"The Shepherd" Sculpture

This past week, I flew to Reno, Nevada, for the American Sheep Industry Association Annual Convention. Before Thursday’s meetings began, I took a Lyft to the University of Nevada-Reno, the state's land-grant, to walk around campus.

I started at the student union, situated near the top of a hill, and began walking down a sidewalk lined with brick buildings, just to see what I could see.

A little ways down, a sculpture of a man with what I thought was a sheep caught me. With the sun behind it, I couldn't immediately tell what the sculpture showed. But as my eyes adjusted, I saw the animal at his side was a dog, and the man held a week-old lamb low in front of him--not close to his heart like he was carrying it a long distance, but leaning forward, worn shoes gripping the rocky earth, like he'd just rescued the lamb from a perilous situation. The look on the man's face was not yet one of relief; he seemed to be recovering from what had been a dangerous rescue mission. The dog looked up at the lamb with fondness, happy one of his charges had been found, and glad for the safety of his shepherd.

A sign nearby explained the sculpture was in honor of Basque shepherds. I stood mesmerized for quite some time, listening to students' footfalls behind me.

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This Week on the Farm

Last week in this section, I wrote about preparing for lambing in case the ewes lambed while I was in Reno. I didn't really think lambing season would start while I was gone; February 7 was the estimated start date.

But lo and behold, in the middle of listening to a panel discussion on marketing wool and meat, Jeff called to tell me a lamb had arrived!

So, it’s official: lambing season has begun!

We’re expecting continued below-freezing temps for this week, so we'll continue to monitor animals closely and make sure everyone is comfortable.

Farm Shop

Now that lambing season is underway, we’ll be posting information about lambs we have for sale in the coming months. Stay tuned for more information here and on our Facebook and Instagram.

We also have a Shetland ram available for his next home. He’s a 3/21/24 son of a North American International Livestock Exposition class winner. Great disposition. Reply to this email for more photos and info.