9 Lessons of a Shepherd Intern

#9-It is possible to back up a large truck with a sheep cage in the back down a very narrow dirt road without bringing harm on truck, person, animal or environment (you do end up with sweaty palms though).

#8-Setting up electric fence in parched, rocky earth takes a long time, a mallet, a good hat and some personal fortitude.

#7-A tired shepherd and a determined intern can lift a large, sick ewe up a hill and into a truck - just barely.

#6-An unexpected ladybug colony at first appears creepy, but makes your heart smile when you realize they are gentle ladybugs and not giant, pinching ants.

#5-Blackberry bush stalks continue to reach out to rip your skin and clothes to shreds, even after sheep have relieved them of their leaves.

#4-Crowding sheep remind me of what it feels like at the Outside Lands concert.

More than one similarity to sheep

#3-Very important - DON'T open the gate unless you know the plan or Dan the shepherd tells you it's ok.

#2-If you open said gate without a plan or ok and sheep make a run for the hills, two clever border collies and a confident shepherd can fix your mistake pretty quick.

#1-Farming is an incredibly difficult profession that at times offers very little reward.

This weekend felt like a dose of reality to mix in with my idealized farming ambitions. Farming is physically, mentally and emotionally taxing and doesn't always provide the financial return desired for time, effort and labor put in. I can't help wondering, am I cut out for this? can I be successful at this? should I scale down my aspirations?

By late summer most small farmers in this area are run ragged from a long, hot season of watering, feeding, protecting and harvesting whatever their farm is producing. We can show our support for them by buying from them at farmers markets, sure, but what are some more ways we can show support and appreciation for our local farmers? The Sacramento Natural Foods Co-op has a program to raise money for local producers and to preserve future farmland; it's called Once Farm at a Time. If any farmers are reading, what are some ways in which you would appreciate support from your community?

Revisiting

I was recently discussing this idea revisiting with a friend; particularly revisiting a conversation or experience you had with someone if you were less than satisfied with the outcome. Kind of an obvious idea but one I had not thoughtfully considered before. This weekend (as I manned the farmer's market stall on my own) I was afforded the opportunity to revisit an experience I had with a teacher in high school.

One of my favorite teachers at Del Oro High School was Mrs. Millholen, a funny and vibrant art teacher.  I liked her so much I signed up to be a teacher's assistant (TA) for her once I reached my junior year. That year I also had a fun group of friends and quickly found I was more interested in spending time with them than being a good TA. I pretty much failed in my duties to Mrs. Millholen, was graded accordingly and have carried around a fair amount of guilt surrounding this whole experience.

Well, on Saturday, Mrs. Millholen walked by my market stall and I recognized her right away. We caught up a little (she thought it was pretty funny that I am interested in going from a CPA to a farmer). I was debating with myself whether to mention my past failings but then took a chance and apologized to her for being such a bad TA. She thought this was pretty funny too, as she didn't have any recollection of it and here I was dragging around this load of guilt all these years. She hugged me and granted me her forgivness.

None of this was really for her, it was my therapy. With the new knowledge that revisiting is an option, I was able unpack my baggage and heal an old pain. What an unexpected gift to find at the farmer's market!

Vegas the guard dog with her flock in the star thistle field

And speaking of revisiting - when there are sheep out on grazing contracts, you have to revisit them every day, to make sure they are in good health, have enough to eat and have plenty of water in the summer time.  So again on my own (I think Dan was testing my confidence and skills!), I made the rounds in the county, fed guard dogs and revisited the sheep to conclude a very satisfying day.

Boise sharing a drink with his goats