Not Going Down Without a Fight

Crowdfunding to continue "ewe-nique conservation" in Western Maine

Cursing colorfully as I struggled to attach the insulated cable to the fence charger, I knelt on the grass. Already I’d had to wrangle the 2 ram lambs twice that morning, and I was frazzled and frustrated. Pliers in hand, I made to clamp the ground-line to the energizer but a distinct crying drew my attention and I watched as Taz came bawling up the field. That’s right…I named him the “Tazmanian Devil”, after one of my favorite cartoon characters. Go get your cup of whatever and join me on the farm for the latest update.

Welcome to the latest Updates From the Farm! If you are new here, I invite you to check out my About page to learn what this is, who I am and why I am doing this. Or just dive right in! At “Runamuk Acres” you’ll find the recantings of one lady-farmer and tree-hugging activist from the western mountains of Maine. #foodieswanted

When I Say I’m Wrangling Sheep…

For those who might not know, let me tell you what all’s involved when I say I’m “wrangling sheep”. It can look different depending on the size and number of sheep that I’m dealing with, but on this occasion I had the 2 ram lambs: Taz and Pikachu to contend with.

It’s important to expose children of all ages to farm-life to help them better understand where their food comes from.

Nearly 3 months old now, the lambs are not so little anymore and I would guess (having had to heft the fuckers) that each of these boys are the equivalent of a 50-pound bag of feed. Not light, and definitely cumbersome to lift─especially when they squirm and kick.

It’s been about a week and a half since I separated the little boys from the girls. Normally it takes just a few days for babies and mammas to adjust to the change. Little Taz, however, has been particularly resistant to change, and since his brother follows his lead, the pair have been obnoxious.

Things Went South

Then, on Friday, things went south.

Moving the flock from their winter accommodations out to the field for the summer, requires a series of shuffles over the course of a week. It’s about 200 yards I need to move the sheep across, and I’ve learned from experience that it’s easier to do it one shuffle at a time rather than to try to “run them” down the field.

Any other time, the flock will follow a pail of grain anywhere and I can coral them with minimal fuss. In the springtime, though, when they’re sick of eating dry hay and the sight of the 10-acre field of lush green grass is more than they can stand─they kinda lose their minds and end up scattered across the field. Then I’m out there chasing after them, trying to herd sheep and it’s not a good time for anyone.

On Thursday, I had moved the girls onto the spot where I have the grounding system set up. I figured it could only help if they mowed around the grounding rods.

Our sheep are super-friendly, quirky and curious, and they love visitors!

Well, curious as they are, the sheep must have tried nibbling the wires, resulting in them becoming lose and disconnected. This shorted the charger and tripped the breaker in the garage, and then none of the fences were doing anything. Once Taz realized he could escape through a gap in the fence, he and Pikachu were reveling in a life of freedom and I found them enjoying a lavish breakfast from the tender young fruit trees in the backyard.

Realizing they’d been found out, Taz took off down the field to cry pitifully on the opposite side of the fence from his mother─and of course and Pikachu followed.

I called BraeTek, who was still in the house finishing his breakfast and had him come lend a hand in coraling the wayward sheep.

At that point I didn’t realize the ground had been disconnected. After closing the gap in the fence where the lambs had escaped, I thought I’d solved the problem and went on about the day’s work.

Fast-forward a couple hours and the 2 ram lambs are out—again.

The Fence Problem

It was at this point that I realized there was something more wrong with the fences. I managed to catch each of the boys in turn (outside their mother’s pen), stuffing them into the car to contain them, and driving them up to the farmhouse to dump them back with the big boys. Then, I set about troubleshooting the fence-problem.

I’ve been extremely fortunate in my farm-journey. At one point, after my divorce when I was a landless farmer, I leased a farm over in Starks, Maine and inherited a considerable amount of equipment from that property, including several electric fence energizers. I’ve had a couple other energizers given to me, too, so I’ve never yet had to buy one.

The trouble with hand-me-downs, though, is that they’re already well on their way to being worn-out by the time you get them, and over the last 6 years of heavy usage, I’ve burned through all but this last one. And this last one is not meant for the amount of fencing I am trying to power here, so the charge it is giving, is not really enough to keep anything out if they’re really determined.

But it’s all I have at the moment, so there I was trying to put the grounding system back together when Taz busts through the fence for a 3rd time and come bawling down the length of the field.

“Maaaaa! Maaaaaa! Maaaaa! Maaaaaa!”

It was utterly ridiulous and I was beyond frustrated, but I couldn’t help but laugh.

Such is life with livestock….

Crowdfunding

This incident was the deciding factor in the launch of Runamuk’s crowdfunding campaign to raise $2243 in support of the sheep and the good work they do here.

