Note: Auburn Arts Association has extended my Shepherd's Year in Photographs exhibition at Auburn City Hall through the end of the year! In case you aren't in Auburn, here are the photos I chose for the exhibit - enjoy!
A Shepherd’s Year in Photographs
My wife and I
have raised sheep at some scale since moving to Penryn in 1994. Now based in Auburn, we’ve raised sheep
commercially since 2005. Drought and a
full-time off-ranch job have meant that we’ve drastically reduced our flock
from its peak of 350 ewes – but I still think of myself as a shepherd.
On October 1,
2015, when we put the rams with the ewes, I started a social media project I called
#Sheep365. My plan was to post at least
one photograph every day (on Instagram and Facebook) for a year, depicting
whatever it was I was doing that day in our sheep operation. A shepherd’s year involves day-in-day-out
care for sheep, punctuated by milestones like lambing, shearing, weaning and
breeding. The photos in this exhibit
(two from each month, plus some special shots) are just a small sampling of my
project – and my year. Every photograph
was taken with my iPhone 5s.
The shepherd’s
year, in my mind, begins on the day that he or she puts the rams with the
ewes. Breeding season represents our
hopes for the coming year. As this exhibit begins, the rams are back with the
ewes – in preparation for 2017.
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The Object of His DesireOne
of our Blueface Leicester rams lost an eye when he was a lamb. Now he tilts his head to get a better look at
the ewes!October 2015
|
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Ewes and Oaks
With
cooler temperatures and shorter days, our irrigated pastures perk up a bit in
October – just in time for breeding season!
This
is one of my favorite oaks in one of my favorite pastures.
October 2015 |
The Bachelor Pen
The
rams are turned in with the ewes for six weeks in October and early November –
then it’s back to their own pasture for the rest of the year. Not a bad life –
six weeks of work and all-you-can-eat after that!
November 2015
Moving through Autumn
We
prefer to walk the sheep from one leased pasture to another – it’s much easier
than hauling them in the trailer. I enjoy the colors in autumn, and our border
collies enjoy the work!
November 2015
Waiting for the Rain
After
four years of drought, sheep and shepherds alike were hopeful for a return to
normal winter weather patterns. If you look closely, you can see a hint of
green grass under last year’s dead grass.
December 2015
Sunrise Sheep
As
a part-time shepherd, I usually check the sheep before work in the morning. I
love the light at that time of day – and at this time of year!
December 2015
One Month to Go
By
January, the bred ewes are enormous. We say, “They’re starting to bag up” –
meaning their udders are beginning to fill with milk. This ewe gave birth to twins 37 days later.
January 2016
Winter Skies
Being
a shepherd – even a part-time shepherd – means we’re outside in all kinds of
weather.
I
love this sky – looking west towards Lincoln.
January 2016
Red Sky at Night
During
lambing season, we keep a careful eye on the weather. If a storm is expected,
we’ll move the flock to a pasture with plenty of trees and other natural
shelter. But while stormy weather causes extra work, we pray for rain to make
the grass grow.
February 2016
New Life!
At
some point in late February, we’re greeted by the arrival of a new lamb. We time our lambing to coincide with the
onset of green grass – compare this photo to those taken in December!
Our
ewes have amazing maternal instincts – this ewe will challenge anyone (or
anything) that gets too close to her lamb.
February 2016
Nap Time
Lambs
basically spend their time doing three things: playing, eating and sleeping. I
suspect these twins were gamboling through the pasture minutes before I snapped
this photo.
Every
shepherd with a smart phone has shot at least one video of a “lamb-pede” –
lambs chasing each other through the fields.
March 2016
Hybrid Vigor
We
use cross-breeding to enhance the health and vigor of our lambs. These lambs were sired by a Shropshire ram.
Their mother is a “mule” – a cross between a Blueface Leicester ram and a
Border Cheviot ewe. The yellowish tint to their wool is meconium.
March 2016
Fresh Grass!
The
lambs learn quickly (from their mothers) that when the shepherd opens the gate,
there’s fresh grass to graze in the next pasture! Sometimes they get a little encouragement
from the border collies….
April 2016
A Good Dog
I
once heard an older shepherd say, “I hope one day to be the shepherd my dogs
deserve.” Our border collies, like Mo, are more than pets – they are our
working partners.
April 2016
Before…
The
ewes and lambs graze on irrigated pasture through the month of May. We try to
shear them before the stickers get too bad – foxtails and other vegetation can
foul their wool.
May 2016
…After
The
ewes all look so clean after they’ve been shorn! Our sheep usually grow about five pounds of
wool in 12 months. Shearing a ewe takes
our hired shearer about 90 seconds. The lambs will be shorn later in the
summer.
May 2016
A Flying Mule
In
the UK, where the cross-breeding scheme we utilize originated, the cross
between a Blueface Leicester ram and a hill-breed ewe is called a “mule” – if
you look closely, this lamb’s feet aren’t touching the ground. He’s a flying mule!
June 2016
The Weaning Pen
Depending
on the grass, we wean our lambs in late May or early June. Thanks to better-than-average grass growth
this year, we were able to wait to wean the lambs until June 20. The lambs go onto irrigated pasture; the ewes
get to graze on dry grass after weaning.
June 2016
A Cool Drink of Water
As
the summer temperatures rise, the ewes drink more water. They’ll usually come to the trough after
their morning graze, and again before bedding down at night.
July 2016
Shaded Up
After
their lambs are weaned in June, and before we start preparing them for breeding
again in September, the ewes are grazed in our unirrigated annual grasslands
and oak woodlands. During the heat of
the day, they shade up under the oaks.
July 2016
Hopeful Weather
In
every August, there comes a day that suggests that summer won’t last forever –
that autumn is on the way. This year, we
had a cool, misty morning in early August – which made the hot days that
followed a little more bearable.
August 2016
The Boys
Except
for 6 weeks in the fall, the rams are pastured separately from the ewes. This
helps ensure that all of the sheep are ready for business once the breeding
season commences. In August, we begin
feeding the rams some extra groceries – they might forget to eat once they’re
with the ewes!
August 2016
Back to Green
September
marks the beginning of our preparations for next year’s lambs. We bring the ewe flock back to irrigated
pasture, and we supplement their diet with canola meal and barley. “Flushing the ewes” – putting them on a
rising plane of nutrition – results in increased ovulation – and more lambs
next spring!
September 2016
Autumn Morning
As
late summer turns to autumn, we prepare to start another year. Shorter days
mean we’re often doing chores before the sun has fully risen.
September 2016
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