Another amazing week! My good friend Brigit Strawbridge whom I have known for many years since we were neighbours in the same village came to stay overnight on Monday. She and her family have been at the forefront of getting folks to think about greening up their lives on the BBC2 series 'Its not easy being green' . An amazing spin off from that has been a forum where people can find out information about how to make their everyday lives more sustainable...........it now has over 4000 members!
S o many people are puzzled as to how they can make a difference and to address that The Big Green Idea came into being and was launched at last years Big Green Gathering, a festival that takes place on the Mendip hills in Somerset near Cheddar (where the cheese was invented!) The basic idea is to take a bus or a van packed with info out into the community....but don't just listen to me, check out the website above and even more exciting see the film about The first bus ...........its now in a hangar about to be 'converted'!!
We went off to an event run by Unltd yeterday to apply for funding for the bus and I am applying for funding for the felting.....sooooooooo exciting!
On Tuesday the BBC came down from Bristol.........armed with all their filming stuff and some lovely lavender shortbread....to film me and Brigit for the pilot of a possible new series of 'Its not easy being green' that might be due out in 2009, nothing fixed yet.........It took about 2 hours to film sheep and dyeing in my wool room for about 25 seconds worth of tv! We kept forgetting what we were going to say or falling into fits of giggles, but it was good fun!
I have just dyed some wool for a person known as Lakshmi on the INEBG forum and here it is.........very bright as for a baby blanket with a difference!!

Our wonderful helpers from Helpx moved on this week! Tom and Bec a lovely young couple from Melborne Oz who were travelling around the world came to help us for 3 weeks. In that time we have taken down and cut up most of 2 large trees, cleared an area of about a third of and acre which was full of brambles to plant a cider orchard, laid some hedges, collected a lot of free stock fencing (second hand) and sturdy fence posts from the National Trust who have removed several miles of it up along the A39 from Porlock to Lynmouth, and we now have a nice sturdy fence dividing up our home paddock with another under construction!.........pictures will follow soon! This was very lucky and saved us a fortune but as my eldest son is working for the NT in North Devon we knew about it going free! My son, George, is having a great time working for the NT.....its good to be able to enjoy your job!
I am also in the process of constructing a willow fence/hedge called a 'fedge'! I pic of that will follow too when its finished. I collected my apple trees yesterday and must put them in during the next few days, they are old west country varieties such as Payhembury, Browns, Duffin, Black Dabinett and Somerset Redstreak........wonderful names!
I have also come across this wonderful thing.....a greenhouse made of plastic bottles.....I am determined to make one and will need to find 550 plastic lemonade type bottles!!!
I have a couple of Ouessant ewes that look due to lamb any time now and we are soon taking delivery of an in pig Kune Kune sow to add to the sausage empire!
Other exciting good news is I have secured the funding for the felting machinery (hooray!!) Now waiting to see if funding has been secured for installation and rent.......will update as soon as I know!

............and here are my tagged blogs! Check them out in the links at the side

1. Permaculture in Normandy
2. A Shepherds Tale
3. She who digs
4. Auntie Plastic
5. Amazing Artists

Tree Surgery.........on a very big tree! We have opened up our view by taking down to 8ft and 12ft respectively a sycamore tree and a lime tree. They were also shading out the grass at the top of our field and we needed to get more light in there, so down they came. Of course pollarding, which is what leaving the trunk is called does not kill the tree and indeed helps to prolong its life so in a few years time we expect a nice head of regrowth on both of them.
Now we have a couple of years worth of logs to cut up and move, for which we are very grateful to have 2 helpers from Melborne Australia called Tom and Bec who are working with us and sharing our lives whilst working their way around the world.
They came to hear we needed help through Helpx which is similar to Wwoof
Pics are of the lime tree, at the start, being reduced in weight and just before the final felling cut.

