This morning, Cortney and I were up and ready to go! We have been looking forward to today all week. It was our friend's 10th annual sheep sheering day. Now this was actually my first sheep sheering day,and what I know about sheep doesn't amount to much. Cortney on the otherhand has been helping our friend with lambing for 4 yrs. and helped sheer some ewes for the sale barn last Fall. It was very interesting to see the professionals working and then to learn about fleece types and how to see a good quality fleece. I also learned about the differences in breeds and their wool. There was one lady demonstating spinning wool and several booths set up with woolen items for sale( yarns, rugs, hats, scarves, socks, etc....) We have other friends who have sheep as well and they use their fleece for their own uses. I do know what needle felting is and actually saw a beautiful rug today that was ropes of wool needle felted and then crocheted together into an oval rug( much like abraided rug) It was a time of fellowship with old friends, as well as making new friends. Dinner was potluck style and there were tables full. I knew lamb stew was the main dish and offered to make buttermilk biscuits. We took three large pans, approx. 55 biscuits., and a 1/2 lb of homemade butter. The food was all great and the best of all, many of the dishes were made with organic foods. Typically we stray away from potluck meals because we try to carefully distance ourselves from foods not raised natural/ organic. Someone said during dinner, they'd sheered 89 sheep( from 8 am to 12:30 pm). Most fleeces were roughly cleaned up, rolled and placed in a BIG bag, then they were stomped down. Those fleeces will be sold later. Many of the brown and grey fleeces were sold on the spot. The grey fleeces were my favorite and had the best color variation, but again I'm a novice. We finally packed up the last pan of biscuits, leaving some, upon request, for our friend and her Dh and headed home around 2pm. It was interesting and I learned a lot of information today, but..... I just don't see us raising sheep anytime soon( if Mike has his way it would be never.) There was still a nice bed of coals in the wood cookstove, so added a few pieces of wood and waited until hot enough to shut it down. Then off to get the horse stall cleaned, Cortney did that while I hauled a bale of straw to the cows barn and bedded their stalls in preparation for evening chores. Our temps. have dropped with an incoming cold front, so we're back to breaking ice off their troughs and hauling water by hand. Back to the house again we cut ham slices from the ham cooked yesterday. This is pork we raised and butchered ourselves but the first ham we've had smoked( no nitrates used) and it turned out wonderful, although it was a bit spendy, if you figure in the value/ cost of the meat added to the curing/smoking charge per pound. A smoke house is on our Honey Do list but have a few other projects of greater need, to be done first. The ham slices will be warmed in a skillet and served on a biscuit with a slice of sharp cheddar cheese. We have sliced carrots( raw) as well as leftover scalloped potatoes to add to this. Nothing fancy but most assuredly filling. Good evening and may the Lord bless you.