My Merino

I just found a bag of washed black Merino from my rescued ram Othello. Oh, it's wonderfully luscious. I need more for a run of roving. The last two times Big Jim Baldwin came he refused to shear my Merinos because the fleece was not long enough. Merino grows v-e-r-y s-l-o-w-l-y. Jim raises Merinos himself, and says it takes a year and a half to grow a 3 inch staple. Any shorter and it could fall between the rollers at the carding mill. Jim sheared around their eyes and tails to prevent wool blindness and fly strike. Guess I'll just have to wait for fall shearing to get my Merino, then bring it to Rhinebeck to drop off, then wait for Maryland in the spring to get my Merino roving. Seems like so long...