I have also been tagged by Clarice of the yummy Eating Brittany blog!! I have to provide 5 facts about myself then tag 5 other sites who will all provide a link back to the person who tagged them!!!
So 5 facts....
1. I love beer....especially Pelforth Brune!
2. I am very untidy!
3. I drive a bright yellow car
4. I make my own bread
5. I also save small children from tooth decay by stealing sweets

Sites I am going to tag will follow tomorrow.......!!

Pictures of Ouessants
Here are some pictures I took yesterday to illustrate the range of colours I have in my ouessant sheep! The really black ones are the British ones and Derek my British ram (not pictured here) is pitch black with not a sun bleach mark on him! One of the brown ewes actually has grey tones in the fleece too so quite interesting!!. Note all the black/brown ones are actually 'black' when it comes to genotyping.....we think! The white one has orange/fawn face and legs but is a genotyped white ......as far as we know!! Once we have got a few more years into this and know who carries the genes for which colour we will know more!!
Pictured below is the first lamb from the French import! Born up in north Devon at the home of the delighted owners Kevin and Trevor! She is a real cutie by the look of it! Her mother is white obviously, and her father is Cyril....jet black but with the odd white/grey hairs....and I thought black was dominant in Ouessants???
The young ram pictured above is my son of Cyril called Nicolas Sarkozy!

And below are my new indian runner ducks with their spanking new house! They consist of a pair of chocolates and 3 fawn and white ducks.....and we are getting eggs!

Well here are the pics of my solar panel lit sheds! and they work!!!...........of course they do I here you say............well I must admit I had my doubts but yes they do and we have even had some sun to charge them! I am now going to sort out solar panels for the electric fence batteries which will save electricity in the summer although with our current lack of sun they will have to have extra charging in winter. I have also got yet another water butt and a water diverter for the down pipe from the lower roof.....we are now a 4 water butt family!
Also bought some scaffhold planks that were no longer suitable for their original purpose and here they are in my trailer.....they are 13 ft long and make super raised bed edges.

We are over 900ft up on the top of the hill and unlike the nice dry picture its a bit slippery at the moment. This is a tale of lost and found sheep!
Last week I was ill with a nasty cold and cough, it also rained all week adding to the misery, so when I climbed into my car in the pouring rain and foggy gloom to collect my youngest from school I was not best pleased to see a gate between the small paddock where my senior Ouessant ram and his friend reside wide open into the 15 acre field the other side. Well after having collected 5 yearold and placed him strategically in front of the tv to keep him from mischeif, 14 year old son, myself and 3 dogs set about searching for said sheep. They were nowhere to be found and as it was getting dark we returned wet and cross.
Next morning husband, 3 sons (21 year old, 14 yearold, 5 yearold), myself 3 mobile phones and 3 dogs set off in still pouring rain to have another look having informed the farming neighbours that we had 2 knee high rams on the loose.....they could see the funnyside!
Well a few hours and several miles later we returned in dribs and drabs reporting not a sign of the little bu###rs.
About 3 hours later Ken the farmer across the road watched in amazement as the calmly meandered out of the woods, across the big field and tucked themselves back in their paddock! Needless to say he secured all the gates very well before telling us! So all was well........
Today at 8.30am I receive a call......'there is a black sheep out down in the village....looks a bit bigger than yours but you'd better come and have a look'. So off I go and no its not one of mine but a large shaggy in lamb ewe of indeterminate age that looks to have come a long way judging by the amount of attached debris! So we capture her in friends stables and I phone local animal health office (hello all if you are reading) with her ear tag number. Apparently she had a tag originating near Tiverton Devon but possibly could have been sold since then of course and it would necessitate delving through all the movement forms of many years to find where she should be now! Advise was to ask if anyone had lost a sheep and ask police if anyone had reported one missing. Drew a blank so she is now residing with my wensleydale cross ewes and looking quite content......result a free sheep who looks in lamb.........will let you know if her owner turns up!

