That will do, Wilbur.

Writing this has taken me several days; I don't know if anyone reads blogs anymore.

Wilbur never met a stranger. He was always happy to greet anyone and everyone. Being so attached to a sheep is silly, but he was a good boy. For the longest time, he was my only wool sheep.

A few years ago, a friend messaged me on Facebook and said she had some sheep on her land and wondered if I wanted them. I was pretty new to the sheep business, so I said yes. We loaded up, and away we went. He was the only sheep we could take, and the others were not friendly or catchable. He was happy to go home with us. He followed us to the car, and we loaded him up. He had not been sheared in many years. This is the day we brought him home. It took us five hours to shear him; we were all exhausted.

My favorite childhood books were Charlotte Web and Where The Red Fern Grows. I already had a pig named Charlotte, so I thought Wilbur would be fitting. I'm sure I have more than a few Templeton's running around here, too.

Wilbur loved doing herding demonstrations with us and getting corn from all the kids and some adults. He also taught people the difference between wool sheep and hair sheep. Most folks don't realize there is a difference.

I enjoyed shearing him, and I even sent his wool off to be processed and had it turned into batting. We made a blanket for my grandson with the wool batting from Wilbur. I used Oklahoma Mini Mill, and they did an excellent job.

Over the last few months, Wilbur had started laying down more, and it was hard for him to get up once he laid down. He was losing weight even though he had plenty of hay and grass. I had him sheared a few weeks ago, and that might have been too much stress for him. Wilbur passed away peacefully, with a belly full of good grass under the watchful eyes of the guard dogs. This is the last photo I took of him.

First day of spring....

Baby birds were brewing, bees were buzzing, and blooms were blooming! It was a beautiful day here in central Texas. Getting the garden ready, I love homegrown fruit and vegetables. My most successful fruit is cantaloupe and pears! My fruit trees are about six years old, so hopefully, we get loads of fruit this year.

I will keep you updated.

Good night friends

Lindsey

For the dogs...

Tales from the Lone Star Shepherdess is a blog about my life on my farm. I am a woman who bought a small piece of land in Texas with her husband and children and turned it into a sheep farm and a little more. I desire to share our daily struggles, failures, and successes. I invite you to follow along and see where this takes us.

Spring is here, and usually, that would be lambing time for us, but this year lambing is coming later. I recently started a new job and did not want to complicate things with lambs. I am anxiously awaiting the arrival of my new ram. I will be picking him up in May.

I stayed at the same job for many years because it made me feel comfortable and safe. But deep down inside, I knew it was time for a change.

I love this poem. It speaks to me.

For A New Beginning

- John O’ Donohue

In out-of-the-way places of the heart,

Where your thoughts never think to wander,

This beginning has been quietly forming,

Waiting until you were ready to emerge.

For a long time, it has watched your desire,

Feeling the emptiness growing inside you,

Noticing how you willed yourself on,

Still unable to leave what you had outgrown.

It watched you play with the seduction of safety

And the gray promises that sameness whispered,

Heard the waves of turmoil rise and relent,

I wondered if you would always live like this.

Then the delight, when your courage kindled,

And out you stepped onto new ground,

Your eyes are young again with energy and dreams,

A path of plentitude opens before you.

Though your destination is not yet clear

You can trust the promise of this opening;

Unfurl yourself into the grace of the beginning

That is at one with your life’s desire.

Awaken your spirit to adventure;

Hold nothing back, learn to find ease in risk;

Soon, you will be home in a new rhythm,

For your soul senses the world that awaits you.

I love my new job and the stable schedule it gives me to take care of the farm. Spring is always a new beginning; we always hope for rain and good grass.

This week's adventures started with a Schunk in the pasture with the sheep. The guard dogs were all over it and ran him back through the fence to the creek. I thought the problem was solved. When I went out to feed, he was in the BARN, and it smelt so bad. Then, he promptly ran out of the barn and headed for my house. Sir, there is no room in the inn. Many black-and-white things are running around, but that doesn't include you. We chased him around for quite a while until we relocated him permanently.

Off to bed, back to work tomorrow

Lindsey