New Hampshire Wool Arts Tour
Today was a “play hard” day, and play I did! It is the weekend of the New Hampshire Wool Arts Tour, where you can take a self-guided tour of several sheep and alpaca farms. This is the third year that I’ve done the tour, and I look forward to it with eager anticipation each time. This year, however, I had no particular wool needs. I’m working on a knitting project currently. I’ve got at least one more waiting in the wings. I have a whole pile of untouched yarn in a basket on my sewing table, so I didn’t need to purchase any. So mostly, I was going on the tour to enjoy the sights…the sights at the farms and the sights as I meandered all over the beautiful autumn countryside.
To set the tone for the day, I chose my “American Folk Music/Hornpipes/Reels/Etc.” playlist on my phone and set off. Ahh…perfect musical accompaniment for a day in the country!
Following this one, down paved and dirt roads, led me here. This large, rambling New England farmhouse with its attached barns and many outbuildings (including more barns) was having a HUGE sale! What most captivated me was the antique sleighs and the fur lap robes for sleighing. The lap robes (three at least) were lined in wool of exquisite quality and had a decorative wool fringe all around. I’d never seen anything like them! But I left them for a buyer who owns horses and can actually use sleighs and lap robes. I bought an antique walking stick…a simple walking stick…literally make from a stick. With my arthritic knee, I’m determined to develop a collection of interesting canes so I can be infirm in style someday.
The gorgeous shades of seafoam green roving in this basket caught my eye. So pretty!
I bought some apple crisp from a couple of smiling young people, and then hit the trail again. The day, which had started out sunny, was quickly turning to hazy sunshine. But still the view of the autumn foliage, just down the street from that farm, was a beautiful one.
It’s been an interesting autumn, in terms of foliage. The leaves seemed to have turned a little early this year. And we’ve had lots of rain. Some trees are still green. Some are turning. And a lot of them have had all their leaves beaten off by the rain and/or wind already. But any way you slice it, autumn in New England is gorgeous!
I took about a dozen pictures of the sheep, but this one was my favorite. It wasn’t the most in-focus, but the leaf on the back of the black sheep just delighted me!
The hazy day had grown increasingly cloudy and the skies had begun to look threatening. Then, when I was in the barn at this stop, it suddenly began to POUR rain. I made a mad dash for my car and resumed my following of the sheep signs.
But first, I took a turn around this charming village…where many of the descendants of the town’s original settlers still live. It is the very definition of Picturesque! The rain had let up, and I rolled down the car windows to let the cool air whosh through. The air had that wonderful autumn scent of wet leaves. The town has an old, New England graveyard.
And so many lovely old trees and barns.
The rain, which had stopped and started, had let up a bit by the time I got to my last stop of the day. I had to stop and admire the angora bunnies and the handknit angora pieces.
It was a lovely day!