promise of shoppers and friends pouring through the fairgrounds gates..
And if you're not prepared for the breadth and depth of fiber amazement beyond those gates, your head is at risk of exploding.
Everywhere you look, the colors just boggle the mind. There are so many talented fiber artists assembled in one place, that the possibilities and inspiration are almost hard to take in.
Quality fiber tools as far as the eye can see, made by people you've heard about and read about for years.
Of course, the sheepy goodness never ends...
...displayed and trotted out for show.
We ran into a BUNCH of our favorite people, like Susie and the Aunties. Here we were, catching up on what's going on at Juniper Moon Farm, and Susie shared some
fantastic news that knocked me off my feet.
Do pop over to her blog to see for yourself. Hint: PUPPIES!
And look who dropped by the booth! Our fellow Gulf Coast Sheep breeder and the Jacob's Reward Farm website designer -- Texan Shaun Jones! We've never met in person before, so this was really neat. Shaun had come to the festival to take a shearing course, and will take home some new skills. We got to swap some husbandry notes on our sheep, and just visit, before he had to head back to the airport for home.
We wore Emma clean to the bone, but she earned her nap - she and I spent the day gathering photos, video, interviews, and check-ins with Very Important People. We're putting together a Maryland Sheep and Wool video that, I hope, will really give you a sense of being here with us, and getting a taste of some of the most characteristic flavors of this wonderful event. You may see some folks you recognize...
Oh, and I had crab cakes for supper! Yay, Maryland!
