Shepherd's Harvest Report

We went to the Shepherd's Harvest Festival in Lake Elmo, Minnesota today and while it was no Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival that I've been hearing so much about on all the blogs lately, it was certainly a good woolly time. Dan first discovered this festival (!) and brought me as a surprise gift for my first Mother's Day in 2006. It's truly a family event now that Jackson is getting older - Dad and Jack spend time in the animal barns and running around while I spend time fondling the yarns (can't beat that for a Mother's Day weekend!). We met up with our good friends there and evenly split up the Dads/toddlers and Moms/baby(ies). It was perfect.

We met a beautiful angora goat who just became a momma to her little baby goat five weeks ago (and was very nervous when the handler brought the baby out for us to see, lots of MAAAAHHHH!):
Jackson fell in love with a fluffy angora rabbit (yes, that's really a rabbit under all that hair; I have no idea why Jackson is giving me that look though...he was thrilled to pat the rabbit!):
Jackson and his friend squealed with delight at all of the sheep barns (making non-blurry photos almost impossible):
There was the requisite kettle corn (and grass-sitting time before the rain started):
This fuzzy llama reminded me more of a Muppet than a llama (I have no idea how it could see!):
Dan calls this photo the "Poop Hop" since that's exactly what the kids were jumping in. Hmm. I guess Dads know best when Moms aren't around?And of course, yarn came home with me (Happy Mother's Day!). The foreground yarn is from Little Acres Farm and is 60% llama/40% wool and was a delight to discover in the 50%-off bin. I bought enough for a sweater for the Little One On The Way (it's a gorgeous blends of purples and maroons with a splash of pink):
This lighter pink yarn is proof that I really do like pink! This is earthy pink at its finest, no plastic pink to be found in this skein. :) It's from RiverWinds Farm, the vendor whom I hoped would show up at the farmer's market again this year but she explained that they declined the opportunity due to the rising gas prices and distance they'd have to drive. Total bummer. (I also bought another sheepy sachet from RiverWinds.)
And here's the real reason why my day was so grand...it had a grand beginning:
That's homemade granola (with nuts!) and blueberry yogurt from Fireroast Mountain Cafe. My knitting was there and so was my friend, Rebecca. Love Saturday morning girl time when the boys are at swimming lessons!