Once I was a shepherd – Country Mile

There is nothing more exhilarating as shepherding – pure bliss.
Watching them move place to place, foraging and interacting with each other – makes the heart sing.

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sheep, goats, fiber and love

January 2020 — we had to re-home our flock. Unexpected events – they have a new human partner and are living the good life in Navajo Nation. I am eternally grateful for the time we had with them and have faith we will be blessed with the presence of sheep and goats again.

In the mean time – we share our shepherd journey with you…

‘love the animals first, and the craft second’

…….in the process, they gift us with fiber for felting, weaving and sculpture and the pleasure of their smiles and the joy of their peace.

The animals — I was blessed with horses most of my life. They taught me so much about life and how people learn. They were my mentors and soul mates.

During a time of witnessing my horses transition to rainbow bridge, sheep and goats came into our life. We currently have 22. Navajo Churro Sheep, Angora Goats and Nubian/Boer Goats. Some I purchased and some just found their way to us.

Nubian/Boer goats – Waffles, Romeo, Nancy, Lulu, Prince and Ruby
Lol, our very own ‘earth movers’, ‘bush hogs’ extraordinaire! They eat the most out of all of all of them — lol — and grow bigger and bigger and bigger. They are the ruffians of the bunch. Bossy and territorial.

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Angora Goats — Fluffy, Grace, Izzy, Promise, Snow, Doc and Wyatt.
Fluffy I saw advertised online and fell instantly in love.
He was raised by horse people who happily offered to deliver him – he arrived in a huge horse trailer all by himself – it was so funny to see this little guy step off that trailer. My heart skipped a beat – he glowed pretty and had long flowing white mohair – like he just came back from the hair salon…:)

Fluffy is almost 7 now and the old style of Angora goat – he lacks face, belly and leg fiber. He’s rambunctious and has quite the personality.

His previous humans bought him as a sickly kid from a local auction when he was a baby – their daughter was young then and said — “Daddy – we have to buy him”. He ended up being the dad’s favorite goat. When the daughter grew out of having time for him – Fluffy found his way to me. No one else wanted him because he has horns and he does get a little frisky at times, so you have to be careful not to get in the way of those swinging horns. He’s amazing – he is a comedian — he gifts us with long and wavy mohair once a year.

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