Whether passing along by foot or by hoof, Dirt Path travelers make their way—to home, to market, to a friend’s, a vacation or event. The time-sensitive nature that marks an Occasion makes a traveler’s journey that more urgent. Pressed by time or a date, to be late and miss everything is not an option for the dedicated traveler. The gathering could be big or small—as simple as a tottering grandmother’s 89th birthday party or a much larger Shepherd’s Neighbouring. Here a Dirt Path winds from goat path to farmstead for an animal-centered affair.

Sheep People
Historically, a Neighbouring brought together sheepherders from near and far. Once assembled, the group shared in the work at hand, shearing animals en masse, mixing in camaraderie, good food, music and storytelling. According to Elizabeth Phillips of Faraway Farm, Treadwell, these events were common in the Catskills. “Lamb, wool and sheepherding were once important contributions to Delaware County agriculture,” explains Phillips. “A large percentage of Irish and Scots made their homes in this region. They brought with them the agricultural and culinary traditions of their home countries.”

Sheep thrived well on the Catskills’ steep, rolling hills. Out of necessity, many farm families raised a small flock of sheep for wool and meat. Wool, a popular commodity in the 18th and 19th centuries, enabled many farm families to make a living, selling fleece and hides later transformed into cloth, uniforms or blankets. Wool can be worn in warm and cool weather, repels water and naturally resists flaming, making it historically, a favorite with the U.S. military.

“Historically, in the hills of Scotland, shepherds met annually to gather and clip their sheep. While it was a social event, it was a good system to accomplish a lot of work in one day,” said Phillips.

Phillips, with the help of Tom and Denise Warren of Stone & Thistle Farm in East Meredith, hosted a modern-day Neighbouring just last month. The event incorporated shearing, knitting, spinning, good food and music. The camaraderie was there too, but this modern-day gathering served a twist—to educate, enlighten and entertain visitors long removed from the fields, fiber arts and a sheepherder’s skills. “Over 300 visitors stopped in for the Neighbouring to learn about our region’s agricultural heritage and to enjoy traditional foods,” said Denise Warren. “This Neighbouring mimics the Shepherd’s Luncheon served to the community following the Neighbouring. It reminds us of the communal ways to get a big job done and socialize.” The Shepherd’s Luncheon, prepared at Fable restaurant, included traditional recipes over 100 years old including Stobach Gaelach (Irish lamb stew), potato-leek soup, bannocks, oat bread, apple cider cake and pear-apricot tart. “The Luncheon highlights lamb and sheep products produced locally,” added Warren. “Faraway Farm and Stone & Thistle provided the lamb. Local cheese, provided by New York Cheese Guild, highlighted sheep cheese raw and aged from Old Chatham Sheepherding Company, 3 Corner Field Farm and Northland Sheep Dairy.” The event was sponsored in part by the Watershed Agricultural Council’s economic initiative Pure Catskills with funding from the New York City Department of Environmental Protection, O’Connor Foundation and Center for Agricultural Development and Entrepreneurship.

In keeping with tradition, the Neighbouring offered two sheep shearing demonstrations by 30-year veteran Nancy Meyers of Morris. Faraway Farm’s Phillips and Kate Warren of Stone & Thistle, both members of the Northeast Border Collie Association, demonstrated sheepdog handling skills. Traditional Irish and Scottish music by The Catskill Puppet Players and bagpiper Nathan Gill brought the sounds of yesteryear to life. Butternut Valley Spinners brought their wheels, looms and unspun wool to show visitors the wonders of fiber arts. Swedish-style knit caps, woolen mittens and scarves were for sale. Children learned to make felt by hand and guessed the contents of the Shepherd’s Trunk.

