Wednesday, September 29, 2010

feeling sheepish


When my friend Lissa asked us if we wanted to go along to this year’s Sheep and Wool Festival in Jefferson, Wisconsin it sounded like a great idea. Not only was it a beautiful day to be outdoors enjoying the autumn sunshine, but it also gave us a chance to wander around for a few hours, fascinated by shepherds and border collies…


sheep ….

people who raise them ….


and shear them…..

and turn wooly fleeces into gorgeous skeins of brightly colored yarn.


I could have spent the whole day at the border collie field trials watching the shepherds whistling to their dogs or shouting out verbal signals – “come by me…lay down…away by me…that’ll do…”



Meanwhile, the dogs obviously love nothing as much as the thrill of herding sheep. As soon as they’re given the command “go get sheep” off they go at a gallop, tearing madly across the field in a huge arc in order to come up behind their charges and avoid spooking them.



It was fascinating to watch them as they carefully maneuvered the sheep from the far end of the field, through the gates and into the pen. And although technically the shepherds were calling the shots, there was no doubt that the dogs knew exactly what they were supposed to be doing because they’ve been born to look after sheep and it’s been that way for a long, long time. I think that’s one reason I was so captivated by the whole spectacle…..just the realization that human beings, dogs and sheep have been communicating this way for centuries and so far technology hasn’t been able to come up with a better way of doing it.



The same thing is true of what happens when it’s time for sheep shearing. It’s done in pretty much the same way as it’s always been done – except that now there are electric shears to make it easier for both the sheep and the shearer.


I spent over an hour watching David Kier, a professional sheep shearer from California who makes his living traveling all over the country shearing flocks of sheep…a profession that’s probably nearly as old as the other oldest profession on earth! As I watched his demonstration it occurred to me that I was learning more than I’ll ever need to know about sheep shearing techniques and how to handle both the fleece and the sheep that it’s being taken from.



When it was time to leave for home I had already made a mental note about making sure to come back again next year….and perhaps sign up for one of the many classes that are offered on everything from spinning and weaving to how to handle a newly shorn fleece. It’s just another example of how wonderful it is that there is such a wide variety of things to learn in this life and so many ways to be passionate about the things that interest us.