Well its raining yet again! And it is forcast not to stop soon!......great!
Makes you feel depressed just looking out thewindow. I have so much to do outside too. Am installing solar lighting to both of my sheds and rebuilding the raised beds with help from Pete who is much more woodworky than me with damaged scaffhold boards that are from a local scaffholding company!! pics will follow when and if it stops raining! While picking up the boards in my car & trailer in the pouring rain and feeling ill because of a bad cold I had an amazing thing happen......I was travelling slowly across the industrial estate gingerly negotiating the speed bumps with the 13ft planks hanging precariously from the rear of the trailer when I went by the bakers delivery van selling cakes and sandwiches. I stopped and enquired as to the price of a Danish pastry when one of the builders working on the site bought a maple and pecan danish (my favoutite) and gave it to me refusing all payment and just said enjoy it!!!! Well that got me thinking.....how many of us permaculture inspired people who have earth care, fair share, and people care at the heart of our way of thinking enact random acts of kindness like that..........It really cheered me up and so I am going to think hard about whether I cheer people up enough!!

FELT!!!
All things are turning towards wool at the moment and I am applying for lots of funding for the new project I am developing along with the Blackdown Hills Natural Fibre Group, namely feltmaking.....not the feltmaking where you card some wool and felt layers of carded wool by hand.....but acres of it! This is going to require some major work as we need to install a scouring machine to wash the wool and a drying machine to dry it. A machine to card it into huge sheets ready for processing either by wet felting where another machine presses and agitates it with the use of heat and water. Needle felting where the wool sheets are literally joined into each other dry with the aid of barbed needles and pressure felting which is self explanatory.....its squashed under great pressure!
We need lots of space to store wool, we have to work out how to dispose of our washing water in an environmentally friendly way and we have to do a lot of publicity.
And what will we be felting?.....well, sheeps wool mainly which is presently at the lowest price ever and is worthless.....except to those like us who know it is one of the most environmentally sound natural fibres on the planet. Also all sorts of other fibres such as alpaca for the fashion industry.
And what will we all be producing?.......well, at the start wet felt suitable for everything from jackets and bags to hanging basket liners! In the long term sheeps wool insulation similar to that produced by Second Nature, and sheets of felt for matresses, quilts, upholstery etc.
Are we mad? probably! Am I scared.....yes! Am I determined to see this succeed.....you bet! The project will be based locally in an eco business unit....one of the countries first environmentally sustainable, revamped, reused units complete with woodchip boiler burning locally sourced and produced wood chips and compost toilets! there may also be, in the future, a posibility of renewable energy being supplied!
Please get in touch if you want to get involved in this project. We also need investors and those who want to trial products for us. And if anyone can help put finishing touches to plans and projections I will possibly be applying to the Dragons Den.
The pictures are of 2 bags that I made recently out of wensleydale and shetland wool, hand dyed and hand made on the pegloom. Both now gone to good homes!

Getting obsessed by Ouessants! Here is a picture I have found by Gauguin the famous French artist who painted at Pont Aven in Brittany showing some of the little dears!
Yesterday was really busy and I didn't have time to take any photos! Having delivered 4 sheep to Kevin and Trevor in North Devon on Saturday, yesterday saw the other 3 Ouessant owners arrive to collect their sheep so it was a continual round of sorting and loading sheep and filling out paperwork for each batch. I am now left with 2 older small black ewes and a white lamb that I particularly like also a ram lamb with good horn placement. The other Ouessant ewes will now be moved to join them and Derek and Gilles will go along with the ram lamb to batchelor quarters! Need to think of a suitable French/Breton name for the new ram, so any suggestions welcome, I don't name the ewes. These sheep are remarkably friendly compared not only to most other sheep but to primitive sheep in particular who tend to be a bit 'flighty'!

Holidays and Ouessant/DEFRA stress over I must now concentrate on the matter of the felt processing plant and the idea of a reed bed based plant for wool washing waste water (this is the expensive bit about processing wool!) getting those little grey cells working also requires copious quantities of tea, chocolate and home made bread and jam!!!

