A visit to Oregon this time of year is not complete without experiencing produce in the open-air. We began in Eugene where we'd gone for Black Sheep Gathering. We made a point to visit the bountiful town market before the sheep so we could bring our own lunch along.
For reasons only the natives must know, the worst sort of fast food is available at the Gathering--nothing fresh, no lamb. Curious.
As great and glorious Eugene's Saturday Market is, it was the waste-conscious sensibility that got to me. Imagine, a container for compost. Of course, this assumes that everyone knows this is for waste that can be composted not as I initially thought, "They bring compost here?" And everyone know which stuff belongs in it? Remarkable but then I live in another universe where it is someone else's responsibility to kee
p the earth clean--not ours.
The specialness of our trip was taking Zach, our 6 year old grandson, along on his first overnight trip with us. He was very comfortable with this Angora sheep and all the wool-centric happenings. Though very sensitive to wearing wool, we cannot knit or spin for him, nothing was a problem with the live product.
He was encouraged to be up-close with the animals by Carol Ronan, a sheep breeder in Selma, Oregon.
We watched the judging--Carol even encouraged Zach to come into the ring with her--as she won two ribbons for her animals. We'll return next year and see if he's ready to get in the ring.