The Benefits of Rotational Grazing

About the time we started looking at land on the red island, Dave began researching keeping sheep. There was something about the prospect of lots of rolling grassland that had him dreaming of wooly grass eaters dotting the country side.

I had no opinion one way or another on the sheep, but as I have discovered, his passions usually draw me in at one point or another and then we become crazy farm owners together.

We would be driving to and from work while he explained to me (ad nauseum) the benefits of rotational grazing. I would like to point out here, how this was not just a conversation that was had on one occasion. Oh, no. We’re talking months. When Dave is passionate about something, he is all in.

So it will be a surprise to no one when I tell you that we have finally added 4 lambs to our flock. What once was an empty barn, now has life.

Jane, Yolanda, Saffron and Bridgette (or Brie for short) now call our barn home.

We loaded our family up for a drive across the Island early in the afternoon, only to discover the farm we were headed to was literally on the other side of the Island. Oops. We messaged the farm we were headed to that we had made a little (heh) error on our estimated time of arrival, but that we were on our way.

It was blustery cold and late at night by the time we actually arrived, but they were happy to receive us. (I’m discovering this is the most Canadian Island, ever.) They even offered us a place to stay for the night if we were wary about setting out that night for home. We thanked them, but declined.

Inside their barn was warm and bright and our four little romanov sheep were waiting, bleating, for us in the corner. We loaded them into our makeshift covered trailer and headed for home.  Every bump on the road we hit, we’d look back and breathe a sigh of relief when all looked well with the trailer.

We arrived home late at night, but we still had to unload our wooly friends. So patiently, Dave would climb into the box with the sheep, isolate one of them, lure it to the front of the box so he could pick it up and carry it into the barn, all while the children and I sat waving our arms at the opening, scaring any rogue sheep back inside.

It was going well, until Jane decided if the girls were leaving, he was going with them and launched himself out the door. Six leaps out of the box, he froze. He could hear the girls baahing from the other room, but realized he had no idea where that was.

I ran up and grabbed him by the wool. (Sorry, Jane!) And held on for dear life while calling for Dave. Thankfully, he had just put Brie down and ran over to help.

We locked them into their pen and breathed a sigh of relief.

Now that they are home safe and sound, I have to admit, there may be something to this sheep thing after all.