NEWS FLASH!
Just got back from Brittany France to phone call from DEFRA vet....he came at 4pm and issued us with a letter and document revoking the previous orders (and he smiled and was very nice too).........the sheep are now officially healthy and can leave the isolation unit and go to their new homes....YES!!!
You cannot imagine the stress this has caused us all so please don't even attempt this unless you think you have the right documents and are SURE you have the right documents!
Pics and furthr news tomorrow! Meanwhile if you have not seen Stuarts blog about butchering their pig and their permaculture plot in Brittany take a look...its inspiring!

Happy New year to all our readers, hope you had a fantastic Christmas too.....we did! We are off to Berrien and will see you in the new year.....leaving the house, dogs, pigs, hens and sheepies in the hands of my eldest son.....yikes!

Ouessants part 4!!
The good news is that the tests for blue tongue have all come back negative! (which is what I would have expected!) The other tests for thediseases not present in France of GB are yet to come back.....if they were positive I think it would be rather strange!
DEFRA however now tell me they need to "do a risk assesment" to decide whether the sheep pose a risk to local farming and wildlife.....hmmm!(basically they need to know they are still healthy)
They also informed me they have not ruled out sending them back to France due to the errors in the paper work...........This is a little baffling as if one considers it carefully the word 'jobsworth' springs to mind! Conversation something along these lines....
OK so the sheep arrived with the wrong paperwork which was not for the want of trying to get it right! I am apparently personally to blame for that as it is the "importers responsibility to ensure the correct paperwork".......I retreat for a cup of tea and to summarise it I am responsible for DEFRA not being able to advise me what forms I needed, having all blood tested negative for blue tongue they could require me to export the sheep to Brittany, from where we start again, expose them to the possibility of blue tongue, get the paperwork right and re import them as French sheep, and re test them for all the things they were tested for last week.
I think I am beginning lose faith in common sense!!

Very cold here! The hens huddle around the polytunnel and look chilly, the sheep sport a fine crusting of frost and the pigs are not keen on leaving their beds except in the prescence of food! (I know just how they feel!)

I just had to share this picture found by a friend......! A good giggle does one good!
I am awaiting the results of a funding application for money to buy a felting machine and huge carding machine to be installed in an eco business unit a few miles away in order to start processing woolly waste! This will be processing local waste wool into felt for a variety of uses....more info soon

Ouessants in Somerset episode 3!

These ouessant sheep are very long suffering! They have to be as this morning bright and early not one but two DEFRA vets turned up to blood test them all. I had already taken 4 suffolk cross ewes to market in Taunton so a quick cup of tea and we were off. It took all of us plus the long suffering Pete (who had helped me catch the suffolks the night before when it was almost dark after I had trouble trying to persuade the sheep to leave their nice field and get in the trailer with a villagers dog sharling and barking the otherside of the lane from the gate!) to pen up the Ouessants who obviously have the same thoughts as me on officialdom!
Two had already lost both eartags they came from France with and so we retagged them with their new UK inmport tags which have the usual UK plus 6 numbers unique to me on one side and the sheeps unique number plus .F eg UK234567/202.F. Some of the sheep now have 3 tags in one very tiny ear!......we are apparently not allowed to remove the French tags even though they have a new identity.....hmm we will see!
Blood testing then commenced.............
Sheep were held at the correct angle and needle and phial inserted......nothing! Vet tries again with same result.....and this is how it continued untilall sheep looked like pin cusions and the vets had.....wait for it.......3 large phials of blood from each animal. It took 3 hours and the sheep and me were right cheesed off by the end, I think it is diabolical that as well as a phial to test for blue tongue they also took 2 further samples to test for brucellosis and contagious agalactia...... France and GB are apparently free of both these diseases so what the bl##dy h#ll are they taking such a lot of blood for!! mind boggles!
Well now we wait for the results....back next week..........and then wait until the 4th January when, if they haven't decided to throw the book at me some of the sheep can go to their new homes as only 4 are staying to join my flock of Ouessants

