Edited to add:  Wheeeee!  I won some gorgeous Alpaca from the Blogger Bingo prize pool.  Wheeeeeee!  I never win anything in drawings.  Wheeeeeee!  Thank you so much, href=”http://stitchymcyarnpants.com/knit06/”>Stitchy. 

And I went to the site for A Craftsman’s Touch Alpaca, where the yarn came from, and I’m pretty sure the man on the homepage is the same man I saw playing with his sons in the best way ever on Saturday afternoon near the entrance.  He would act as if he was about to sneeze, and then fake sneeze, and then push the stroller (which was a double, and had an older kid in the front who knew how to brake with his heels, and also an older brother there for safety’s sake, and there was plenty of room and no innocent bystanders were harmed, so it was not scary and incredibly funny) and hilarity would ensue.  And then the older son would act like the stroller was a raging bull, and the father would act like he was a matador, and more hilarity, as one might expect.  Way to go, nice man with sons and alpacas.  Got your Dad skills tight.

This is going to be a picture heavy post, so, you know, don’t say I didn’t warn you.  Rhinebeck was only a little bit about shopping for me.  I got some beautiful green roving.

And one skein of yarn.

Enough buttons for two sweaters.

And a wonderful fallow deer antler, which I hope Dark Mary can make into a distaff for me.  If not, I guess I need to start weaving baskets.  In my copious spare time. 

No deer were harmed in the harvesting of the antler, by the way.  The original owner shed this naturally, and the rancher who raised the deer just picked it up and brought it to the festival.  Fallow deer are a European species, which is why that antler might look a bit odd to anyone who is used to White Tail or Mule Deer. 

When I wasn’t shopping, I was having a great time hanging out with Janet and Jayme,

(Seen here with a terrifyingly big ram.  No, seriously, he was terrifying.  The ewes were afraid of him and his, er, ramhood.) 

playing blogger bingo, meeting and catching up with other knitters and spinners, and meeting livestock.  I really like livestock. 

No really, I really really like livestock.  I like Angora goats.

And badger goats

And amorous goats.

And goaty-looking ewes.

And future sheep guards.

Seriously, it was very very hard not to pop these puppies into my totebag.  Or my mouth–whichever.

One day you will be mighty, Mr. Great Pyrenees puppy.  For now, you’re an adorable, sleepy little snack. 

Where was I . . . oh yeah, and sheep-colored llamas

And llama-colored llamas

He was majestic.  And he wanted dinner.

And, um, sheep-amusing organ grinders.

But when it comes right down to it, I like Jacobs the best, and I don’t care who knows it.  They’re goat-like sheep, and they’re a breed that was very important way back in the way back, and they have lots of horns, and bicolored wool.  Sigh.  Do you think the county government would believe me if I said they were dogs?

In short, Rhinebeck was a blast.  I didn’t really take pictures of people much, because the cameras were getting to be pretty, well, insanity-inducing.  But the animals didn’t seem to mind. 

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