Becoming land, part 2

On becoming land, continued…

the rams are in

The rams are in. A momentous day in the shepherding year; the beginning of a new cycle of new life and a new round of work and integration of flock and land that will peak at lambing and culminate at harvest.

There’s a build up of planning and excitement in the weeks and months before the rams go in. Important decisions are made that will make or break the year ahead: decisions on colours and fleece type and quality, genetics and hardiness, suitability to our conditions and purpose, fitness of ewes to breed and rear lambs on the hill—to grow fat and strong on the rough forage the hill has to offer and, equally, to do their job of digesting that rough forage and feeding it back to the the hill, working the magic that ruminants work best, their truest purpose in the web of life feeding life, of turning cellulose to soil.

We are new here, to thi…