For Shear Pleasure
Nancy Meyers has been shearing sheep for 30 years, a trade she learned through a college Animal Husbandry course. “I needed to shear one to graduate; I liked it and looked for others to practice on. My father sheared sheep for pocket money when I was a year old,” says Meyers, “I guess it made a lasting impression on me.” A one-woman operation, Meyers’ technique is simple: work and shear the animal with her right hand, smooth and tugging the skin taught with her left. Working quickly and efficiently, Meyers completes an adult ewe in less than five minutes. “On my best day, I sheared 109 animals in one stretch,” says Meyers. “I’ve been blessed with a good, strong back and I’ll keep at shearing as long as I’m able.” Along with her clipper and a long woolen sweater that warms the small of her back, Meyers’ tools of the trade include felted wool booties. “I wear these over my shoes to keep from slipping on the lanolin-laden shearing platform,” says Meyers. “You need a good cutting surface on which to work. The platform keeps the animals and their fleece out of the dirt. A piece of plywood works well but gets pretty slippery after a few animals.”

Meyers generally works February through November, with most work falling in the spring and early summer. Averaging 3,500 animals a year, Meyers appreciates a well-run clipping day. In turn, a good shepherd heeds the needs of a dedicated shearer. “I ask the shepherd for two things. First, the sheep and their wool should be dry. Wet wool, when packed, can spontaneously combust. Second, I ask the shepherd not to feed the animals before I come. Obviously, the body contortions an animal goes through during shearing aren’t too conducive for keeping food down, or in.” Meyers’ routine starts with a sheep propped on its back end with all four hooves parallel to the ground. Shaving begins at the chest, or brisket. Meyers works down the belly, around the tail and across the lower legs. She then shaves up either side of the neck, face and front legs, leaving the back for last. “Overall, I find that fall shearing provides cleaner wool. In spring, lambs stand on their mothers’ back playing King of the Hill. After three months and some time in the field, those hoof prints are history.” Meyers loves her work as she meets new people, travels the Dirt Path and hears lots of stories. “I grew up on a farm and this is my connection to farming,” says Meyers. “The job is instant gratification. Once a year, I join a group of shearers in Massachusetts to clip a big herd. The camaraderie is wonderful, especially when you work by yourself most of the time.”

Counting Sheep
As Meyers shears for the Neighbouring, onlookers notice two things about the fleece: the wavy texture and occasional clumpy yellow goo. “Crimp is a much sought-after wool quality,” Meyers points out. “As a shearer, I like to see crimp as that’s what gives fleece its spring and elasticity.” Yolking, on the hand, isn’t as desirable. “Basically, sheep sweat and lanolin congeal, forming this gooey substance usually found in the body’s nooks and crannies. It’s harmless but a spinner’s nightmare.”

Inside by the fire, fiber artists Sue Smith, Deb Dutcher and Catharina Kessler share a common topic: fleece, wool and yarn. Where one pauses, another begins, picking up the next thought naturally like a dropped knitted stitch. Smith and Dutcher are part of the Butternut Valley Spinners, a group that meets at 6 pm on the fourth Thursday at New Lisbon Town Hall. “It started with five friends who didn’t want to drive to the Guild,” noted Smith. “We get together once a month to talk, spin and catch up on the news.”

Dutcher and her husband recently transitioned out of dairy into raising 75-head of sheep, mostly wool-quality Tunis, some natural-colored Coryedale and a few oddballs on their 106-acre farm, Dutchayre. “Along with raising sheep for meat and wool, we sell a few for breeding stock. It’s much easier than milking,” Dutcher admits. “I’ve been fascinated by wool fibers since I was a child. Wool’s durability and characteristics are fascinating. Spinning is my mental therapy and much cheaper than a psychotherapist.”

Sue Smith of Welcome Acres started in dairy too, but transitioned her 350-acre farm to dairy heifers and sheep for sale. Smith came by spinning as a 4-H educator where all her children learned to spin. “I took it up last year after we sold our milking herd when I finally had time to sit and do it. I bought a friend’s wheel, as she had recently passed away, and now her legacy lives on when I spin.”

Catharina Kessler’s been knitting for a lifetime, but has raised registered Icelandic Finns for meat and wool only since 1994. Kessler owns and operates the 111-acre Promisedland Farm where she oversees 30 head of Black Angus cattle and 150 head of sheep. The animals remind her of home. “In Sweden, we learned to sew, knit and weave at an early age using mostly Finnish wool. I raise sheep and knit as part of my anti-aging program … both keep the hands and mind busy.”