If you’ve been following along with my story, you’ll know that I’ve been struggling financially. Last year’s wet and rainy season tanked my finances and it’s all I could do to keep the house semi-warm throughout the long Maine winter. Our transportation desperately needs some TLC, and I’ve got payment plans for all of my utilities.

I’m not raising funds for myself, however, but in support of Runamuk’s flock of 17 sheep. Without this influx of cash, I’ll have no choice but to sell the flock.

It’s a little humiliating and embarrassing to have to take this route, but I have to try. I’ve humbled myself this week, even putting my face on camera to plead with society to help me keep these conservation efforts going at Runamuk.

Things will get better for the farm, financially. As one friend reminded me: “I’m good at digging out.” I’m nothing if not resourceful and I have every confidence that I will indeed get the Subaru fixed up, and that I’ll get the bills caught up. That will all be okay, I know.

But these expenses for the sheep cannot wait. The new fence charger I need asap—I can’t even bring the field-fence online right now because the current charger isn’t strong enough to support it. The hay will come in toward the end of July, but a $2000 bill is nothing to sneeze at, so I need to start now trying to scrape up the funds.

We need 4 of these trailer-fulls of hay to get through the long Maine winter.

Ewe-nique Conservation

I don’t want to rehash the whole GoFundMe page here, but the important thing to know is that these sheep are working for conservation. They’re remediating the soils on our property and improving the local habitat, which benefits the larger eco-region in turn. And it’s working.

Since we’ve introduced the sheep and began rotational grazing on our 10-acre field, the field has become a veritable jungle of grasses, forbes and wildflowers. We’ve seen an explosion in the insect population and more birds and deer than ever.

Our sheep also serve as ambassadors for farming. Visitors to our farmstay bed-and-breakfast love getting up close and personal with them, and our local farmstand customers make it a point to tell me how much they enjoy being able to see them. Some families make it a point to visit regularly, to snuggle a lamb during lambing season, or to participate in Shearing Day.

It’s all very important work and it would be a shame to see it end.

Click this image to be redirected to our GoFundMe page.

Not Going Down Without a Fight

And that has pretty much consumed my week here at Runamuk.

Of course, there’s been on-going planting, shuffling of fences, and I made a new supplement dispenser for the girls to have on the field with them. Mainly, though, I’ve been worried about sheep escaping and focused on crafting a compelling pitch that might inspire folks to lend me a hand.

I’ve left it to the Universe to determine whether or not I’m meant to continue keeping sheep here at Runamuk and made my peace with the idea that this might be the end. I wonder a lot about how things might have been different if I’d had a partner to share the workload or even just the general expense of existence. Yet, that has not been my life and so I must accept things as they are. I am only one woman and I can only do so much.

But I’m not going down without a fight. I can’t—in good conscience—let go the sheep and all they bring to the table without having exhausted all options. I owe it to these animals to make every effort. I owe it to myself!

So far we’ve raised $445! Wooooooooo!

UPDATE: As of 6.4.2024 we’ve raised $2020!!!

That’s enough to buy the new fence energizer and most of our winter hay.

But we still have a ways to go before I can say the sheep are safe.

This fundraiser is only seeking to cover these immediate needs. There will still be grains and supplements I’ll have to buy to maintain the flock out of my own pocket.

And so I ask you, if you can afford it, please donate today to help keep this program going at Runamuk. Help me keep these sheep doing this important conservation work. I can already see the difference we’re making on the local habitat. It would be such a shame to have to stop now.

For Substackers who donate $50 or more, I will gift a free 1-year subscription to the Runamuk blog and access to all of my writings. It’s the least I can do to express how grateful I am for any and all assistance.

And if you’re unable to help financially—I totally get that and would ask that you consider restacking this post or sharing our campaign video instead.

Much love to you and yours.

Your friendly neighborhood farmer,

Sam

I am Sam. Sam I am.

PS—I promise next week’s post will not be about money!!! (Except maybe to announce our successful crowdfunding campaign, lol.)

PPS—Some articles in-progress that you can look forward to:

• Farmers’ Market Etiquette: Thing your farmers at market want you to know.

• Cultivating Magick in Your Authentic Life.

• Farmer Sam’s Favorite Tools to Make Weeding Easier

• We Could Be Heroes-a letter to my younger self.

Tipping is not mandatory, but always appreciated!

Thank you for following along with the story of this lady-farmer! It is truly a privilege to live this life serving my family and community, and protecting wildlife through agricultural conservation. Check back soon for more updates from the farm, and be sure to follow @RunamukAcres on Instagram or Facebook!