Visitors flock to Soule Farm for annual Sheep Day
Aaron Loux demonstrates how he holds a sheep at the beginning of the shearing process at the annual Sheep Day at Soule Farm on Saturday, May 16. Photos by Abby Van Selous
A white lamb is the black sheep of this herd.
Aaron Loux brings out a sheep to shear.
One sheep still needs shearing.
Timmy uses a weaving loom.
A pile of wool left over from the shearing demonstrations.
This sheep should be a little more comfortable with the warmer weather without its thick coat.
An alpine goat eyes the camera.
Lynda Hutchings sold products made out of wool from her sheep.
Sheep that were sheared.
These sheep were sheared during a demonstration on Saturday, May 16.
These sheep are now ready for warmer weather.
Aaron Loux demonstrates how he holds a sheep at the beginning of the shearing process at the annual Sheep Day at Soule Farm on Saturday, May 16. Photos by Abby Van Selous
A white lamb is the black sheep of this herd.
Aaron Loux brings out a sheep to shear.
One sheep still needs shearing.
Timmy uses a weaving loom.
A pile of wool left over from the shearing demonstrations.
This sheep should be a little more comfortable with the warmer weather without its thick coat.
An alpine goat eyes the camera.
Lynda Hutchings sold products made out of wool from her sheep.
Sheep that were sheared.
These sheep were sheared during a demonstration on Saturday, May 16.
These sheep are now ready for warmer weather.
MIDDLEBORO — Sometimes the results of a haircut can come as a surprise to unsuspecting friends and family, and now it appears that the same could be true for sheep.
On Saturday, May 16, sheep sounded the bleat when shearer Aaron Loux returned a freshly sheared sheep to an enclosure, when only moments before the others had last seen it with a wool coat.
This sheep’s woolcut was done as part of a demonstration at Soule Homestead Education Center's annual Sheep Day, the farm’s first large festival of the season.
Featuring vendors in addition to shearing demonstrations, a sheep herding demonstration and live music, Executive Director Kelly MacDonald Weeks said the day is “really about a celebration of fiber” and is also a “great way to teach the community about agriculture.”
Lynda Hutchings of East Bridgewater was among the vendors, selling wool products like insoles and yarn that are created with wool that comes from the sheep on her farm.
“I like doing events and just meeting people, and I do more talking and educating than actually selling anything, but I love to do it,” she said.
This was the first time Hutchings participated in Sheep Day, which she said was a “good event.”
“Quite a few people have walked by, and even if they haven’t purchased anything, they’ve taken business cards, they’ve taken pictures of things to maybe share with other people,” she said.
MacDonald Weeks said that Sheep Day is a “great way” for small business owners to not only sell their products but to also hold demonstrations, which she said is “really fun to see the fibers in action.”
She also noted that she thinks that people can take how labor intensive the process of making something out of wool can be and take the process “for granted.”
Sheep Day can therefore also serve as an educational tool to teach people “what it takes to go from a sheep to socks, or whatever we’re wearing,” MacDonald Weeks said.
Loux, who has given the shearing demonstration for three years, said events like Sheep Day are “important to expose people to what this world is all about, as far as raising sheep and the shearing industry.”
He noted that sheep farming has declined in Massachusetts over the years, taking with it opportunities for people to see things like sheep shearing and herding in action.
“To be able to come to a place like this and bring your family and learn a little bit, be connected to where our food comes from, where our clothing comes from, I think it’s an important thing,” Loux said.
