It was my fondest hope that by the end of Shepherding Camp, our campers would be able to catch a sheep, trim a hoof, give an injection, administer a drench, and milk a goat, all on their own. I didn’t realize I was dealing with prodigies, y’all. Because before breakfast on the second day, they had nearly completed my entire list. Granted they had only applied these skills to lambs by that time, but still.
These women are kicking ass and taking tag numbers. Today they are taking a tour of our local fiber mill and learning the ins and outs of the feed store with Zac and Caroline, while I scramble to come up with more challenging challenges for tomorrow.
Diane
Jody
Zac gives some pointers
Sheila
Marla
My motivation for offering Shepherding Camp is that I want all the people who dream of some day having sheep to get to spend a few days learning the realities of it. It’s a great way to figure out if this life is really for you, if you like the actual work of shepherding.
I’m happy to say that our inaugural campers are going to make amazing, empathetic, bad-ass shepherds. I’m already proud as hell.
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Oh my! The looks on the lambs’ faces! Too cute!
That Diane looks like a natural shepherd! I think she’s found her calling!!
that lamb that Marla is trimming hooves on looks like “How’d this happen???” Way to go ladies!!
those wanna be shepherds are looking great! Trimming hooves on the little guys still makes me a little nervous.
Say, does Zac have any pointers on sharpening those trimmers? Mine seem to get dull so fast!
So…. We’ve added “Bingo!!” to the naming conventions????
What a fantastic experience for all. Zac looked like he was enjoying it as much as the students. They are so far ahead of me, I just enjoy petting and loving them.
Shepherding Camp looks like a *lot* of fun!
I wish there’d been something like that back when I started with goats. Oh well…I did eventually find the best 4-H group ever, so that worked. And the entire 4-H experience was wonderful for me and my kids! Are any of you considering becoming advisors? You are so excellent at sharing your knowledge, with all of us and apparently with your campers, too.
When I started with the goats, I knew nothing about outreach or 4-H, but had some antiquated ideas about it. I was soon happily proved wrong, and have come to appreciate it it so much. I think it would be a natural fit for you guys (in your copious spare time, I am sure). You’re already naturally good at sharing the farming experience, and teaching others.
Hooray! I can’t think of anything better than you all propagating what you’ve learned to others, like germinating flowers! Busy Bees!
Let the knowledge spread like life.
Um – I think there is a t-shirt in this someplace “One Bad-ass Shepherd”
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