The judge's comments were: "Beautiful color, represents the Shetland breed nicely, long staple, very clean." Valentine's spring clip got a blue ribbon, and Dinah's coated six-month clip got a red ribbon. That last one seemed strange, because her uncoated spring clip got a blue and sold for a good price at Shepherds Extravaganza. Go figure. Anyway, this time none of my fleeces sold, probably because there was a parking lot fleece sale going on outside. That's okay; I'm going to wash that award-winning fleece just as soon as I can and start spinning it from the locks!
Rick and Brian showed up during the yearling ewe class. Rick was on emergency duty for the county and had to leave to check a colicking horse after a bit, but not before getting asked to do some veterinary work at OFFF. One of the Shetland breeders had a ram lamb who tore his lower lip and gums; Rick stitched that up. Then the owner of a Lincoln ram tracked him down and asked him to look at the ram's inflamed eyes. Here is Rick working on the the pony, er, I mean, Lincoln ram!
After Rick and Brian left, one of my horse friends showed up with an acquaintance, surprising me. We walked around the grounds a short while together. They were both amazed at the size of the show -- and how much fun they had "at a SHEEP show"! My red-headed friend scored a new earring and a beautiful sweater made from alpaca in "her" (autumnal) colors.
The best part of attending these events, whether you show are not, is getting together with other Shetland people. They are some of the nicest folks! I've already mentioned that I couldn't have participated without their help. Shown below prepping her sheep is Lynne Deshler of Cedar Haven Farm, who volunteered to watch over my babies and provide for their needs. Below that is her husband Tom, who always brings his hammered dulcimer and provides the most beautiful background music. I really like Lynne's display, too. She has felted various colors of Shetland wool around the wooden supports that hold photos of her sheep and loose skeins of Shetland yarn.
Here's a parting candid shot I caught of a tiny tot and her very patient bunny. She kept trying to stuff it up her shirt -- I think she liked its soft fur tickling her tummy!
That's it for now from . . .
8 comments:
Congrats on the ribbons! The fleece looks wonderful. I like the color too.
Congratulations! The fleece looks absolutely beautiful. I know exactly how hard you had to work to keep that looking so nice, our little rascals being what they are...you deserve it.
WOW! Congrats on your wins! OFF sure looks like MFF and I wish it were closer I'd go to that show too :) Mostly to meet and greet the breeders and their sheep! Thanks for all the great photos!
Congratulations! I came so close to coming over. I called Laura form our airport - she knows I feel dreadfully lonely when I fly and I always call her - and she tells me that she is showing her sheep at OFFF. I asked my seat mate how far Canby was from the Portland airport and she said I could be there in 30 minutes from picking up my rental car. It was tempting to driving over for a little diversion since I was early, but I needed on with with business of my brother's memorial. It was outside at their place, and you can appreciate this, the sheep and goats were on the other side of the fence pitching their contributions. I think I could hear him laughing.
Congratulations on all your ribbons, Michelle! Wow! That's great!
It sounds like you had a wonderful experience and makes me envious that we don't have enough Shetland people to do something like that here in the SW.
Again - Congrats!
Congrats on winning the reserve with Valentine's fleece! And the rest did pretty great too. Sounds like you had a good experience with the show. Did you get any nibbles on people interested in buying the girls? Tammy
Congratulations on the ribbons. The fleece looks really lovely to me.
I love the photo of the little girl and the bunny. I'm sure the soft fur was a real temptation for a tummy tickle. I bet my girls would do the same.
Congratulations on your ribbons Michelle! I've been missing out on all the "goings on" at Boulderniegh. It's so nice to catch up and see all the good news! BTW, I love your mini-cardigan too.
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