Jim McCrae came with his shearing partner Liz to shear our sheep today. It is a beautiful thing to watch a skilled shearer work, to see them control the sheep, to move fluidly and humanely. Jim is also an accomplished photographer and we made a real connection. He trains and border collies and gives herding lessons. He was taken with Red, who held the sheep in the corner without moving for nearly an  hour.

We made plans to work with our dogs together in Vermont, something I have not done in years. I also met with a booking agent who looks for speaking engagements and workshops for writers. We made a strong connection also and I have decided to do more speaking and perhaps some writing workshops as well.

The name of the founder of the speaker’s agency is Alison Granucci and she runs a classy operation called Blue River Arts. If anyone is interested in having me speak, please contact Alison, who will be my exclusive booking agent now, the first one I have had. Wow, it sounds like a big deal. She has some awfully classy clients, you can check out her  website.

For years, I declined most speaking invitations, now I find I enjoy them and am ready to do more.

I’ll be putting a video up of the shearing shortly.