New shearer in VA

[Debbie Crowder-BaaramuLuke]

FIRST, I must say I pledge allegiance to Tom Forrester, being a charter member of his Fan Club (do you have a hat?), but I did a favor for a local alpaca person who went to a lot of trouble to arrange a 4H demo/Fiber workshop for kids in our district, and who needed sheep to shear, which our 4H club had. Tom is their regular shearer (and after all, Julie's hoggin' him up this weekend...), BUT I took them to Goochland instead this year, which I will no doubt have to explain to him is a favor to Tom as well. Our sheep are buggers, kicking and such, and I wanted to pass this fellow's name along if anyone needs a really nice guy for shearing.

 

He's a young guy, nice as all heck, and can shear just fine. He took a lot of time and effort for this event, showed a DVD to the kids, took apart the clippers for them, explained the whole thing, did a wonderful show for all who were there. He knocked out my sheep pretty quick, good even work. Brings along his own bags and anything you can imagine needing.

 

I said I'd pass his name along (he really asked!), so while he's still young and fresh, call him. He also has a website...how's that for eager!

 

http://www.lordwillinshearin.com/

 

Tell him I sent you so he knows I did my job.

[Debbie Crowder-BaaramuLuke]

Okay to call me a moron...

 

His name is Derrick Spangler, from Floyd County. Sorry!

[Valhalla]

Thanks Deb! We usually get Henry Ray to shear ours, but if he is too booked up in the next few weeks, we'll give Derrick a call (and tell him you referred us)! ;-)

[juliepoudrier]

Hey, I'm not hogging Tom this weekend--I have him Thurs. and Fri. because I'll be showing sheep at the MD Sheep and Wool Festival this weekend. You can stop laughing any time now....

 

Thanks for the referral Debbie. The vet was out on a farm call last week (all related to the show) and was looking for names of shearers. I'll ask Derrick how far he's willing to drive and add him to the list if he'll come this far.

 

J.

[Rebecca, Irena Farm]

I've got an e-mail in to him - anyone in the area interested in "going with" if he'll come this far? He's two hours and a bit from me according to his snazzy distance calculator on his website.

[sheepandakom]

Hey, I'm not hogging Tom this weekend--I have him Thurs. and Fri. because I'll be showing sheep at the MD Sheep and Wool Festival this weekend. You can stop laughing any time now....

 

J.

 

 

Hey Julie-

 

I'm showing sheep, too. I'll try to stop by and say hello. I should be home studying for law school exams .

 

Emily

[juliepoudrier]

Emily,

Definitely look for me and Mary L., and I'll keep an eye out for you too. I have just two yearling karakul ewes to show and nothing to "dress up" my pen area with. I'm basically doing it because they need more breeders showing karakuls or they'll go on probation. It should be fun though. They've had halters on them all of once--I'm cutting it to the wire but unfortunately work has been crazy, so I'll just have to do what I can. I figure the downpours we got yesterday will go a long way toward helping with the cleanliness issue--now I just need to remove felted wool and VM!

 

J.

[Debbie Crowder-BaaramuLuke]

Julie,

 

I'm covering my butt on the Tom excuse...he gives me all kinda stuff when I shear them myself or consider another shearer. I know he'd come do them, but this young guy wants to shear pretty badly...heck, let's put him to work.

 

I'm bringing 4Hers to the Sheep and Wool!! We expect a good showing from you! What is Emily showing? I have my favorites...we hope to drag a Hog Island up there one day! BTW, how are you handling the "NO DOGS" thing? I'm guessing they're going...you and me with our traveling packs!!

 

Christine! Thanks, I was wondering who does those fabulous Ramboullet, this guy will bring Shay M. to mind, he so nice. I think you'll be happy. I had a few dings on them, but they asked for it, and all looked great the next day. Thanks for giving him a call!

[debp]

Andre and I plan to go to the Md Sheep and Wool this weekend to look around. Hope we run into you guys.

On the shearing - I sheared my own last year and they looked pretty rough. I hope to get a little better this year - but I'm still thinking about asking Tom F. to come out. (yeah - he gave me a hard time too about shearing my own, saying something about being cheap - you have to know Tom! We all love him!). My worry is that this year I have a ram and ummmmm.......I'm a little concerned about shearing certain areas if you know what I mean.

