Edible Notables
by Mike Gioscia
SOULE HOMESTEAD
Surely you should see a sheep sheared! If you never have, you’ll have your chance once again at the 15th annual Soule Homestead Sheep Day, when the sheep on the farm get their annual haircuts.
The Soule Homestead is a 125-acre organic farm and education center in Middleborough, MA, just a stone’s throw from Halifax, Plympton, or Carver, and well worth the lovely country drive from afar.
On Sheep Day, every twenty minutes a sheep is brought into the barn for shearing, and a crowd gathers every time, wide-eyed kids always in front. Shearer, Andy Rice, works his shears like a ‘sheep whisperer’, literally taking each heavy coat off in one piece as the animals sit up almost hypnotized at his feet. Need wool? You can even purchase the soft fleece right there!
Other activities include washing, felting, and dying of the virgin wool; as well as live spinning and weaving demonstrations. All attendees are free to walk the many trails at Soule, or sign the kids up for the ‘insect walk’. Other fun craft activities for kids go on all day.
There are Sheep Dog demos on-site. You’ll be amazed at the skills of these trained dogs and how they can control a herd of sheep, moving them around hundreds of yards of farmland and bringing them back. You can also visit with the farm’s chickens, ducks, and geese.
Purchase a yearly Family Membership at Soule ($25 for Middleborough residents, $30 for non-residents), and you’ll receive one complimentary ticket to Sheep Day (as well the farm’s fall celebration: The Harvest Fair) and have the opportunity to stop by anytime during the year to walk the trails with your kids, visit the animals, enjoy the scenery, or just take in the peace and quiet with a good book.
Saturday May 2, 2015, 10:00 am to 3:00 pm
Soule Homestead
46 Soule Street
Middleborough, MA 02346
(508) 947-6744
www.SouleHomestead.org
Mike Gioscia is a writer, filmmaker, drummer, and green consultant from Halifax. Find out more about him at thegreendad.com