Ouessant sheep arrive part 2!
Well having read part one you would think part 2 is about how it was all plain sailing from the arrival of the sheep......wrong!
Having tumbled into bed at 11.30 still going up and down from the rough ferry crossing I had to be ready for the ministry vet at 8.45am!
Sheep were a little suspicious as they were penned ready for inspection and the first question from the vet...How many sheep have you here? answer: ( through bleary eyes) 16.....? Wrong you have 17 but only 16 on the form.....!!!!! Illegal immigrant now had taken on a whole new meaning as it was white, woolly and resplendent in 2 ear tags confirming it (number 700003 was indeed not on the form). My heart sunk...I should have counted...but they were all penned and ready to go and Rita assured us there were 16! What to do now! After vet had gleefully found a few more anomilies between eartags and paperwork he announced we also had the 'wrong sort of health certificate'...heart sunk even further!
We and Rita in France had telephoned, visited and asked in great detail about this and at no time did ANYONE show us or tell us what SORT of health form it was nor what it should LOOK like and Britain and France both being members of the EC surely they must be working along the same lines with the same paperwork?? Well not for the want of trying did we arrive with the 'wrong sort' of form!
The vet served me with several notices forbidding me to move the sheep on penalty of 6 monthe in prison, a £5000 fine or both and said he would be back later to issue me with more forms for illegally importing sheep which had in addition it would seem hell and damnation on top of fines and prison!....he also wanted to see me treat the sheep with insecticide in case they had any midges residing on them or had raging blue tongue and could infect the local animal population and wanted to watch should I fail to comply!!( I tried to point out that midges flew and did not live on sheep, and that blue tongue CANNOT pass from sheep to sheep but needs a midge which has bitten an infected animal...but of course he is a vet and what do I know!) He left smugly warning me that in the worst case senario they would all be culled (DEFRA wording for killed and incinerated)................He also informed me that whilst I could, due to a loophole, continue to move stock off my holding without the customary 6 day standstill for oncoming stock. I was now barred from anything else entering the holding in case I bought 500 pedigree sheep, DEFRA decided to cull, and if they decided that not only the Ouessants but ALL other animals on the holding would be valued and killed and I had bought them on just to claim compensation!!.... My God could it get worse!
I felt totally deflated and slightly sick and retreated for the good british crisis management tool - a cup of tea, where on reflection I started to feel rather angry.

It would seem I was being treated as if I had not bothered about the implications of importing the sheep and as if the paperwork anomalies were my personal fault. Actually I had spent hours and hours on the phone to various departments of DEFRA all of whom gave conflicting advice or contradicted what the last lot said! Had, at their insistance tried to ring the French Agricultural Ministry where no one could help as my French, whilst reasonable is not quite up to explaining about importing sheep and health related issues. Discovered that France operates on a regional level and that Rita should visit their offices in St Brieuc, which she did. Spoke at length to my local animal health office who set up apick up /drop off point and isolation facility on the holding.
...........So in retrospect I think we did just about all we could have done bar go to Brussels and collect personally the form needed for export! (which apparently is in French on the DEFRA website although I have not found it yet despite 2 hours of looking!)

Tomorrow another ministry vet arrives and we have to catch the sheep to be blood tested for lots of diseases not present in either Britain or France and we have to give them another eartag making 3 in total (double tagging in France) These tags are F tags (F for Import???) and Symtag our tag suppliers were quite excited as they had never been asked for any before!

So at this time we are yet to await our fate, but cannot think they will cull the whole holding as what would be the point? part 3 comming soon....watch this space