Anyway - see you, maybe, at the fair. (It's looking like Sunday). Everyone stop by the Barefoot Spinner booth. This is my friend Maureen Pritchard and she has some lovely roving as well as some knitted items in her booth. Hey - they have a Tom Forrester pup! Wow - small world huh?

[Mark Billadeau]

We'll look for you all this weekend. Renee and I will be attending a few talks and I want to see how the fleece from our new ram, from Michelle Reilly, does in the Romney class. Michelle kept the fleece.

 

Mark

[juliepoudrier]

Debbie C.,

Unfortunately the dogs are staying home. I don't like leaving them like that but Laura's taking Pip and Jill (mainly because Kat, Lark, and Phoebe are all in heat, so no need to tempt fate by leaving him with the girls and hoping someone else will be careful).

 

I imagine Emily is showing border leicesters.

 

It sounds as if we could have a boards get together at the festvial! This is the first year I'll be there the whole time and so will actually get to spend time at vendors. Too bad my rebate check hasn't arrived!

 

If I do this next year, I'll definitely try to get my act together ahead of time and have a nice display and perhaps more sheep and fleeces for the fleece show. This year we're doing the slapdash method of showing.

 

Deb P. and Deb C.,

I sheared my own last fall (karakuls require twice yearly shearing), but I have enough now that I might just try out Derrick for the fall shearing and save myself. Or I might just do the masochistic thing and do it myself. The problem with doing it myself is that I'm still learning and the fleeces aren't exactly in the best condition when I'm done. I threw all of them away last year, but I'd rather not do that if I can help it.

 

J.

[sheepandakom]

I'm only bringing 3 sheep this year. A yearling ram, a yearling ewe and her oops ram lamb who is too small to leave at home. Last year my female BC, Manse, who is as quiet as a mouse stayed in my truck the whole weekend. It's so full of stuff most of the time, it would have been like playing "Where's Waldo" to try to find her in there. I parked under some big trees just beyond the exhibition hall.

 

My pet sitter is in Ohio for the Pyr specialty, so I'll be coming back and forth all three days unless I can find someone else I trust in the next few days. Saturday and Sunday should be fine, but I'm worried about making it up there on time Friday. I have an exam and won't be able to leave until about 12:15. I don't want to hit DC traffic.

 

Julie, have you gotten anything in the mail from them confirming your entry? I've showed there for a few years now, but can never remember if they send you something.

 

We should have a BC board get together.

 

Emily

[debp]

Board Get together.

Sheep Shearing Demo area at noon on Sunday?

[juliepoudrier]

Emily,

This is the first year I've actually entered, but I haven't gotten a confirmation. I'm in the same boat you are. We've got to get shearing finished and be on the road before noon, and the person at one of the farms wants to have a third-grade class from the local Emerson Waldorf school there. She started talking projects for the kids to me and I just had to say, "I'm sorry but we're really pressed for time. I'm coming to catch and turn sheep for Tom and maybe stuff wool in bags, and we just don't have the spare time to do projects while we're at it." He's got a stop before her, then my place after her, all in one day, and then Mary and Tony's sheep Friday morning before we hit the road. We were going to pull a trailer, but as there's probably no way we'll be able to leave in time to avoid rush hour in DC, we're just stuffing the sheep in the back of the van (don't ask) and traveling light! (We thought about going up 29, but ultimately I don't think we'd save time because of heavy traffic and traffic lights there as well. I do need to look more closely at the options though. I worked in DC for 12 years, commuting from Fredericksburg, and so know very well how awful it is there during rush hour.)

 

There is a number you can call if you are unavoidably delayed and need to check your sheep in after 6, but I'm hoping we won't have to use it. It just means we'll probably get the "dregs accommodations" for our sheep.

 

As much as I'll worry leaving the dogs at home, they're probably better off here. I'd worry about them more parked out away from the barns somewhere.

 

I just wish I knew *when* we were going to show. There are some things both Mary and I would have liked to sit in on, but since we don't know when we're showing, we couldn't plan to attend any of the demos/talks ahead of time.

 

P.S. Dep P, that works for me as far as I know, but like I said, none of us who are showing sheep will know when we're showing until Friday night.

 

J.

