Guilford Country Fair

I met up with my friend Jo and her sweetie Ray at the Guilford Country Fair yesterday afternoon. Jo grew up around here, so I also got to meet her sister Terry, two nieces and assorted other friends. The definite highlight of the fair was the sheep sheering demonstration. It happened just after I arrived and I was reluctant to go because I had just found Jo and wanted to hang out with her. She had seen the demo earlier in the day and said it was not to be missed. And so, thankfully, I went.

So, out behind the barn where the prize Jersey cows were being kept was a small area containing a pen in which two freshly shorn sheep stood chewing their cud. Beside the pen was a man with white hair and a friendly face holding a very hairy sheep by it's head and back side. He invited people to come up and feel just how thick the animals fur was before sheering. Then he started shearing, first with on antique pair of shears, later with antique clippers that were operated by a hand crank. He kept up a steady stream of delightfully entertaining banter throughout the entire shearing process. I captured some of it on video.

Also took an adorable picture of two worn out piglets cuddling.