Hello Reader,

Friends, my new paper planner arrived in the mail this week. There was much rejoicing.

Some of you may be shaking your head after reading those sentences. Who buys paper planners these days? Does the woman not have a phone? Does she not realize it does more than send texts and take pictures?

The rest of you either know me or understand me.

Yes. I have a phone. I have a calendar on my phone. It is positively bursting with appointments, reminders, holidays, birthdays, and "maybe" dates I'm holding for possible whatnots that may or may not materialize.

I am perfectly aware that my phone and the bazillion and one apps available on it are likely capable of organizing me within an inch of my life. I am willing to admit there may even be a more efficient, more wonderful, more in-tune-with-my-brain system.

The problem, friends, is twofold. One, I would never trust that the darn thing won't poof into the netherworld right when I most need it to guide me. It genuinely feels like using an e-brain is an invitation to any ill-meaning force in the universe to please choose the most inconvenient time and place to mess with me.

The other issue is that in order for any calendar/planner combo to help me, it needs to be the size of a Buick. I need to see all the things at the same time. Month, week, and day all at once, with room for lists upon lists as well as random scribbles. This is difficult to do on a screen smaller than an index card.

This planner is actually an upgrade for me from a previous version. The earlier one was terrific, and I loved her. She did good work. But this week is a good example of why I need a little more muscle to work out the weeks and months ahead.

Shearing

The Valais were shorn this week.

They were last shorn May 2, and it's amazing how much wool these sheep can grow in four months. The poor dears were absolutely sweltering in our record heat wave. Typically, it's best to wait until temps have cooled a bit to shear them, as their wool provides some protection from the heat as well as the cold, but no one told me when I scheduled in June that we'd be having 107-degree heat indexes in September.

They've made it through the worst of the heat and are dealing with the destruction of their dignity.

Georgiana's coping mechanism seems to be using her forehead as a Rorschach test.

The next shearing will be for the whole flock in the spring.

Pasture Rotation

This week, we moved the sheep off their third pasture since starting the rotation system, just as planned. Yay.

No rain for the past thousand years meant there was no good grass to put them on next, so we built our first sacrifice area.

This is not as terrifying as it sounds. I know "sheep" and "sacrifice" start the alarm bells ringing for some of us, but this is something different. The only blood spilled was human, from scraping against baling wire. Everyone is whole and hearty.

We now have an area right by the barn that is designated as this sacrifice area. The ground is going to be hammered, and the sheep will not be doing any sort of grazing there. It'll be all hay all the time until one of the paddocks is recovered enough for grazing.

It's part of this dance between pasture and parasite management, and we're still learning the steps. But I'm very thankful for the rain we had this week, and I'm counting the days and watching the grass to see when we can restart the rotation plan.

Until then, Samson and the sheep are enjoying getting better acquainted at close quarters.

Breeding Season

The other major months-spanning event that kicked off this week is breeding season.

This year is the first year we're actually choosing when we'd ideally like our lambing season to start and end. We researched the seasonal breeding patterns for the three breeds we raise, considered our layout and weather patterns, and thought about how the past lambings went to come up with a general plan.

We're staggering each breed by two weeks and giving each breeding group two months to get their business accomplished. Is it a perfect plan? Nope. Could we still end up with five ewes lambing in two days? Theoretically, yes. Prayers and positive thoughts are appreciated.

This week Lizzy and Emma were escorted to Mr. Knightley's enclosure for the official beginning of Pemberley Breeding Season 2026.

Reintroductions went well, and Mr. Knightley is reminding himself how to be a gentleman at table and share his feed nicely with his ladies.

I had a nostalgic moment when the three Merinos and Mr. Darcy were close enough to give each other a good study. They were our first four sheep. It's very sweet to reflect on what has grown from those early days.

If all goes well, the flock will have additions in the spring. I have a sticky note in the new planner noting that Pemberley Lamb Watch officially begins January 29, 2027.

Miscellaneous Entries

Seal Team Six is starting to make contributions toward the Great Egg Endeavors, and, true to Regimental form, is choosing non-regulation locations for their deliveries.

We're looking forward to the new class of recruits that will be arriving soon. The number of recruits is still undetermined, but the selection process is going well.

Samson is spending more time off lead as he becomes more familiar with the farm, and the residents become more familiar with him. We have learned he doesn't care for loud noises, thunderstorms, or cats. He is still extremely fond of pats.

I'm enjoying the finishing touches of the first edition of Pemberley Correspondence, and am eager to send them out.

What's on your calendar this week?

Greg's Got Questions

Thank you to those of you who participated in the poll last week.

The winning question: Since you’ve identified Samson as one of our Pemberley Woolworks team members and we use the Six Types of Working Genius model in our business, what are Samson’s two Working Geniuses based on what you know of him so far? You know I caution my coaching clients not to guess without doing the assessment, but I think we need to make an exception for Samson since he doesn’t have a PWW company phone or laptop yet.

Greg, did you actually ask me to guess when you explicitly tell people not to guess?! Did you forget the RULE FOLLOWER tattoo? In the bones?

Well, after way too long of angsting over this one, I came up with half. I think Samson's highest Working Genius is Wonder. He's seeing the big picture and always seems to be taking in more of the farm and how everything fits together. I suspect his brain is always working.

As for the rest of it? I think that's your business, Coach!

This Week's Questions

(As a matter of procedure, the poll function takes you to another page to submit your vote, so if that happens to you, you’re on the right track!)

Question 1: Given your general lack of interest in anything related to automobiles, I’m more than a little surprised by and curious about your Buick reference. I expected a call out of one of our massive ewes who can’t seem to stop eating and expanding. Did you have a specific big Buick in mind? Was it the 1975 Electra which was over 19 feet long? The early '70s Boat Tail Riviera? Or the Roadmaster Estate Wagon with the fancy wood paneling?

Question 2: What was different for you in this second shearing compared to our first? I’m sure you noticed new things or experienced things differently this time.

Question 3: How are you feeling about Samson’s interaction with the sheep so far? Is it going as you expected? Have you been surprised by anything?

Happy knitting!

Kiersten J

P.S. Pemberley Correspondence is beginning its first season this fall. Each month I’ll tuck a handwritten letter and a few small pieces of Pemberley into an envelope and send them your way.

If that sounds lovely, I’d love to have you join us.

P.P.S. You can find this and more of my knitting journal entries at KierstenJ.com.

If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to reply to this email! I read every one!