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Pace of Nature

Musing, Sheep / August 18, 2024 / By

Adopt the pace of nature: her secret is patience.
Ralph Waldo Emerson

wool sheep at rest

This photo was taken at 6:47 in the morning.
It was still cool out, the ewes had already taken in a belly full of grazing. When the day is shaping up to be a hot one they’ll rise soon and mosey their way to shade, unless there’s a good breeze blowing. They seem to appreciate a breeze that is strong enough to keep the flies and mosquitoes away.

Sheep just might be one of the most patient creatures.  In the heat of the summer there is little to do but wait out the day and then feed in the coolness of the evening and very early morning.

I have let slip my habit of pausing to watch them as frequently as I used to. I have been letting the pull of other tasks and desires take over. I have been dismissive of the ordinary, every day checking of sheep; treating it like a task I have to do instead of a task I get to do.

One does not have to pause for long for the quiet mood of these meditative creatures to seep in and be a needed reminder. But if the only thing these creatures represent is production and numbers then all the time in the world will not suffice.

Sale of The Felted Flock

Artwork / August 4, 2024 / By

I am not sure I really believed the Felted Flock would sell but I did hope for that outcome. Now that outcome has become reality, and I feel many things, including amazement and a good dollop of pride.

In case you have forgotten all about it, the Felted Flock is a collection of needle felted sheep and other animals who hang around them and/or are needed by them. The general intention behind creating was to share the voluminous story of growing wool and to highlight where fibre comes from. It was a two year art project that I finished December 2022.

Here’s the scoop on the sale. Earlier this year I was approached by an employee from SK Arts and after several back and forth exchanges Sask Arts made an offer to purchase half of the number of felted sheep along with every supporting character – so the guardians dogs, the stock dog, the fox, the coyote, the shearers, the shepherd, the crows, the magpies, and the wee cowbird. The new home for this downsized version of the felted flock is the Permanent Art Collection of Saskatchewan.

This sale means that the felted flock collection is archived and inventoried in an art collective, and when it’s not being shown it is held in storage by an organization with that capability. It took me about a week to decide on the sale and while there were a few terms and conditions to be navigated it felt right the whole way through and the process was rather seamless. The first showing of the flock is planned for this summer/fall in Regina, SK.  And because it resides in the permanent art collection, the Felted Flock is also available for any provincial gallery to rent for exhibition, and vignettes are available to be used as part of group shows.

Upon hearing the news friends have asked if it was hard to sell and the answer is yes and no. It was exciting to make the sale; a sale such as this is an amazing opportunity and nearly every artist’s dream. What was hard was letting go of my vision for the felted flock and allowing a new vision to reside in someone else’s hands. Because from here on, where and how the collection is set up and shown is in someone else hands. That is still hard and may always be hard, I don’t know. But I am eased with having the felted sheep that did not go with the collection to now do with as I please. And since these are no longer part of the felted flock I feel free to give them a new creative outlook. And so that is what I am doing. I am giving them a new look and making them into the prairie sheep collective. A couple of these are already on display at the Watrous Art Gallery and more will most likely head off to an art boutique in Saskatoon. I’ll share their makeover here on the blog as well so stay tuned.

For The Sake of Good Dogs

Dogs / July 19, 2024 / By

I bought our first sheep because of a dog, a border collie mix, so it feels fitting that as I consider exiting from keeping sheep, dogs are once again a key player in my decision.

Currently, I have more stock dogs than livestock guardians; although four of the six stock dogs are now living out their senior years and only do modest work if any. And my livestock guardian dog team is at a bare minimum of three dogs.

Relying on three guardian dogs isn’t particularly wise since it is the guardian dogs that we rely on to maintain the balance with coyotes who would otherwise prey on the sheep. The areas we graze are large, and challenging in terrain and ground cover.  Three dogs are stretched thin particularly since one of the dogs does more work guarding me and the yard than he does the sheep. Yet even knowing the consequence of this imbalance as firmly as I do I am hesitant to procure another livestock guardian. And if I do not purchase another livestock guardian then it is not fair to maintain a flock this size or add more to it without help for the current dogs.

Trouble is, I have not made any decisions about selling sheep either. Although by not procuring more working dogs I suppose I am deciding, albeit without conviction. But something I know for sure is that I do not wish to have more sheep. I wish to have far less of them. The reason I know this is because my focus is no longer on them. When we began this journey into keeping sheep two decades ago all energies and thought and money went into building a flock of sheep and procuring the dogs and the knowledge needed to do grass based ranching. All my energy was on the animals and the land, specifically in regard to returning it to grass. And we’ve done all we set out to do. We live in a place of grassy forage and trees, and natural prairie, and wetlands. We’ve paid for all of it and then some, in money and in emotion. We have had a very, very good run with sheep – as full of successes and heartbreaks as any livelihood can be.

Sketch of Maremma livestock guardian dog

And now,… now my focus lies elsewhere. It is as simple and as scary as that. But I know that whenever the decision gets made I’ll keep some sheep around because there is one guardian dog here who needs sheep, possibly a second, although I suspect she would make the adjustment to having no sheep around better than he would. So I’ll keep sheep for the sake of these good dogs, which will also serve to keep the two younger kelpies in good working stead and me on my toes, with the added bonus of having plenty of subject matter for artwork.