Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival 2017

The day before I went to Maryland Sheep and Wool, the sheep decided to escape from the barnyard.  I was gone maybe 2 1/2 hrs. I wonder, how much of the time I was gone, were they out?  Don't know how they did it ( I must have left the gate ajar) but it was wide open when I got home.  It is a very strange feeling coming up the driveway and seeing all animals out and about.

It was especially disconcerting since I was leaving Saturday morning and John wasn't returning from Ohio until Saturday evening.  Had Gretta figured out how to open the gate?  Would they leave the property?

I double checked the gate and headed off for the annual sheep  festival to see what was new in the fiber world.  Not much.  Couldn't find any new 3D printer equipment.  Couldn't even find any natural dyes.  Just a lot of yarn.  Oh yeah, and some brown Finn fleece for $40/lb. for the unwashed fleece.  Wonder if they sold any.  I did buy a couple of springs for spinning wheels and a couple of small dye plants.

The best part of the whole trip, was camping in the beautiful Greenbriar State Park and waking up looking up at trees surrounding me.  I tried to figure out how I could capture the scene of upside-down trees with watercolor or wet felt.  I had some superb inspirations of new things to try in my fiber studio but not inspired from anything I saw at the festival.  John sent a text--A O.K.

The weather was cool and rainy most of the time I was gone, but the rain wasn't too hard and didn't really interfere with anything except maybe the comfort of the outside vendors.

I think next year I will check out the workshops earlier before they fill up.  There were a couple I might have enjoyed.

Back at the farm, it was a beautiful late afternoon but I needed a nap first in order to enjoy it.  Not sure if the animals noticed I was gone -- they seemed content when I went to say hi.  The one thing I alway notice at the Maryland Sheep and Wool is that few of the sheep there seem to have much personality.  Some seem to enjoy visitors stopping by to say hi, but most seem to be just there until it is time to go home.