09/18/2026
It has been 12 days. I still can’t bear to go down to the empty pasture. It’s not how I thought my days of shepherding would come to an end. But here I find myself.
I never expected that these woolly creatures would take such a hold of my heart, and of my life. I started off with four girls when my children were young, and soon enough we had up to 27 sheep at one time! I was much more comfortable with 10 to 14 but even then, these last few years have been more challenging.
As my marriage ended a few years ago, I didn’t anticipate the monumental shift in so many aspects of my life. Thanks to my daughter‘s help, and my boys of course, we made a good go of keeping sheep together. And it was hard! Mending fences, and fixing wonky water systems that we knew nothing about. But in the darkest days of winters and the rainiest days of spring, we were out there, caring for our sheep as we always did for years and years.
Until it became just too much. Juggling two, and sometimes three jobs, coming home to farm chores was overwhelming.
With much reluctance, I decided that I needed to take a break from shepherding. Within 24 hours, I had a lovely family interested in my entire flock plus my young LGD. It was a whirlwind and I’m still trying to find my footing.
With all my heart, I hope one day I’ll have sheep again. Thank goodness I have 50 bags of wool to sort through and share with people. Not to mention over 1000 skeins of yarn.
But my heart literally aches for my woolly friends. Aside from the impact on my children, this aspect of divorce has really hurt.
As I write this, my old LGD, Clover, is laying upon my feet. I think she’s as disoriented as I am. But she’s in her last phase of life and so attached to me, I’m grateful for her company.
I am so thankful I have all these photos of my children and my flock , as well as all those bags of wool. There is some comfort that my hands will be busy for many many moons to come.
This is not the end of Wool Maiden…I am still dedicated to sharing fibre, yarn and stories from my farm to your hearts. Deep breath, one foot in front of the other.
Thank you for continuing on this journey with me.
🫶