As I type, one of my ewes, Winnipeg, nibbles on the iPad cover. She leans against my leg and lets her eyes say "pet me." The humidity clings to my skin as the clouds approach to deliver a spring rain shower. This evening I feel relaxed in this task that is so comfortable to me: writing. Not so earlier today as I wandered around in the internet world. Today I began the tasks which, this past weekend at the Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival, I learned were necessary to move my sheep enterprises from sheep in the field to wool in the hands of spinners, knitters, and crocheters, felters and crafts artists, yarn purveyors and other interested folks. I took a class that taught me so much about the social media world of these talented people and so I began to set up accounts and explore forums, websites, and blogs. I established myself as the "Singing Shepherd" and will use that name throughout. I am still figuring out how to interconnect everything. But tonight I thought in this post I would tell you why I chose the name "The Singing Shepherd".
Singing is my second language. I was humming tunes in the womb I am sure because I can never remember a time when music wasn't threading its way through my mind at all hours of the day and night. I think in terms of melodies and harmonies, breathe in all kinds of music like oxygen, see the beauty of music in all of nature, and love love love to sing. So many songs, so short a lifetime to sing them all (or at least listen to them). Saying that I love to sing is understating my life's every moment, all my days and years. Each day I wake up with a song running through my thoughts and often sing songs to myself in my head to lull myself to sleep at night. Without thinking, I add a song to many tedious daily activities; and often in sorrowful times, I find myself remembering the words to an old well loved hymn from church. From my conception I was embraced in music. My mother and father both loved to listen to music, mostly orchestral or choral, or what we now call "easy listening" music. Mom had lots of records of Broadway classics, all of which saw many a turn on the old record player. As I mentioned, hymns also were instrumental (no pun intended) in my upbringing. I was listening to hymns many times a week in church services before I could speak, and definitely remember singing "Jesus Loves Me, This I Know", an old Baptist standby, as a toddler with mom. Singing became as much a part of me as breathing. And thus it has been these 54 years. I grew up a vocalist before I ever was identified by someone else as one, and eventually became an opera singer. From opera to sheep-wow what a journey! That's a story for another day.
Suffice it to say, I sing even when I don't realize I am singing, always humming around the house or as I walk around outside. So one day long ago, it seemed like a fun idea to use a song to call my cats to mealtime, instead of "here kitty kitty". So as I put out the cat food, I sang "You are my Sunshine", and the rest, as they say, is history. The daily repertoire varies, they like anything, and so whatever I'm feeling that day they get music wise. Sometimes it's a Mozart aria, sometimes it's a nursery rhyme. Therefore it seemed only natural that when we became sheep owners, that our sheep family join in on our musical farm tradition. They love it-I can tell of course-because they come running.....that bucket in my hand has nothing to do with it :-)
So there you have it- How I got the name, The Singing Shepherd. Wanna join me in a song?
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