Good morning, Reader,

How are you today, my friend? I clearly forgot it was Monday already with the holiday weekend! I hope you got to enjoy some time off.

This long weekend, Benjamin took our three older kids west to hike Mount Rainier. He has been talking about doing this for YEARS, and they finally made it happen. I love that they did it is really beautiful out there.

While they were gone, I had my own little surprise adventure. A flock of beautiful Katahdin sheep became available—the exact breed Benjamin and I had been working toward. Their owner, a stock dog trainer near Mankato, was getting ready to head to the World Sheepdog Trials in Scotland!!! and wanted to reduce her flock before she left.

How cool is that?!

So while Benjamin and the kids were off climbing a mountain, Lucille and I hooked up the trailer to our trusty—but currently not-so-comfortable, because the AC is out again—Suburban and went to get sheep.

Six beautiful sheep came home with us. And I couldn't be happier.

You see, we had sheep before. Last fall, we sold the entire flock. At the time, it was the right thing to do. We needed the funds to cover some unexpected electrical bills, we knew we wanted to move to a bigger breed, and we decided to take a year off from lambs so we could focus on some spring and summer projects.

But here's the funny thing: Our farm missed them.

I didn't realize how much until they came back. For one thing, both of our lawn mower belts are currently broken—something we better fix soon or we'll be baling the front yard. 😂In years past, we had a flock of sheep that was perfectly happy to mow down our lawn for us—a job sheep have been doing alongside people for centuries.

But as a grass farmer, that's not really why I wanted them back.

Sheep and cattle don't use the land in exactly the same way. Sheep prefer different plants. They are better at cleaning up weeds and undergrowth that cattle tend to leave behind. Their smaller hooves interact with the soil differently, too. They bring another set of mouths, another pattern of grazing, another kind of movement.

Another layer of LIFE!

And that's something I have come to really appreciate about farming. Diversity matters.

The farm doesn't need everything to do the same thing. The cows can be cows. The sheep can be sheep. The chickens can be chickens. And yes, the piggies get to be pigs to their full pigginess. And when each animal gets to do what it naturally does best, the whole system becomes more ALIVE.

Last night, I sat in a lawn chair with my book and watched the sheep graze. And I realized something. Sometimes you don't know what something added to your life until it's gone. We thought we were simply taking a year off from sheep. Turns out, we were missing a little piece of our farm. And now that they're back?

Well...

I can't wait for lambs again next spring. ❤️ There is nothing sweeter than a bouncy lamb on green pasture.

And I really can't wait for you to come see them.

Until next time,

Leah
​Great Heritage Farm