Showing Great Restraint

Today was a festival day. I love festivals. This one was especially lovely (but aren't they all, really?) because it was a festival in celebration of Sheep and Wool. We don't have any sheep or wool on our farm yet, but that is definitely part of the "one day" fantasy. I love to knit, and I'd love to learn how to spin, and the whole idea of being able to raise the sheep and shear the wool and spin the yarn and knit the sweater is rather breathtaking. So I very much enjoyed getting to step into the world of modern day Shepherds at the festival this afternoon, and get a little taste of what our future might possibly hold.

Lena and Zeb at the festival
(35.5 weeks preggo)

But since sheep aren't the only animals that make wool, they weren't the only animals featured at the festival today. There were some llamas (llamas make me nervous and I have no intention of ever being a llama farmer), and there were some adorable 8-week-old angora bunnies.

how cute is that little face?

There were plenty of bunnies to go around, and the kids could hold them as much as they wanted to. What sweet little fur balls! We've had several rabbits come and go through our house in the past few years (perhaps I'll do a bunny post sometime to elaborate), but none were angora rabbits, and none were nearly as mellow as the bunnies we got to hang out with today. We all wanted to bring one (or two) home with us. And they were for sale. But Lena and I were able to resist the temptation to add to our little farm by buying our first wooly pet. I also did not give in to my desire to buy a lamb. Or a lambskin. So, it was a, overall, a festival during which I showed great restraint. We arrived at the festival with $3 in our pockets, and we left with the same $3 still unspent.


Oh, and we didn't even consider buying the sheepdog puppy, even though we, of course, sort of wanted to (not to mention the fact that he wasn't for sale). But we did very much enjoy watching the sheepdog trials while petting the puppy.


The sheepdog trials were intense. I was very impressed by all of it, and probably could have stood there watching for hours on end as each dog stepped up to take a turn at driving the sheep. If it weren't for the blazing sun and oppressive humidity (and the three hot, exhausted children who were, themselves, quite spent), I would have stayed until the end.

Jaz and Luke, waiting to leave in the stroller
(I can't believe they still fit!)

A sure sign of a great festival:
3 kids asleep in the car on the way home.

If only every day were a festival day. Sigh.