A Shepherdess’s Calling

I loved my goat herd, I really did. They were spunky, loving, hilarious, naughty, endearing and joyful. However, they were NOT profitable. Having them on the homestead was a great source of milk, livestock experience and the deep bond that you form with such large and intense interconnectivity. Mitch and I continuously fought about their practicality, their usefulness on the farm, the time it took to "goatproof" their pasture. All of these considerations paired with their non profitability convinced us that they weren't the right animal for our farmstead. Even when I had just begun with goats, they didn't feel quite right, didn't look quite right in the pasture. Stirring inside was a call to shepherding that runs deep in my lineage and in the lineage of this very land. My grandfather was a shepherd and had a large flock here on our farm. The remanence of their barbed wire fencing stills exists like artifacts of another time scattered through our forest. When a pair of shepherds managing a large heard of Icelandic sheep joined our farmers market, I quickly befriended them with all my questions and admiration and a few months later the goats were gone and the sheep came home. I miss the goats so dearly for their playful nature and loving trust. The sheep are not yet loving and playful, but dutiful, majestic and full of promise. I have been spending lots of time in the pasture bribing their trust with apples and my gentle, quiet presence. For quite some time I have been living for the future. Unsettled, restless, unhappy, ungrateful, and tired. The constant anxiety and pressure that I put on the future has zapped my ability to enjoy the present moments and I am fearfully watching moments pass more quickly than I could have ever imagined. Sitting with the sheep moving slow dropping into the now and feeling the ground on my back as sit or lie on the earth has been such potent medicine in these times. Becoming a shepherdess has helped me tap into my gratefulness, my power and to work on the healing of my lineage. I have been called to healing in so many forms and have been chasing the medicine for so long. This feels right and HUGE. The role the sheep will play on our farm is tenfold. We will harvest yearling rams for meat, we will shear them and dye their wool from the natural dyes that the land around us shares. We will knit clothing and practical wear from them. We will sell ewe lambs for breeding stock. We will use their bedding and manure to fertilize our gardens. We may milk them when we get a bit more comfortable. Most importantly we will use them for medicine in all the ways that they bring it. Their arrival has already shaped a beautiful partnership between my husband and I and their presence brings so much peace and joy to our relationship. Fencing is no longer a chore, but a task that we get to do together. Sitting on a picnic blanket with a bottle of wine at the very top of the pasture is as romantic as it gets. The deep stir and calling to a shepherding journey has officially begun and I can't wait to see how it plays out.
-Heather & Mitch