A Native Breed & In My Boots: Shepherding in the Lake District

Two wonderfully relaxing reads!

I stumbled upon a wonderful twitter feed this year by Andrea Meanwell AKA RuslandShepherdess@ruslandvalley.  My discovery of this shepherdess led me to her books.  Yes, I am a huge fan of James Herriot, farmers, and shepherds/shepherdesses. I enjoy reading about other peoples lives and how they interact with their surroundings.  I do not romanticise farming or being a shepherd as something that is quaint and cozy. I worked with horses growing up and on an apple orchard, I know what hard farm work is all about.  I have nothing but respect for the stewards of the land who truly care for their land and plan to pass it on to future generations.  Finding these two great reads was a huge treat for me!  Reading right up my alley: cozy & quaint, relaxing, a door into someone else's world nothing but a treat for me! 

Meanwell's first book A Native Breed was interesting as she got us, her readers, up to speed on how she ended up raising sheep.  A journey of sorts to how she landed on her land.  I could have read this book in one sitting but I rather savored it nightly as a pleasant read before falling to sleep.  A Native Breed is a treasure!  I  will reread this book anytime I want to walk the fells with Andrea.

Andrea's second book an equally great read, In My Boots A Year on a Lake District Farm takes us on a year-long journey. This book opened my eyes to the harsher realities of raising sheep. As Andrea tries to make a living from endless hours of hard work.  I just wanted to cry at some of the auction prices they received for their sheep.

I would highly recommend both of Andrea Meanwell's books.  I would suggest they go well with a nice cup of tea and knitting---100% real wool of course!

Andrea Meanwell's work can be purchased at the following onsite locations:

Hefted Andrea's Etsy shop

HayLoft Publishing In My Boots

Hayloft Publishing A Native Breed