The Wisdom of Sheep & Other Animals

Rosamund Young has been shovelling muck since she was a child, always carries a penknife and can be found delivering hay in the “stolen hours after midnight” . . . The joy of Young’s writing is in her observations . . . The Wisdom of Sheep is a pastoral. It is a testament to the power of slow observation, and that’s a lesson for us all.

Kite’s Nest in the Cotswolds is a family farm whose definition of family is wide: included are a host of inquisitive and characterful animals . . . The book is a collection of scribbled diary entries, memoir, and poems – Young’s own, as well as others from popular literature. Young’s love of her profession and the creatures who depend on it is unmistakable.

Made up of short chapters on aspects of farm life, from the sheep and cows to the abundant wildlife, this is a delightful book to dip into . . . One thing is certain: after reading this book, you will look at sheep in a different way.

Elegiac, funny, warm and wise, The Wisdom of Sheep will delight country folk and city dwellers alike.

A wonderful antidote to the hectic pace of modern life . . . there's gentle humour, stoicism and countryside wisdom to be found on every page. Rosamund writes with an easy skill, and the short anecdotal nature of the book can be quite addictive . . . Packed full of delightful conversation.

Sheep are good judges of character and they have long memories . . . A meadow is made up of many parts, ‘whose heart you can hear only when you become part of it too’ . . . Never mind the wisdom of
sheep, these are only a few of the many droplets of lore from organic farmer Rosamund Young . . . A series of gentle, sometimes random, musings. Soothing.