The Unconventional Flock

Sometimes you hit the jackpot

Kay with Brian; he’s a big hit

I got Kay a sheep for her 62nd birthday.

I don’t know why, it seemed a good idea, rural, authentic, organic, practical and a living being with a lovely wooly coat. In truth, the surprise gift came from a feel good moment of spontaneity that proved to hit both the emotional and physical jackpot at the end of an action packed summer.

Of course I have been responsible here; this sheep has been properly raised and registered along with five others since birth in February by an experienced shepherd around the corner here in North Yorkshire; he (its a ram lamb) comes from impeccable stock and has socialising skills that put our two spaniels to shame; so much had this loveable approachability been cultivated by the entire group, that their keeper was indeed looking for an alternative home for these beautiful animals to avoid the inevitable chop. So, in cahoots with a couple of friends, we joined together to buy them outright.

The unconventional flock was born and they had collectively hit the jackpot.

He’s called Brian; his mates are Sprout, Spud, Crocus, Daffodil and Snowberry.

They just are six of over two million sheep that inhabit Yorkshire and the Humber; that’s 14% of our total sheep population according to The UK Governments latest (June 2023) DEFRA Livestock survey; there are in fact over 32 million sheep wandering over these isles; around 16 million of them being lambs (under 12 months old); so for Brian and his flock, that was one great escape indeed.

The ceremonial unloading of the flock into a neighbours paddock will give us something to talk about for years to come, providing the highlight to a memorable weekend with friends and family.

If we were happy about these events, just think how they felt, they must have been ecstatic - weeks away from a far less wholesome outcome, they now find themselves joining an existing older sheep (name TBC) in a beautiful grassy paddock on the edge of the village, newly fenced with a shelter, trees, no overcrowding and a steady stream of owner/visitors to socialise and frolic with.

Malmö getting to know the locals

In fact, they have their own Facebook group, not that we are looking to make them celebrity sheep, (there are enough of them already from what I can trawl on social media); no this is just somewhere to save images and share notes on visits as we continue to work with our dogs and kids to be a more sheep friendly and socialised community..

Yes, this six-some is quite an unconventional flock, but isn’t that true of all the most remarkable collectives that we find ourselves in as our stories develop?

Brian won’t be appearing at our local sheep fair this month, but his Shepherd (Jennifer) will be there with many of Brian’s friends and more thoroughbred colleagues. I’m no expert but I guess being an eight month old male lamb, Brian will be a Ram Lamb technically; potentially a Tup when he is a bit older; being from Texel heritage, with some other breeds in there also, the best he could hope for would potentially be to compete in Class 54 Ram lamb or Class 55 Ram Shearling under the Northern Area Sheep Breeders Points Trophy Competition on the Saturday at the show; for those interested, Masham Sheep Fair is a big deal, and a fantastic weekend to boot; the link here takes you to the official site and a full list of classes and judging can be downloaded; as I said, we take sheep very seriously round here.

Anyhow, back to the whole point of this weeks post; and what got me thinking about Brian.

The people you choose to socialise with or even choose to work with, say a lot about you, especially as you develop over time, have more options and make (perhaps wiser, perhaps not) important choices regarding your career trajectory.

I wrote an article on Linkedin a year or so ago, entitled ‘ The Importance of Belonging’ you can visit it here; the company you keep, or perhaps the company that finds you, two legged or four; reflects onto you too; you need to not only be in the right place but also be with the right people or animals in your virtual flock; like Brian.

Part of the rationale behind this sheep idea was the recognition of both the intelligence and personality of each individual sheep; they recognise human behavoir and from what I have seen to date from Brian, are incredibly biddable and fun to be with. Don’t just take my word for it; seemingly specialist groups and organisations such as Ewe Talk are in the news in recent weeks extolling the virtues of sheep and specifically working with children and adults to improve wellbeing and specifically mental health outcomes.

And with this being one of the key areas I will be writing more about; I don’t think it is unreasonable to think that our flock can help us in more ways than we thought; a reason to get away from screens and out into the great outdoors; a focus to get us thinking positively and away from unhelpful distractions; something for everyone young and old.

Yes I am writing this because I want to tell my story, without claiming to be an author I hope I can eventually publish my book ‘you can do anything’ while also inspiring and helping others along the way.

So lets think of ourselves as part of this group; you don’t need to buy a sheep because I have done it for you; you can join the unconventional flock, you can follow Brian and Spud, Sprout, Crocus, Snowberry and Daffodil, and you can join in with others on substack to share ideas and learnings as we go along, because I want to grow a flock of remarkable people, to gather a crowd around some scribblings that bind us together; it’s not really about sheep (or dogs), its about you!

So now that we are in the right place, at the right time; and what with you being part of a pretty unconventional flock, together, we can do anything.

Happy Birthday Kay.

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Next Week: Do the right thing, and everyone wins, yeah?

Why purpose is more important than profit

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