Now, if you hear me talk about Rhinebeck, you might think today's guest is going to focus on wool. Nope! Not really. Sheep, yes, hair yes, but mostly wool, no. Our podcast guest today is a lovely man named Brent Zimmerman, and as I introduce him I'm kind of hard pressed to call him one thing, though you could definitely call him a sheep farmer.

Links:
https://www.facebook.com/limekilnfarmNY
https://sheepandwool.com/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dorper
https://dorpersheep.org/

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Music by Charlie Recksieck to usher us into the New Year.

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Most people commemorate Thanksgiving today, and all things associated with this holiday. There will be some celebrating family, some marking the day with food, and some praying at the altar of football. Some will be remembering the Pilgrims, and the earliest arrival of Europeans bringing colonists and their livestock to North America. NOT!

Stephen Monroe schools us on a common misconception about the domestic animals that were truly the first to be brought here to the Americas. Which livestock breeds beat the Mayflower across the Atlantic? What we currently call the “Spanish Colonial” horses were just one group, and the hardy and adaptable Florida Cracker Horse was a derivative breed of this impactful importation. Horses, cattle, chickens and goats - and they arrived 100 years before the big wooden boat we celebrate today.

But don’t forget – the Spanish brought the pigs in then, too, so football is truly appropriate. Happy Thanksgiving, everyone.

Links:
https://themayflowersociety.org/
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0056085/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Florida_Cracker_Horse
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carolina_Marsh_Tacky#History
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Banker_horse#Breed_history
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juan_Ponce_de_Le%C3%B3n
https://www.history.com/topics/exploration/juan-ponce-de-leon
https://www.fdacs.gov/
https://floridacrackerhorseassociation.com/

Listen on: Apple Podcasts Spotify

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We were in the mood for something sweet, so we thought it was time for a visit to the sugar shack. We packed up our gear and headed back east to Westbrook, CT to our friends John and Bonnie Hall at Maple Breeze Farm. There we saw the whole process of making that sweet maple syrup. Just in time for the maple glazed ham at Thanksgiving.

Links:
https://www.facebook.com/p/Maple-Breeze-Farm-100064517539226

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October is not only a great time to celebrate fiber (what with the Lambtown and Rhinebeck festivals, just to name a few), but it’s also Breast Cancer Awareness month. How do we get both things in one podcast? Knitted Knockers!

Barbara Demorest is the Feisty Lady with Fortitude who took a horrible event in life and made it into something that has helped millions to cope with the ravages of breast cancer. We hope you tune in to see what she did, and maybe even how you can be a part of what this amazing organization does to help others. And all with a bit of fiber and friendship.

P.S. We miss you, Mom, but we’ll keep trying to save the udders (always one for a good pun, she was).

Links:
https://www.knittedknockers.org/
https://www.lambtown.org/
https://sheepandwool.com/

Listen on: Apple Podcasts Spotify

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Every once in a while you meet a person you’ve read about in a book. It might not be the actual person, but is the personification of a character that is so accurate, it might as well have jumped out straight from the pages. Today, our podcast guest is one of those.

James Metcalfe lives on Hardenclough Farm, “in the heart of the beautiful Peak District [with a] flock of pedigree Cheviots & Luing cattle grazing under the shadow of Mam Tor.” You would never guess that the man is a poet, because his strong, steady farming character could have come straight out of James Herriot’s Yorkshire hills. He came to be a judge at the North American Hill Sheep Show, and though he would not be one to jump the line or show a bit of flash, he’s one that we at Backyard Green Films will picture frequently in the future, every time we hear the word “Farmer” – in the best possible way -- quiet strength and always willing to lend a hand.

Links:

https://www.instagram.com/hardenclough_farm/
https://www.visitengland.com/experience/discover-all-creatures-great-and-small-yorkshire

Listen on: Apple Podcasts Spotify

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We’re back from the North American Hill Sheep Show in Escanaba, Michigan. This inaugural event showcased some British Hill Breed Sheep and some not-quite-Hill Breed Sheep, of course, but there was more to see, hear and smell. Lovely vendor booths with soft woolens and fragrant soaps in abundance, sheepdog trials with panting puppies, food trucks (with some mighty fine brisket, thank you sir), and ice cream that is famous across all of the “M” roads.

And then, there were the Brits. The judges (and families) arrived in good spirits and raring to go, and the whole things was a true education in all things Sheepish.

In addition to sheep, they do grow some Absolutely Fabulous people on those little islands, we must say. Some were English, some Welsh, some Scottish and some Irish, but all delightful. And good sports, to boot. They will be sorely missed – at least until next spring (we hope).

Sincere thanks to all from the Backyard Green Films crew. Our lives are better for having met you.

Links:
https://www.nahillsheepshow.com/

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Where do we go for fun? Well, all kinds of places, but fish hatcheries, farm shows, and livestock auctions are on the list.

Today, we’re taking you back to jolly old England (almost Scotland, actually), to a little town called Hexham. It lies at the foot of Northumberland National Park and a stone’s throw (literally) from Hadrian’s Wall. This is as charming a hamlet as you might ever imagine. It has lovely bridges, excellent tapas, wonderfully kind people, a first-class auction yard, and mules.

Wait – aren’t we talking sheep today? What’s all this about mules?

Yep – mules -- that are technically sheep. Listen in to Drew Patrick and Chris Armstrong, master auctioneers at Hexham and Northern Marts, to find out why some of these sheep are mules.

And Hexham is in the Borderlands, so some sheep also look like rabbits – but that’s another podcast.

Links:
https://hexhammart.co.uk/
https://www.worldatlas.com/articles/the-world-s-top-wool-producing-countries.html
https://www.nahillsheepshow.com/

Listen on: Apple Podcasts Spotify

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