The Hoodie Conundrum
It was a chilly, drizzly Memorial Day weekend here in Maine. While many visitors stayed away, my brother loaded his family in the car and made their annual pilgrimage up from Boston. They drove five hours each way so they could enjoy 48 hours of off-the-grid tranquility in
Staying Vertical: A Mill Tour
Fresh from last week's archival BBC sheep-recognition footage, we're still in the UK for a quick tour through one of the country's older vertical woolen mills. Originally, the term "vertical" was a literal description of how a mill operated. Vertical mills
How Well do Shepherds Know their Sheep?
We know that sheep have the capacity to remember the faces of other sheep and humans. A 2001 report [https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/study-shows-sheep-have-ke/] made this clear, noting that sheep can remember as many as 50 faces. More remarkable is the fact that sheep can
Words in Wool: Whither are our Bellwethers?
A surprising amount of our vocabulary owes its very existence to the legacy of sheep and their wool. Let's celebrate this legacy in a new segment, Words in Wool. We begin with a word that foretells trends to come: bellwether. According to Merriam-Webster, "bellwether" first
Members-Only Deep Dive: Can Wool Save our Soil?
As temperatures rise and drought conditions persist, everything about wool in gardens makes sense. Foundation Flockers, it's time for a deep dive—or maybe I should say deep dig—into the world of wool and soil.
A Gift for the Garden: Wool Pellets
Our heaviest woolens may be headed for summer storage, but another incarnation of wool is ready for duty in the garden. Introducing wool pellets from Wild Valley Farms [https://www.wildvalleyfarms.com]. Yes, you heard me, wool pellets. We have wood pellets for stoves and food pellets for our guinea
Icebug Eide Woolpower Shoes
Let's get this out of the way right now: These shoes are only 50% wool, the rest is a synthetic mix. Which I didn't know until I'd ordered a pair, opened the box, put them on, and fallen in love. The rest of what
