Sheep Make The Perfect Anniversary Gift

Yesterday was our 16th wedding anniversary. Looking back,time has certainly flown by.It seems like only yesterday we were just starting our life together. We have had our share of hell and back,but thankfully it has made our union stronger.

We always like to do something,just the two of us (this year,Richie was included,of course!). It so happened that we arranged to pick out our sheep on this day. We then figured we'd go to lunch,then take a nice drive through Sandwich,which is lovely little town north west of us.

Our first stop was at Colonial Acres Farm in Wakefield for 10:00 to pick out the sheep we wanted. Priscilla kept the ones that she is selling separate from the rest of her herd so we could get a good look at them. She had one white,and four black (three of were triplets). I wanted a white one so I could practice dyeing the wool,so that choice was easy. She was pretty,had a good body and was healthy.

Priscilla had just had these sheep sheared,and she had the fleece in bags separated. They hadn't been carded or cleaned yet,so we could feel and see the raw wool. The white one had a lovely wool,nice and soft. We felt all the black ones,and they were all nice,some more coarse than others,and there were some gray variations in the black wool ,but that didn't matter to me. The cool thing was we felt the lanolin in the wool,which of course,one does not get once it's been cleaned,washed,and carded.

I had my eye on on a little black one,mainly because I like her face and she didn't have a white mark on her face like the triplets. Her fleece was finer that than the others,and I liked that. She was shyer than the others,and faced away from us quite a bit,but she finally turned around and I got this photo of her:

Priscilla is very kind in keeping the sheep until the end of Nov for us when the barn should be complete. She told us all about the sheep's medical history,discussed when she had them sheared,and even the process of building the barn,though the more technical things she said her hubby would be better at answering. Since the black one we wanted was fairly small,she was nice enough to reduce the price by $50,saying that many folks wouldn't want a sheep that size. It didn't matter to me,I just feel in love her.

After we left Priscilla's,we went to lunch at the Wolfe's Tavern,which is located in the Wolfboro Inn in Wolfboro. Wolfboro NH is the oldest summer resort in the US. It's a cute small town,but the traffic is horrible. It's right on Lake Winnipesaukee,so there are a lot of tourists and second home owners who come up for the summer.( Many of the homes on the lake go for a million dollars plus). Rick and I each had nice cup of clam chowder,and I had a fabulous spinach salad with currants,caramelized purple onions,candied walnuts, and blue cheese crumbles,topped with a rhubarb strawberry vinaigrette.Rick enjoyed a chicken dish topped with provolone cheese,tomato relish that also had a tomato tapenade drizzled with lemon Aioli. It came with mashed potatoes and the veggie of the day.Rick told the waitress that it was the best chicken he had ever had,and she told us a bit later that when she mentioned that to the chef,the chef let out a whoop. Richie was very well behaved,and laid down under the table quietly the whole meal. No one would've known he was there if they had not seen us come in. The Wolfe Tavern is certainly a place we will go back to,and it's only 20 minutes up the road from us. New discovery!!!

Since the leaves are starting to change here,I thought it would be nice to take a drive somewhere pretty that we don't normally go to,and Sandwich called to me. Sandwich is pretty little town that was incorporated in 1763. There are gorgeous views of the mountains,and many old farms and colonial homes.I'ts the home to the League of NH Craftsman (gorgeous store),and the Sandwich Fair.It was named in honor of John Montagu,4th Earl of Sandwich( rumored to have created the sandwich).

Our trip took us to Sandwich Notch Rd,which is closed in winter. We stopped at Beede Falls,which was just a nice walk down a path.

Richie loves the water,and immediately went in. Rick said it was a good thing he had the shorter leash,because Richie would have gone right in!

We then walked to Lower Falls.

I love this photo!

Rick and Richie checked out Cow Cave. The story is that a local family's cow got caught in a storm and hunkered down in this cave until the storm passed.

We were both getting tied,so we headed back home. We did stop for a hot fudge sundae on the way,though. It was a lovely Anniversary!