Wonderful wonderful writing and a fascinating story! How did you sabotage yourself btw? I was a straight A student and terribly bullied at school so your story resonated and the message you give is so true! Im building my greenhouse/kitchen wall. I need to get chickens and 2 sheep. I have very litle land (our house stands on half an acre) but I shall make do!
No idea! Have noticed someone living locally who has less land than me has chickens and two sheep so Im going to go and ask her advice (she spins her own wool). Any advice you can give would be very welcome!
I am a meat eater but Id only want to eat them in a case of meat scarcity.. so yes a breed that I could learn to hand shear would be best as Id love to learn to spin wool. I have done a little bit of dog grooming on a small dog I looked after for a friend once..
Maybe something small, with gorgeous fleece, like Shetlands? They seem a reasonable size to learn to hand shear. We have Oxford Downs, the largest native breed, and it would take me a week to shear one by hand. Even then they’d have to stand nicely, because there’s no way I could turn them over!
This is beautiful, Jackie. A story that can only be told now at your perfect age.
Wonderful wonderful writing and a fascinating story! How did you sabotage yourself btw? I was a straight A student and terribly bullied at school so your story resonated and the message you give is so true! Im building my greenhouse/kitchen wall. I need to get chickens and 2 sheep. I have very litle land (our house stands on half an acre) but I shall make do!
I gave University a miss, opted to work with horses, and spent 20 years in a downward spiral of bad habits, bad choices, and bad relationships.
But I'm happy to be where I am now, and to be gathering a whole tribe of women using their own raw materials to craft this life!
What breed of sheep are you planning for?
No idea! Have noticed someone living locally who has less land than me has chickens and two sheep so Im going to go and ask her advice (she spins her own wool). Any advice you can give would be very welcome!
Do you spin, or would you like to? Are you a meat eater? Or do you want pets?
Shearing is a bother for two, so something which sheds, or which you could easily learn to hand shear would be a start?
I am a meat eater but Id only want to eat them in a case of meat scarcity.. so yes a breed that I could learn to hand shear would be best as Id love to learn to spin wool. I have done a little bit of dog grooming on a small dog I looked after for a friend once..
Maybe something small, with gorgeous fleece, like Shetlands? They seem a reasonable size to learn to hand shear. We have Oxford Downs, the largest native breed, and it would take me a week to shear one by hand. Even then they’d have to stand nicely, because there’s no way I could turn them over!