Shepherd Farm

Welcome to The Daily Shepherd.   This blog is dedicated to exploring the Life Lessons Learned on the Farm.  I believe that many of life’s most important lessons emerge from the daily rythms of life on the Farm, as days string together from season to season.  Rarely does a week pass at Shepherd Farm when I am not moved by some interaction between two horses, between a horse and his owner, between a dog and a cat, or between these animals and mother nature.  The animals are great teachers when we are open enough and present enough to hear their message.

This blog was inspired by two sources.  The first is a blog and book by Shreve Stockton, The Daily Coyote.  I picked up this book when I was standing in line waiting to check out with my holiday gifts last year.  Yes, it was an impulse buy.  I was drawn to the book by the beautiful cover – which portrayed a baby coyote lovingly held by Shreve.  I was immediately drawn to the substance of the book because, like Shreve, I traveled to Wyoming for work and was awed by and enamored with the Big Country.   There is a drama and strength to the land that does not exist here in Maryland.  As I devoured Shreve’s book on a few subway commutes into DC, lost in the words and forgetting my cramped urban surroundings, I resolved that I would finally write that blog that has been knocking around in my head for years.

This blog is also inspired by the concept of Robert Fulghum‘s All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten.  My daughter is now in Kindergarten and she is learning life’s lessons daily – from her teachers, her friends, and through trial and error (or as we like to say good choices and bad choices).   Fulghum’s simple and profound wisdom is so refreshing and relevant in a world that seems to barrel ahead in pursuit of advances that promise greater efficiency, but in truth bring with them more stress and less time really living.

In the entries that follow, I will share my observations and lessons as they are revealed to me at the Farm.