Sheep

Their Entirely Sheepish Nature

Perhaps it is the years of experience raising sheep on grass, perhaps it is the way I see the natural world and the animals in it – which is as co-species of this land. Not as mine, not as pets, not as production units, but as animals deserving of a rich, naturally lead life. This naturally lead life does not equate to a life free from stress and danger and harm. It equates to a life in which those things are always just around the corner but hopefully held in check long enough for each life to be well lived in the setting it was intended to be lived in. And for ruminant animals that setting is grass.

Three days old and well on her way to figuring out what being sheep is all about

The point I started out to make is that perhaps experience and my immersive life in the natural world of sheep is why cute is the last word I reach for when describing sheep. That and docile, docile is not how I know sheep to be either. No, sheep are realists who think hopeful and think bigger than themselves. While they have cute moments, they are not cute in nature. And I admire them to bits.

Not all sheep are created equal though and there are years of genetics behind this grass based flock as well as experience. So I was pleasantly surprised to unroll the photos from my camera this evening and see that in the first few days of lambing I somehow managed to capture a few scenes of who these sheep are and what grass based lambing can be.

Cleaning up
Three days old and taking on a much bigger sister. Yes, the wee one lost the match.
Off to a good start when Mom’s got you cleaned off and covered.

The bulk of lambing is yet to come and I see the crows and ravens are circling. Nonetheless, when we start out with unassisted births and attentive mothers and strong lambs I feel reassured I’m on a path I know is befitting of me and my nature.

Their Entirely Sheepish Nature Read More »

Shearing Good Time

Another shearing day is in the books.

Wool sheep in full fleece having a good stretch

This one was made unusual by the collapsed wool market. With very little wool moving on the export market many large flock owners are having to decide what to do with wool they won’t get paid for. One more example of agriculture being at the mercy of exporting product rather than having local initiatives and markets for what is produced in any given area.

Freshly shorn ewe having a graze while also calling for her mates

I kept numerous individual fleeces for processing into batting for selling, plus I’ll use some in my felting work. But the bulk of the wool clip never even got bagged this year. Instead we piled it on the ground and I can’t tell you how off it felt to do that. I did have some plan for it though so at least it wasn’t going to the dump which is where a good many wool clips will end up this year.

My first plan was to use the wool for erosion control on the trails out to pasture, and then for some land reclamation trials. But then Allen came up with a better idea. We have an outbuilding that is slated to be a three season wool house / small dog kennel in the future. We’re going to use the wool for insulation of this building which feels very fitting and eased the sense of wrong that piling it on the ground presented.

Freshly shown sheep on the move

The whole wool scenario causes me to reflect on the felted flock project which seems very timely now. I have a renewed urgency to tackle that project and see it done. There have also been numerous whispers this past year, whispers to value add. At first I thought of this only in regard to the sheep flock and the farm but now I realize that artwork is value adding what I have and photography is value adding what I witness here on a regular basis, and writing is value adding the experiences lived while here on this place. This is the value adding that needs my attention.

Shearing Good Time Read More »