From Broadway Divas to Shameless Escape Artists: Shepherds and their Favorite Sheep

Voices in Wool with Clara Parkes

It takes a special kind of person to choose a life with sheep. It's not easy. It's not glamorous. It's not the kind of career path that comes with stock options or a private jet.
It comes with something even better: Sheep.
Spend any significant amount of time with sheep and you're bound to form friendships, attachments, connections.
In this episode, we hear stories about favorite sheep. Whether they're from a shepherd or a daughter of a shepherd, the stories run the gamut—from a little lamb who appeared off Broadway to an escape artist who likes to brag about it.
What I love about these stories is that they don't just show how remarkable and just plain fun sheep can be. They also reveal a lot about the shepherds themselves, about just what kind of person dedicates his or her life to making sure that sheep have good lives too.
The voices, in order of their first appearance, are those of:
Siri Swanson, Yankee Rock Farm
Sara Dunham, the Crazy Sheep Lady
Rachel Atkinson, Daughter of a Shepherd
Theresa Walker, Great Bay Wool Works at Liberty Hall Farm

Kathy Oliver, Sweet Tree Hill Farm
Jennifer Kouvant, Six Dutchess Farm
Jennie Watkins, Ananda Hills Farm

Schuyler Beeman, Arbor Farm
Dominique Herman, Catskill Merino
- Music provided under license from Storyblocks -

Support the show