Finding Our Flock Again

I sold my last skein of yarn this morning.  I had half as much as usual but it still went quickly.

Antionette left me a message saying that she’d been “following the progress of this wool from sheep to skein” on Jon’s blog as well as mine.  She said it “makes the wool feel more precious“.

This is just what I hope for when I write about my sheep and take pictures of them.  I am still enamored with the experience of caring for my sheep, watching their wool grow back after shearing, then being transformed into yarn.

It’s an ancient story this connection between humans and sheep.  They were one of the first animals domesticated by people over 10,000 years ago.

But what I also love about this story is that it doesn’t stop with me and my sheep.  All of you who buy the wool and make something from it are also a part of it.   I wouldn’t have my sheep without you all.

In this way, we all get to have a role in this ancient story.

And for some reason, even with all the conveniences of not having to raise sheep, shear them, turn their wool into yarn and yarn into clothing,  in order to survive, we still choose to. Maybe it’s a way of keeping us connected to nature.  Or maybe it’s genetic.  A tribe of sheepherders scattered in cities and towns around the world, finding their flock in whatever way we can.