Shetland Sheep: Rich in History, Rich in Textiles

Shetland Sheep: Rich in History, Rich in Textiles! Our farm mission is to enjoy and promote the wonderful diversity of the Shetland breed by fully utilizing to the best of our ability all they have to offer historically. We believe the best preservation and management of this breed includes it's full spectrum of history. We encourage old and new shepherds alike to join in the fun by engaging in fiber arts, especially spinning and knitting, as this breed is so intimately linked with those aspects of the arts.

Thursday, July 28, 2011

More airplanes? On a sheep blog??

Eaaaaaarrrrrr........BOOM! EeeeeaaaarrrrrrBOOM!

Sigh....EAA (that's the Experimental Aircraft Association) is fun, but it sure is noisy! As I walked down the pasture to do an afternoon check on my sheepies...you know....the ones invisible by the still palatible tall grasses....a deafening sound befalls the farm. That sound is one that I know brought much terror to thousands of people in the past, and it comes from a line-up of eight Warbirds flying together in formation, right over my pasture. As they pass by, each wing looks like it might clip the wingtip of the nearby plane any second! They turn together in a graceful arc back to the airshow right over me, affording me a free and terrorless view of each plane. The noise is thunderous. It makes my heart pound, for I know that this is the sound people heard just before bombs fell in WWII. But for me, it's a familiar sound, one I grew up with. Those old Warbirds are just a normal part of summer for me. Wouldn't be the same without them, actually.

The sheep seem unfazed as these old geezer planes slowly pass by. They just keep grazing, with an occassional highpitched baa coming from an unseen sheep somewhere hidden in the grass. (Think Boy's Choir for rams.) Later, as I head back up to the house, an F14 flies by and takes my breath away, spinning me on my feet like a top. They are FAST! LOUD! WOWWEEEWOW!! THAT was cool! How am I ever gonna stay at my wheel spinning with all this aviation excitement going on???????????

As I settle back at my wheel, I'm just getting into the rythmn again when I hear a Blackhawk helicopter approaching. Not wanting to miss it, I run outside to see! COOOLLL!!! Hey! Ever find a ballet teacher on a Blackhawk?? I have!! (many giggles) Ok, ok....back to spinning......

EAARRRRRRRR.......wait! Here comes that cool stunt plane! I think he's doin' flips! Gotta see that!!! I can hear it as I run out the door...eeeaaaarrrrrrr...eeeeeaaaarrrrrr...eeeeaaaaarrrr...one for each full flip.

If you've never seen the AirVenture show, you gotta get here! The Warbirds are reinacting a WWII bombing raid, the stunt flyers are flippin' out, Air Force jets wizz by, and old bi-planes putter past. What a show of contrasts! If you turn around, behind you will be someone's Blimp floating along. Ok, so this blog wasn't about sheep....but let me ask, do you know your airplanes, executive jets, blimps, warbirds, hurricane planes, airships, ultralights, and so on?? Do you know our nation's aviation history? No?? What are you waiting for! :) Join the 30,000 other campers and 580,000 people who aren't missing it! It's a zoo.

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