So I spent the best part of an hour waiting from some visitors who didn’t appear.

My view.

No shows are inevitable and to be fair apparently they emailed earlier in the morning and I missed it.

So, after the long wait and running out of phone battery, I drove off in a huff and went to see the herd by myself.  They were hiding in the dip of the stream using it for shelter.  It is very windy today.  I dished out carrots and a passing car stopped.  Some very nice visitors watched us, so I invited them into the field.  Win some, lose some – that’s how I see it.

Next up, I went over to spend the day with my “crafty” friend, Karen who had offered to help me “sort out” Lambie’s fleece.  Time for the big guns – the drum carder.

We were creating batts of wool from Lambie’s clean but grotty fleece.  I picked out the hairy bits and Karen “opened up the locks” (get me and my new found lingo) first before feeding it into the drum carder.  Then, once full, she unwound it using the most beautiful porcupine quill. I was entranced.

Et voilà – a carded wool batt of Lambie’s (clean) white bits.

Next it was the turn of the hand carders.  Karen showed me how to load them up.

And then what to do – much toing and froing.

Of course when she did it, it all looked so easy. I got into a huge muddle.

Karen’s finished hand carded result was a beautiful rolag.

Karen made it look all very easy.  I had a shot and made a complete Horlicks of it!

So back to the drum carder to make a mixed colour batt.

Lambie at his most beautiful.

And this was the misery that was waiting for me at home. Lambie is still very upset so spent the day with Daisy.  I told her while I was away that she was on babysitting duty!