It’s May and everything feels alive! The warm breeze blowing through the barn on these sunny days really boosts the mood. The hay fields are growing fast and everything is green. We just had another group of lambs born and lambs are bouncing around and growing quickly. Warm evenings in the barn with sheep lazing around and sunset in the background is a real treat after such a long winter. Because we have 4 different lambing groups each year, the next group has their shearing booked and the wool from the previous group is at the mill waiting to be processed into our next batch of yarn. The wool from last falls shearing should arrive back any time as new blankets too!
Meanwhile, the garden is finally taking shape. Last fall we worked composted sheep mature into the soil and with the longer days and warm soil mean it's go time. I didn't start any seeds in the house this year but went and picked up my seedlings from the local greenhouse. One of the kids is doing a pumpkin patch and sweet corn too so we had to get extra seeds. Thank goodness for my amazing mom, because she came to help too. The tomatoes are staked, garden beds hoed and, and the early planted peas are starting to poke out. May is a hopeful time—so much possibility packed into every step.
When I plant, I’m always thinking ahead. Not just to the harvest at the end of the season, but to the meals we’ll need when the snow returns and the green is long gone. I grow what we’ll eat fresh, yes—but also what freezes and cans well. Green beans for blanching and stashing away. Tomatoes for stews and sauces. Onions and carrots to root cellar, and enough cucumbers to fill the shelves with dill pickles and relish.
I've always kept meals simple, seasonal, and local. We cook around what we have and tend to shop only for the extra ingredients. The kids enjoy and learn how to grow food and what's all involved. Salad defiantly tastes better when you can go pick your own lettuce and cucumbers from the garden. It's not always picture perfect, there's usually too many weeds, usually an explosion of zucchini that gets dropped of at a neighbour's or something that gets over ripe but we always manage to harvest a lot!
In between the garden and the sheep, I work on other things our family uses. I grew up with a lot of homemade and handmade. I make big batches of bone broth and freeze jars of stock. I render tallow when we butcher, and use it to make nourishing salves and simple soaps. I dry herbs for tea and cooking - mint, thyme, chamomile, lemon balm. It feels deeply grounding to know where things come from and be involved in each step.
This is also the season I get to enjoy flowers and colour from the garden; our table has featured forsythia and tulips over the last couple of weeks. The perennials beds around the building are growing now, with the peonies - one of my spring favourites - quickly on their way.
Of course, there’s always the rest of life to add in. Morning chores if needed, wool orders, market prep, planning and getting to work in the fields, trying to keep ahead of the grass. Not to mention shuffling kids around to baseball, swimming, and friend’s. The days are full, sometimes too full, but they’re good; the kind of day that leaves your hands dirty and your heart just a little more at peace.
I’ve always gravitated toward what felt real which made Revolution Wool Company a natural next step in our life. The most simple using what we grow on the farm ... the wool! It also offers an opportunity to combine two of my passions, like growing rhubarb to harvest for pie and then using the leaves as natural dye for our yarn.
I’ve been living this way - close to the land, barefoot in the garden or caring for animals on the farm - for my entire life. Long before it became a trend and 'the kids' were posting it on the web. For me, it’s not about going “back to the land.” It’s just about staying close to what feels real. And right now, in this season, that means honouring the abundance and quietly preparing for what comes next.
This life isn’t always easy, but it’s honest. And in a world that moves fast, I’m grateful for the slowness, the messiness, and the deep roots that keep me grounded.
So if you’re here, welcome. You’re joining a circle of care that stretches back generations. And whether you’re just starting a pot of herbs on a balcony or you’ve been tending a garden for decades, I’m glad we’ve found each other.
I hope you're finding joy in the season too.
With sun on my shoulders and dirt under my nails,
Romy
Shepherdess | Gardener | Woolworker | Everyday Maker