Lollipop Ride

On Saturday I wanted to enjoy the day and focus on myself. So I treated myself to a motorcycle trip. If you picture Highway 47 as a stick and Mille Lacs Lake as a round piece of hard candy, then you can imagine my lollipop ride. The stick meets the candy in Isle. Along Highway 47 I saw a bald eagle, a family of sandhill cranes dancing in an almost dry pond, and a flock of turkey vultures circling above a bog. Vultures are one of the few birds that have a sense of smell. The flock of vultures numbered about 30 so something in that bog must have been making a big stink. I nearly had the road to myself except for the stretch between Isle and Garrison. I took the south shore scenic drive where the speed limit is 40 and the new road is as smooth as a baby's butt. The scenic drive takes you right to the edge of the lake. For awhile, I kept pace with a pair of jet skiers heading counter clockwise around the lake. I decided to go counter clockwise so I could be closer to the lake as I traveled. After Garrison, I had the road to myself again. I'm not sure how long it took me to travel around the lake but I know it felt too short considering I couldn't even see all the way across the lake. Soon I was in Isle again. I stopped in town to get some tea. Next to the coffee shop was a yarn shop. I was good. I didn't buy anything. I have to stick to finishing one project before buying the goods for the next project. But they sure had nice yard there. I spoke with the owner as I admired the yarn. She had one display of yarn from her own flock of sheep. She has started out with 4 Shetland sheep and now has a flock of 40. She said the sheep give her and her husband plenty to talk about. She talked about Freckles, one of the original four sheep. She held up a cream colored skein of yarn from Freckles as she spoke about Freckle's personality - assertive and a very attentive mother. Freckles generally has one lamb per year. Then she picked up a gray skein of yarn from Speck, Freckle's daughter, also assertive but not as attentive of a mother. Speck generally had twins who would wander away from her and cry out. Speck didn't go to them when they cried. She waited for them to find her. I thought it was awesome that she had undyed yarn from each sheep on separate shelves. The yarn felt creamy like there was still lanolin embedded in the fibers. Then I looked at the price. $22 per skein?! Awesome, but not $22 worth of awesome. I might go back there someday if and when I finish the sweater I'm working on. Saturday was a great day for a ride in the country.