…and I’m not talking about the song!
Coming up for three years ago, I was incredibly fortunate enough to take on the ownership of two lovely (albeit very stampy at the time!) Romney wethers – a literal almost lifelong dream come true, and they have taken me on a journey as a shepherdess-in-training ever since…*
*I’m not sure I can really call myself a shepherdess with my flock of three sheep, who a farmer once warned me I’d ‘softened’ and behave more like dogs than sheep as a consequence, having adapted incredibly well to life as family pets, but an actual farmer at an National Sheep Association Field Day says it still makes me a farmer and I’ll take that!
Anyway… a little over a year ago, a little sock lamb joined my flock of two. A sock lamb is one of which who has lost their mum, or is being reared without her, but my little lady sadly lost hers an hour after birth. I was very lucky to meet her just hours after being born and a few months later welcome her to the family after she didn’t take to any of the other sheep in her original flock.
Farming is something I would love to be able to do. Caring for my own ‘flock’ has given me such a greater understanding and appreciation for how difficult the life can be, the responsibility, work and love that goes into it, and also how rewarding it can be as a result of that. Having said that, realistically speaking, my sheep are very much pet sheep and would most likely become house sheep at the first opportunity which isn’t really a possibility when you’re farming the thousands… so I’m told…
What I have been able to achieve on this journey so far though is increased husbandry knowledge (with some steep learning curves!), shearing – after I finally booked myself onto a course this year, another incredibly steep learning curve, difficult doesn’t begin to describe it I found – and wool spinning using a traditional wheel. I love learning all things sheep and I’m hoping to share lots of updates about it all as I go!
I always say, I’m not sure at which point my woolly ones crossed over from being one aspect of my life to taking over it, but one look around the decor of my house, wool stash creeping into every storage space I can find and listening into one of those awkward “so tell us one interesting fact about yourself” types of introductions, which always happens to be about my little flock, and anyone could tell you it has happened! It’s something I definitely would never want to change, so it’s about time my website caught up with everything that I’ve been learning – especially as one thing’s for sure, where the sheep are involved, I will always be found wearing wellies!
Rather Be Wearing Wellies ā„ 