The day started off as rainy, cold, and gray, and we were concerned that we might have to cancel the evening photo shoot at Wet Wool Farm. Fortunately, as the day progressed, the rain slowed until the sky was a blue-gray.

Robert (the photographer) and I showed up at Wet Wool Farm at 6:30 pm, and Audrey, Michelle, and their three dogs were waiting for us. We started off with some “family” photos, which were surprisingly difficult to get. Craig, having been trained and bred to listen to his owner, was very attentive to Audrey and didn’t want to look away from her. However, when I called to him (“Craig! Hey Craig!”), instead of simply looking over, he took off toward me at a run to see why he was needed! After some laughs and rubs, he was called back to Audrey and this time seemed much more interested in me, as well as Robert.

The “Family” Photo, by Robert S. Harrison

We then ventured out into the field to get some photographs of the sheep. Sheep are naturally quite skittish around humans, although Audrey and Michelle had made friends with a few of them.

Photo by Heather Gladstone

Audrey and Michelle sat down in the field with Penny, a beautiful white ewe, who was very content to stand with them and get rubbed for a bit. However, she became curious and came toward me, but didn’t quite trust me enough to let me pet her.

Penny: The Friendly Sheep, Photo by Heather Gladstone

Sheep David, who used to belong to Doug Benoliel, also came over for rubs, and Robert had a fun time trying to figure out where he liked to be scratched.

Sheep David and the photographer, Photo by Heather Gladstone

One of my favorite moments of the day was witnessing the sheep’s reaction to Audrey. We had decided that she would move the sheep toward Robert so that he could get some front shots of them. However, as Audrey walked toward the sheep, instead of moving away from her, they ran all at once to her and stopped in a semi-circle around her! Audrey’s hypothesis is that they want to be moved to another pasture (which is happening tomorrow), but it looked like she had done a secret sheep call (Baa Ram Ewe?) and they had come running!

Audrey’s secret sheep call, Photo by Heather Gladstone

Robert and I then had a lot of fun herding the sheep and trying to get photos of them as they came toward us and then shied away. Audrey and Michelle also shared some fun stories about the sheep with us (ask them about the “Wonder Twins”), and Audrey showed off her wonderful sheep shirt. It was a fun day in the field with the animals!

The Sheep Shirt, Photo by Robert S. Harrison