What I did on Friday ...

Friday was one of those once-a-year days. When I walked down to the barn, Deneb was well inside, clearly catchable, so ... time to roo! If you have a really good memory, and have been reading this blog since early last year, you'll remember the discussion from last February about Soays shedding their fleece (rooing).

So, this is Deneb now, on the far right, compared to his still woolly field-brothers on the left:


And this is his crop:


It came to 1 pound, 1.5 ounces ... average staple about 2 inches unstretched.

Meteor (the darkest one) is leaving clumps of his wool on the fences now, so I think he'll be next!

~~~

Do you like posts about sheep and fibery beasts? Then I can heartily recommend these blogs:

Devon Fine Fibres -- a Cashmere goat farm in Devon, UK. Lovely pictures and interesting news about the farm.

Soxophone Player -- an almost-daily post on his sheep, dyepots, and hand-cranked socks!

Sheepwreck's posts on sheep breeds -- a terrific resource with a spinner's real-life experience with fleeces from sheep.

Benny's Blog -- an infrequent but hilarious blog written by Benny the sheep!

Shepherd's Notebook -- news from the world of Maryland shepherds, the most recent post was about the Maryland Wool Pool (where farmers got 76 cents a pound for their nice white wool!)

I know there are more, Spinning Spider Jenny and Leigh's Fiber Journal also post quite interesting entries on sheep breeds alongside their amazing spinning, weaving, and knitting postings. And I've been listening to Yarnspinner's Tales, her terrific podcasts on handling fleece were a nice listen.

Feel free to add links to sheep and goat blogs and podcasts you've found ... I'm always looking for a good read (or listen)! Thanks!