A Day Late and a Poem Short.

A Book Spine Poem I made yesterday.

Yesterday was National Poetry Day in the UK, I would have written a post then but I was lost in a tussle with some Jacob Fleece. A lovely friend is teaching me the spinning technique called Long Draw and she insists on me practising every day. This version of  Long Draw is the way that many Scottish spinners would have spun to make the most of our hardy sheep with short stapled fleeces. I need to be proficient in hand carding and the production of good rolags before I have the slightest chance of getting the spinning part right so I am diligently doing my homework. As with many things, it looks simple but is very hard to do well. Most of the time I'm making a dreadful mess of things but once in a while everything goes right and it feels as if I've just learned how to fly.

A gymnastic duck

Hungry Ryeland Sheep

 Last weekend was the Scottish Smallholder and Grower Festival and I spend a wonderful day meeting many types of sheep and the people who care for them. There were other animals too - pigs, cattle, poultry,  including a duck who stood on one leg just in time for me to take a picture, as well as many crafts and foodstuffs to admire. The Show Entries were a poem all to themselves.  Here are some of my favourites.


Thumbstick
Leg Cleek
A Floral Arrangement in a Wellington

Three White Girdle Scones
A Clootie Dumpling
Four squares of Vanilla Tablet

Kid
Goatling
Best Pygmy Goat

Gilts and Boars
Senior Sows
Best Pig Pen

Scots Dumpy
Hard Feather
Cream Crested Legbar

Close Wool
Long Wool
Ram Lamb

Showing a sheep.

Lincoln Longwool ( I think )

Happy Day After National Poetry Day, Day.