[NorthfieldNick]

Hey, if y'all get the chance, check out any Cotswold breeders who might be at the MD wool show. I know we've got some folks who usually go... No real reason, I just think everyone should spend some time oohing and ahhing over the Cots. They are the best breed, you know

 

((Except for days like today when the yearling ewes find a hole in the fence... of course, the old, dead-dog-broke crossbred ewes were too fat to fit through...))

[juliepoudrier]

Ben,

My neighbor had a cotswold and I have to say that I just loved the fleece. She was a gorgeous sheep. It was her pony size that didn't appeal (I was doing the catching and flipping for the shearer)....

 

J.

[Debbie Crowder-BaaramuLuke]

Shearing demo at Noon Sunday? Drats, I have to go Saturday.

 

I have to still shear my geriatric sheep at home, I ought to try to do it before SAturday, hoping to send some wool off to be processed with my Government rebate, best bet is to send it from the show. I still have the fleeces from the Hog Island. I bought some big ol' Oster clippers at a silent auction for the horsey youth organizaton conference I went to this winter, so I have to try them out. DOing them with the A5 and a 7f blade took a while last year, but they lost no body parts.

 

I figured you'd have to leave the gang at home, it's surreal isn't it, no dogs all weekend? For the day, mine are fine, but the weather is too warm to chance leaving anyone in the truck all day, dog-box or not, and the crowd and traffic, not worth it. I respect the organizers' pleas for NO DOGS, can you imagine the chaos if people brought pets they could barely control, with all those poor sheep? I actually kind of enjoy not dealing with that, seeing all the dogs that tend to be brought to stuff like this and look stressed out, being underfoot of ten thousand people. There's an outdoor art show in our town this weekend (Arts in the Park) that has the same admonishment, people bring 'em anyway, and they don't look like so happy to be there.

 

I'm going to be at the Sheepdog demo at 1pm (HI NANCY< NATHAN< MARK!!), see ya'll there!

[NorthfieldNick]

Julie-

 

If you ever want any Cotwold fleece- raw, roving, yarn- coloured (dark grey or a lovely pearly white/grey) or white, just ask. I have MOUNTAINS of the stuff... My yarn is processed by a wind-powered wool mill in Maine. I know the folks who started it & visited when I lived there.

 

Yeah, I have many times when I look at my friend's Shetlands with envy. You can practically kick the things over! Nevermind that Shetlands don't flock worth beans... My largest ewe weighed about 230 Lbs on a scale when she wasn't pregnant. The adult ram I just sold topped 300 Lbs skinny! They're such mellow, easy, thrifty, eat-anything, great-mother sheep, I can deal with the size.

[kelpiegirl]

'Crazy sheep people' seize day

By Janene Holzberg | Special to the Sun

May 2, 2008

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Digg Del.icio.us Facebook Fark Google Newsvine Reddit Yahoo Print Reprints Text size: Open the paperback-length book that is this year's Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival catalog, turn about midway to page 102, and there it is in black and white: Leslie Clary was Lamb and Wool Queen in 1986.

 

She didn't stumble when asked the year of her reign, nor has she forgotten much about the festival's early days since she began volunteering in 1984.

 

"I guess you could say working on the festival is kind of an addiction," said the Dayton resident, who became Leslie Bauer at age 18 when she married high-school sweetheart Ricky Bauer 20 years ago. "Once it gets under your skin, there's no changing that."

 

The festival will be held tomorrow and Sunday at the Howard County Fairgrounds.

 

 

 

 

Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival

What: The 35th annual event, sponsored by the Maryland Sheep Breeders Association. Free parking and admission. Open to the public. No pets allowed.

 

When: Tomorrow, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., and Sunday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

 

Where: Howard County Fairgrounds, 2210 Fairgrounds Road, West Friendship.

 

Programs: 270 vendors from around the world, working sheepdog demonstrations, sheep shearing, craft classes, live music, textile demonstrations by the Society for Creative Anachronism, and much more. A variety of lamb dishes will be served.

 

Information: www.sheepandwool.org.

 

 

The Lamb and Wool Queen Contest, "which is based on knowledge, not beauty," is a nod to the Maryland Sheep Breeders Association, which sponsors the festival, Bauer said. Members of the nonprofit organization started the event in 1974 in Carroll County as a way to sell their fleece to people interested in spinning by hand, she said.

 

The event was moved to Howard County in the early 1980s and has made its home there ever since. Angora rabbits, goats, llamas and alpacas were later added to the mix.

