Sheepish

Does the Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival count as a museum? MAD makes the rules and MAD says yes.

Howard County Fairgrounds is the home of the country's largest sheep and wool festivals which makes for lots of sheep, lots of wool and lot and lots of people.

The barns are filled with artisan yarns - hand spun and hand-dyed, rovings and batts of wool in natural and rainbow of colors that make you reach out to touch the fibers. Many of the vendors sell breed-specific yarns and you are able feel the differences between Corriedale, Border Leicester, Romney, cashmere to mention only a few.

The you can see the differences - one of the barns has an example of all of the many breeds in the show. MAD's favorite is Jacob's Sheep, an ancient breed with two rows of horns that was dwindling until a program was initiated to stabilize and re-invigorate the breed.

An odd juxtaposition - to MAD, maybe you don't think so - is the exhbition of lambs and sheep, fleece and yarn next to the food boths which are selling (mostly) lamb items. No charge for the smell.

There was a lake of restrooms and a lack of places to sit. So to eat we sat down on bleachers in the barn where the animals were being displayed in the ring, vocally baa-ing and maa-ing sounding exactly like people pretending to be animals.

MAD was accompanied by MADOD (pregnant-with-twins Older Daughter) who gave her an excuse to buy yarn to make baby items as well as the joint purchase of Vintage Baby Knits, inscribed by author Kristen Rendgren to Baby A and Baby B. And we purchased yarn for each other for what has become our annual birthday gift exchange. Thank you , MADOD, for the excuse, for the birthday gift and for the day spent together.