More pictures from the Wisconsin Sheep and Wool Festival:

A baby lamb, born the day before! CUTE! Also covered with an alarming number of flies. NOT SO CUTE!

In the shearing demo area, a man with a spectacular amount of raw fleece in a couple of giant plastic bags:

Some sheep with lovely natural-colored wool

Sheep who did NOT want to go home

We wandered into the 4-H judging barn, where the judges would stride up and down and say things like “This is a fine example of a Lincoln ewe, good volume in the hindquarters, good muscle, nice and square, but if I were going to change something, I’d want to see a bit more femininity in the haunches.” They all looked like just plain sheep to me. Perhaps one day I’ll be a connoisseur. (Though I generally disapprove of breeding animals for form, a la the AKC, maybe it’s different for sheep, more functionally based? Who knows. Perhaps my Sheep! magazine will tell me.)

We tried to feed our carrot tops to these sheep but they were pretty “meh” about it.

Carrots? meh.

One of the highlights of the day was seeing some sheepdog herding trials. It was one of the most wonderful things I’ve ever seen. This border collie (I think his name was Ben) was having the time of its life herding these ducks around the pen–slinking around, eye-stalking, running around the edges and chasing them through tubes and over stairs and between traffic cones. It was hilarious (watching birds run is inherently funny) and heartwarming at the same time, seeing this dog doing what he was born to do. (More or less. I bet he would have preferred sheep.)

Look at him on his belly, watching them run.

Good boy, Ben!