week 18: (girl)friends and fiber
this week on the little dream farm
Retreat Update
One quick note before I dive into today’s Farm Note. Our summer farm retreat weekend is fully booked!
There are several people on a wait list for a retreat possibly in the early fall.
Email me at bergsteinsarah@gmail.com if you’d like to be included on that fall wait list!
And now onto the Farm Note…
Last Sunday I linked up with two girlfriends (and met a new one!) to bop around the 32nd Annual Washington County Fiber Tour!
It was cold. We all somehow seemed not to have dressed warm enough for the occasion…even though we know better. The weather mostly cooperated. We had the very best day.
There were 11 farms participating in this year’s tour and I’ll share with you a bit of info from their site so you can get a sense for the event:
Mission Statement
The Washington County Fiber Tour is dedicated to educating the general public and the craft community about the amazing variety of fiber producing animals being raised in the area. The participants demonstrate the animal husbandry and the processes involved in converting these fibers into the textiles used in our everyday lives.
About the Fiber Tour:
Free events. Visit alpacas, bunnies, goats, sheep and lambs, llamas, and more – on the farm; and meet the farmers and their families.
Watch spinning, knitting, weaving and felting demonstrations. Visit the Battenkill Carding and Spinning Mill. Learn about raising the livestock and pets that we cherish.
Drive from farm to farm through scenic Washington County in Eastern upstate New York. Shop for hand-spun and dyed yarns, unique woven and knitted items, high quality fleeces, cuts of lamb, and more.
Here’s what we got ourselves into:
We sipped hot coffee from our friend’s coffee truck (the one who owns the new(ish) cafe in the village)!
We stopped at a local vineyard! Fun fact: we have quite the special little wine country in this region.
We saw angora rabbits! They’re so much bigger than I ever realized!
We saw cashmere goats! I didn’t even know cashmere was possible in our micro-climate.
We saw a bunch of different breeds of sheep! To include lots of little lambs!
We got to hold teeny weeny baby goats!(!!!!!) They were hanging out in a baby playpen and they have sweaters…need I say more?!
We got to hang out with alpacas! And learn about a farmer who is a midwife for alpacas…who knew!
We got to see a fiber art gallery! There are so very many talented fiber artists in this region.
We met so many incredible farmers! You know…the salt of the earth kind of people!!
We shopped for wonderful handcrafted goods! I got lotions. And salves. My friend got mittens.
We ate great local food and snacks! Like baked goods and wood fired pizza (which I had to skip for now, but drooled over all the same!).
It was a wonderful afternoon full of fussing and squealing and baby talking all the adorable animals and meeting so many wonderful farmers and people.
It was great to get away from the chores that everyone is so busy with this time of year. It seemed that all our husbands/partners were home taking care of the chores while we snuck away for some girls time!
It filled my cup right up to spend some time with great women laughing about all kinds of silly things and getting to enjoy the uniqueness of this place we all call home.
It…of course…made me spend the whole rest of that day daydreaming about quitting all my responsibilities, buying a bunch of sheep and goats and rabbits and alpacas, and living the life of a farmer slash shepherdess slash gardener.
While I won’t be doing that…at least not this year (haha!)…I do always have such a renewed appreciation for everything that goes into raising animals and running a farm and stewarding land, and I absolutely adore the fact that I get a front row seat to connecting with and experiencing all the various types of farms and farming in this region.
In case you’d like to check out some of the places we stopped or order their products online or follow their social media accounts…here’s a list and their sites!
I’ll leave you with a host of photos from the weekend and our fabulous time on the Fiber Tour…enjoy!
Stay Tuned for Next Week…
We’ve been BUSY here on the farm the last few weeks. In next week’s note I’ll tell you all about what we’ve had going on and what’s on tap in the next few weeks to come!
The only time I get to see such precious animals is at our local 4-H Fair! Visiting all the places would be wonderful!
I only got to do one stop on the tour: the Battenkill Fibers mill. Absolutely worth going next year, if you get the chance. We got to see the whole process of how shorn wool gets turned into yarn. Very cool! I wish I could have stopped at some of the farms. It sounds like you had a great time. That cashmere goat is amazing!