I found a Sheep Days Festival in my Landlust magazine. :-)
Not as large as the excellent Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival, but this one made up for that shortcoming by holding itself at the Museum Village in Beuren, so there were old (really old) buildings to see as well....
.....with low ceilings.....
My favorite building was the Backhaus / Waschhaus. Built squarely over a stream, it was for both laundry AND baking. Today, it looks charming & lovely -- like a grown-up playhouse; although, I'm sure I can't even imagine how much work it held for those women who used it for real.
Eliza brought her Little Lamb with for the day. He eventually had to ride in Dad's vest pocket after getting into one of the pens.... ;-)
Ian took almost every photo for us that day.
I think he did a nice job. :-)
On the way home, we stopped at one of the 1,001 fields where you can pick your own flowers:
Of course, Eliza thought this was even BETTER than sheep and wool -- but even Ian got into flower gathering:
Someone had to take control of the Swiss Army Knife, after all....
Like a jewel in the crown, however, to this lovely day outside with history, wind, sunshine, sheep and flowers ....was the distant hilltop. Alistair and Ian realized that the castle perched in the distance made a prime cycling goal. I'm not kidding. They came home and researched it right away. The map print-out is sitting here next to me on the desk.
Which leads me to think that a Sheep and Wool Festival will ALWAYS have something good for everyone....no matter where it is.... :-)
7 comments:
Wow! Just really WOW! Ian did a fabulous job with the photos and I will admit also, that the Eliza's lamb in the pen is really too cute. You should frame it for her...
OK - too cool that you have fields were you can pick your own flowers. This is just so beyond my comprehension. Love, love, love it!
Hoping to go to my first fiber festival in a couple of weeks. I'll let you know how it goes. By the way, what kind of treasures did you come home with from the Sheep and Wool Festival? ;-)
It is only 40km away via bike paths/roads. Ian and I will be doing it soon!
Ian's shots are amazing, and whoever thought up lamb with lambs gets big thumbs up from me!
How does it happen that all your family seems to take such wonderful photos? Geeee Whiz!
And, I confess, I love the shot of Eliza's lamb happily sunning with the big sheep...really darling.
The bulb farm was wonderful deal! (And that castle looks so interesting it might have even enticed ME to bike up to it..ha!)
(However many months it might take me to finally arrive there..) :)
P.S. I forgot to mention how interesting that bake/wash house is. Very curious about the dimensions and what was inside. Was there a spot to have a fire and heat the water? Wash tubs hanging around? Maybe combo deal where the fire could be used for baking one day and heating water for wash another day? Fascinating idea...(over the stream and all).
Padden4 -- I wish you could just come see me. :-) I didn't buy anything at the festival, can you believe that? It was small, and mostly had handknit woolen things...but I am VERY eager to hear about your upcoming Fiber Festival. Fiber Arts seem to be an area of American Strength in the last decade. I have high hopes for what you will find there...!!
Katie: it was totally Alistair and Ian, working together, on that lamb-in-the-pen shot.
Nana: I will send you the photos of the inside of the washhouse...it was really dark, but had a basin over a fire in one corner, and then the brick oven on the other side. The water runs right through that little "tunnel" opening you see in the photo. You would have liked it, too, I think. :-)
Your dad did get the photos printed out (and I love it all)...but couldn't figure where the stream is inside.
It seemed the oven and firebox with basin were both built on that far wall...where I figured the stream would be, from photo of outside...Was there some sort of an opening to the water/stream? Absolutely fascinating.
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