From Fleece to Sweater
One sheep produces anywhere from 2 to 30 pounds of wool annually. The wool from one sheep is called a fleece, from many sheep, a clip. According to Smith, wool is made up of fibers, the diameter of which are measured in microns. “Shepherds raise flocks for three reasons: wool, meat and breeding stock,” explains Smith. “Tunis are great wool sheep. They’re slower growing; therefore more energy is channeled into their wool production. Dorset sheep are better for meat because they mature early and put on weight faster. Katahadin and Barbados Blackbellies have hair, not wool, and make excellent meat animals; you don’t have to worry about shearing them. You raise what you want according to what you want to eat or weave.”

Different wool is used for different things. “Felting, carpet, wool worn next to the skin or as an outer layer, it all depends on the fibers,” says Dutcher. Take for example, Romney sheep. “Romney is a fiber sheep, with long wool often of carpet quality, meaning it wears well when placed on the floor,” explains Dutcher. “Fiber used against the skin, like the wool standard Merino, would fall apart on the floor.” Sheep’s wool becomes coarser with age, with lamb’s wool, the softest, taken at the first shearing. Raw wool is usually purchased on the basis of grade. Grade denotes the average fiber diameter and length of individual fibers. The grade (or price) is reduced if the wool is dirty and contains a lot of vegetable matter or other contaminants.

To transform raw fleece into yarn is a process, one best done by hand. “The fleece is picked, where you remove manure, burdock, lanolin, grease and dirt,” says Smith. “The fleece is then washed to further remove the trappings of life from the field and barn. Some people pick again after washing; it’s really a personal preference and depends on what you plan to do with the final product.” Wool is dyed after washing or carting, again at the fiber artist’s preference. For example, Dutcher has been experimenting with Kool-Aid for coloring her Tunis wool prior to carting. Clean, carted fleece is brushed in one direction to line up the fibers; inline fibers, or worsten wool, make spinning easier. In woolen yarn, long and short fibers lie in different locations; woolen fabrics on the whole are harsher to the touch, more rugged to look at, and warmer than worsteds. Either wool can be spun into yarn. Spinners use both hands to feed the wool through the spinning wheel, a methodical and contemplative process. With the final yarn product, fiber artists can work their magic by weaving on looms, knitting or felting by hand to create table runners, scarves, mittens and hats. “Working wool is not an exact science,” says Smith.

“It depends on how much time you have,” adds Deb.

“And what you want to accomplish,” finishes Kessler.

Much in the same way as wool, the Neighbouring brings people together in the spirit of tradition and camaraderie to accomplish something special. An event along the Dirt Path such as this can only bear out a good time—and in this case, good wool from the Catskills.

Looking to purchase lamb, fiber products or raw wool? Contact one of these modern-day shepherds:
Apple Pond Farm, Callicoon Center
845 482 4764
www.applepondfarm.com

Applegarth Farms, Maryland
607 638 5784
www.applegarthfarms.com

Faraway Farm, Treadwell
607 829 3425

Heather Ridge Farm, Preston Hollow
518 239 6234
www.heather-ridge-farm.com

Nagimor Farm, Warnerville
518 254 0021

Promisedland Farm, East Meredith
607 436 9095

River Brook Farm, Cohecton
845 932 7952

Schoharie Valley Farms, Schoharie
518 295 7139
www.schoharievalleyfarms.com

Sheep Valley Farm, Medusa
518 239 6238
www.sheepvalley.com

Snowdance Farm, Livingston Manor
845 439 5561

Stone & Thistle Farm, East Meredith
607 278 5800
www.stoneandthistlefarm.com

Tabitha Gilmore-Barnes Studio, Roxbury
607 326 7662

Welcome Farms, Mt. Vision
607 293 8810

Wittenberg Store, Mt. Tremper
845 679 0200