Maryland Sheep and Wool

This year I went to the Maryland Sheep and Wool.  I love this event for the shopping, the food and the working dogs.  I just love watching these animals do what they were bred to do for generations.

The working dogs just make me smile.  They work so hard and take such joy in their work.  This day the sheep were very determined to be troublesome and the dogs earned their keep.

Ready to go at the word or whistle.  Camera man didn't stand a chance of getting that dog's attention.

There she is, keeping those sheep from getting to far.

Getting a picture of the younger dogs is a challenge for me with my simple point-and-shoot camera.  Part of that is because once I zoom in it just isn't easy for me to see.  I missed a jumping sheep at one point because I was looking at my tiny screen and not the animals.

Not all sheep control is about running.  Sometimes it is about being still and hoping the sheep catch on.

This is after they made their great escape.  During the first show of the day, they escaped under that lower rail three times.  "Don't try to stop them.  We have dogs for this sort of thing."

I'm sure by the end of the day, they had learned that the trailer was a nice place to hide from the dogs.  A trailer made of shade and food and water.

This is the matriarch of the family.  She is 16 years-old and it almost breaks my heart to watch her out there.  She limps, but she is determined to herd those sheep.  It is in her old bones.