Roving Reporter: Sheep’s Wool and Summer Pastures

While I love all the seasons of a shepherd’s calendar, summer grazing is one of my favorites. After the busy spring lambing and abundant fiber festivals early in the year, I welcome the chance to spend more time at home and experience my sheep’s wool on their backs. My flock is busy chomping grass and growing fleeces—will you join me for a pasture walk?

Nia’s yearling fleece.

For many flocks, summer is the best fleece-growing time of the year. When the sheep are on pasture and out of the barn, they stay cleaner. However, this means that I always need to be on the lookout for plants such as thistle or burdock that, when mature, can contaminate sheep’s wool. My sheep don’t wear coats like some shepherds use, so I must manage the pasture to keep fleeces safe. Every burr must be vanquished!

Even though the sheep are out and about, this can be one of the hardest seasons to get good pictures. These serious grazers nose quickly through forage looking for the plants they want to eat. Many grazing animals will self-select, meaning they quickly survey what’s on the buffet and pick out the best bits. Depending on the season and nutritional needs of the animal, their preferred foods can change. I took a short video several years ago showing how quickly they taste test pasture plants.

Grazing is serious (and delicious) work.

When managed well, sheep can live happily with smaller creatures in the pasture. I often find bits of sheep’s wool that have been incorporated into bird’s nests, and small mammals such as mice and voles go about their business among the sheep. August in the Midwest is deep in the growing season, often a calm spot between busier times, and we spend an hour together walking through green pastures.

A redwing blackbird nest partially constructed with sheep’s wool. The sheep avoid disturbing it in the pasture.

—Kate Larson, Editor Spin Off

Featured Image: Penelope in her favorite spot at the end of the workday. Photos by Kate Larson.

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