Our Ouessant sheep or rather moutons d'Ouessant to give them their proper title have arrived in England from Brittany in France after 9 months of planning and finding them!
Ouessants are the smallest breed of sheep in the world and also one of the rarest breeds. They originated many years ago from the Isle d' Ouessant also known as Ushant which is at the western extremity of Brittany with nothing but the Atlantic ocean between it and the USA!
We have had a particularly difficult year in which to try importing sheep what with the foot and mouth disease restrictions which were only lifted a couple of weeks ago and more importantly the Blue Tongue disease which has all of France except the far west of Brittany, the western coastline and part of the south under restrictions as there have been over 12 thousand cases in France, most since September....a taste of things to come in GB methinks. Well you may think i have been irresponsible bringing these sheep into the country but I can assure you they came from a BT free area and were transported through Roscoff which is also BT free to Somerset which is also BT free. They are now in isolation and will be blood tested next week for numerous diseases and only when they show negative to everything will they be given the all clear.
Now we went to great lengths on both sides of the channel to get the paperwork for this right and if you are not familiar with DEFRA I suggest a visit to their website with a plate of sandwiches and a flask and great endurance and you will start to have some idea what beaurocracy looks like! The wonderful Brian and Rita Edwards (pictured with their little patterdale terrier) who had collected the sheep together for us and kept them through the movement bans had visited the regional animal health office at St Brieuc to enquire as to the paperwork required, let their vet know and he duly came out to their smallholding and checked not only the animals for export but all the animals on the holding 24 hours before travel and issued what the regional office had advised him, namely a certificate of good health etc with each animal documented. We (Veronica from Yew Tree Horse Transport and me) arrived in Brittany on Tuesday morning after a rough ferry crossing at 7.30am and set off for Paimpol in her very smart lorry. We collected the sheep, filled in the movement documents and chugged off after a welcome cup of tea making for the next ferry, we even had cctv in the cab so we could keep an eye on the sheep!
Arrival at Roscoff was on time ready for the 3pm ferry and after the customs had inspected the sheep and the paperwork was photocopied and approved we were onboard the Brittany Ferries Pont d'Abbe . It was another rough crossing necessitating a visit to the on board cinema to watch The Bourne Ultimatum to pass the time!
We arrived in the Blackdown Hills at approx 11pm and unloaded the sheep in the pouring rain and pitch dark Veronica then driving back to her base in Shropshire and me falling into bed to get some sleep and await the arrival of the DEFRA vet at 9am the following morning.......part 2 to follow! (pics show the lorry on the ferry and the sheep on board)

Lambing course anyone? Early this year we held a fantastic lambing course at Beechhayes Farm home of Ruth & Nick Strange of Blackdown bangers fame (you will knowwhat I mean if you have tasted their sausages!)
The next lambing course is Febrary and will book up fast so if you want a place book via the main Woolly Shepherd website.

Commissions also being taken for cushions and cushion covers.......example here made from Wensleydale hand dyed wool.

I know alot of people read this blog, so come on folks lets have some comments on what you would like to see or know about!!

Rural Living Show 2007 at Kings Hall Taunton was fantastic as usual! Having demonstrated pegloom rugmaking last year to great interest I was invited back to demonstrate this craft for a second year, and this year I chose to demonstrate how to make a funky cushion cover and a white woolly handbag.........pics to follow when they are finished!
This went down very well and lots of people came to ask endless questions which was brilliant! I also had people come especially to find me which was very nice and several came to order commissions which was even better. The event is in aid of the South West childrens hospice which is a very good cause!
Pictured is my stall at the event!
I have decided to give up keeping most of the sheep to concentrate my efforts into teaching about wool and sheep and to increase production of woolly things from local wool and other ethical fibres.....more about this soon too. However we do seem to have at last jumped the final hurdle in the importation of some more Ouessant sheep from Brittany and they will hopefully arrive in the next couple of weeks. This has been an amazing feat of endurance taking into consideration all the problems with various animal diseases we have had this year. I am travelling with the sheep and will let you all know the outcomes and post pics of them when they arrive! Watch this space!

Woolly Shepherd Courses are booking fast, especially the peglooming ones! Courses are also run in other venues such as the wonderful wool shop Spin a Yarn in Bovey Tracey Devon and the wonderful pics are of my last lot of students work............so if you want to learn this traditional craft and have a new hobby take a look at the link to the Woolly Shepherd website where you can book a course and pay securely online! We also have a lambing course in February with amazing very experienced instructors, and we already know that last years lambing course aided some of the participants to save lives! I also run courses in sheep keeping, wool processing and peglooming in France.......get in touch for details