 

But, back to the half-inch-thick catalog. Along with detailed schedules of events, its 184 pages are jammed with ads for every place and every event that has anything to do with sheep anywhere in the United States -- from other festivals to yarn shops to breeders.

 

"The Sheep and Wool Festival is what the county is known for nationally," said Rachelina Bonacci, executive director of the Howard County Tourism Office, which has an information booth at the festival. "We did a license plate survey of the parking lot last year, and nearly all states were represented. This year, we may ask visitors to circle their hometowns on a map."

 

A catalog ad for a store in northern Baltimore County reads: "What do first-timers say when they walk into Woolstock Knit Shop? Somebody pinch me." That clever ad copy just about sums up the dreamy appeal of the festival, which attracts about 50,000 visitors who are not shy about opening their wallets to vendors from all over the world.

 

"I always say, 'Come see the sheep and have fun -- but bring your checkbook,'" said Bauer. "There is something for everyone, from pottery to baskets to heirloom seeds. The items for sale go way beyond wool."

 

Bauer, who took on the paid part-time position of administrative assistant 15 years ago, said she can attest to the festival's popularity increasing annually. Work will begin on the 2009 edition of the fair at the end of this month. Her family's home -- on their 100-acre hog farm named Rural Rhythm Farm -- is bulging with festival correspondence and catalogs. She and co-chairwoman Michelle Yates received 80 new applications this year from vendors, but had room to accept 10.

 

"We hate turning anyone away, but we have used up every square inch of the fairgrounds," Bauer said. "We are weighing the possibility of extending the festival to three days since its popularity demands it.

 

"We're just a group of crazy sheep people who keep pulling off something very successful year after year," she said.

 

"Mostly what makes this work is the dedication of our volunteers," echoed Gwen Handler, festival chairwoman for more than 20 years. "It is a must-attend weekend in the sheep and wool industry, but still a great family event that fits in well with the whole 'green' movement and going back to basics."

 

Handler, a teacher at Sandy Spring Friends School, has been the chief force behind the festival since 1980, said Bauer, adding, "I don't think there's a week goes by all year that she isn't thinking about the next one."

 

While the event is in full swing tomorrow and Sunday, several key deadlines for 2009 are several months away -- vendor applications are due Oct. 1 and entries in the festival art contest must be submitted by Nov. 10.

 

The winner's artwork is reproduced on T-shirts, sweat shirts, totes, backpacks, mousepads, mugs, hats and compact discs of the festival's live music. Because there is no admission fee, selling these items supports next year's festival, Handler said.

 

Musical artists include such festival favorites as Slim Harrison and the Sunnyland Band, who return year after year, as do the majority of vendors. A family hoedown is held both afternoons, which gets kids involved in playing jugs, wooden washboards and metal washtubs.

 

Sheep will be petted, sheared, herded and, yes, eaten, at the event. Available for consumption will be lamb prepared many ways, such as burgers, sausage, kabobs, and Greek gyros.

 

Sheep definitely rule the day in such events as the Sheep to Shawl Contest at 8 a.m. Sunday, which is exactly what it sounds like. Eight teams are timed "from shearing until the shawl is off the loom with fringes finished." Another crowd favorite are the working-sheepdog demonstrations.

 

The showcase event this year is a variety of textile demonstrations by the Society for Creative Anachronism, whose members will "bring to life the world of the Middle Ages and Renaissance" with such events as nalbinding and fingerloop braiding, according to the program.

 

There are also many opportunities for all ages to learn techniques and to make crafts of all kinds, including spinning, knitting, beading and weaving.

 

Bauer's three children -- Danielle, 16, Andy, 12, and Jackie, 10 -- have grown up with the festival, just as she did. They all assist their mother, who acknowledged that she "runs around like a chicken with its head cut off on festival days," but also enjoy the fair programming. Her daughters have a market sheep this year that they will sell.

 

"We told the girls not to name their sheep and get close to them since they're sold for meat, but they did anyway -- Smokey and Bandit," she said, after the 1977 Burt Reynolds- Sally Field movie that the family has watched many times.

 

"What can I say? We're just a bunch of rednecks who love living in the country and helping out at the Sheep and Wool Festival," Bauer said with a laugh.

 

"In this day and age, where everything is go-go-go, it is time well-spent with your family. I can't imagine a year without it."

 

jholzberg76@msn.com