From the Pastures: All the buzz

September is always a busy time. We have a lot of new products arriving for The Complete Sheep Shoppe. There are several events and shows that we participate in which take time to prepare for. The mill is buzzing with activity to prepare some of our fiber for sale and complete customer orders. We make felted batts from our Scottish Blackface wool. The batts are about two inches thick, and some are cut into circles to make coasters. I dye the coasters in different fun colors, then put four together in a group to sell. The wool coasters work really well, because the wool absorbs the water from the glass and keeps the table dry.

The Wisconsin Sheep and Wool Festival was a great time. The weather was great and it is always good to talk to so many people who are enthusiastic about sheep and wool. Our colored felted batts were very popular. Wish I could have made a few more. The festival continues to grow each year. There were even more sheep at this year’s event with several breed shows.

Our pasture is still holding up well. There has not been very much rain in northern Illinois for a month. Luckily, we had a good amount earlier in the year. I will watch to see if the pastures get stressed in October. Hopefully, we can get through the whole month of October without having to start feeding hay. It is always a challenge to keep the hay out of the sheep’s fleeces.

Harvest is just starting in our area. Wishing everyone a safe and prosperous harvest.