Just recently there have been a few reality TV series on farming life, mainly from the UK. But every Sunday here in Australia a program called Landline is broadcasted for all those connected to the Land.

My late husband & I used to watch this every week together, as it gave the latest market updates related to stock, wool & crops, showcased innovations that were happening in various aspects of farming & gave long term weather forecasts from the Australian Bureau of Meteorology (which is critical when running a farm with livestock & crops).

Watching these programs now always takes me back to my years on the farm with Ed, before his untimely death.

Those who join me here often, may remember in the post below that he was a Wool Grower (aka Grazier or Shepherd) & Crop farmer (of wheat, barley & oats).

Home sweet home

During our years together I became his right hand gal with the Sheep, aka as a Shepherdess. It was hard physical work but so enjoyable!

What I’ve noticed in these recent TV programs is that shepherding has common practices in most parts of the world only with slight differences here & there.

The last episode I watched showed a family moving a flock of sheep from one side of the farm, across rather steep terrain to greener fields on the other side of the farm for grazing. It involved quite a few acres of herding between paddocks. While this particular farm had smaller flock numbers than Ed & I had, their method was similar.

The Shepherds used their working dogs & ‘four wheelers’ to move the sheep. Their commands for their work dogs which were also Australian Kelpies were similar to what Ed & I had used for ours.

The commands; ‘steady’, ‘come round’, ‘walk on’ & ‘that’ll do’ all sounded so very familiar. And what has always fascinated me is that a work dog will only listen to it’s own master’s commands or whistles, no one elses, even if they use the same commands or whistle. Thus Ed, my stepson & I each had our own work dog that we had trained ourselves beside the older more experienced work dog.

Hearing these commands transported me Back in Time

This instantly transported me back to an incident just after Ed had passed away. That particular morning I was doing my normal rounds checking (& cleaning) water troughs, fences & the different flocks (totalling 1200 sheep) in the various paddocks on our small (for Australia) 800 acre farm.

When suddenly my work dog Polly who was on the back of the ute started barking her ‘talking bark’ she had noticed that one of our ewes with a new lamb was on the other side of our boundary fence in the laneway, where there was a deep & dangerous gully.

As I only had Polly as my workmate that morning & she was only two years old, still learning the ropes of working the sheep on her own, I hesitated for a moment. However, I knew I couldn’t leave the ewe & lamb out there exposed to the dangers of no water, predators & cars in the laneway.

So I said to Polly it was just her & I, she looked at me with great enthusiasm. I went & opened the gate to our back paddock & we positioned ourselves to try to herd this ewe & her lamb into the paddock.

I was on foot by that time & if anyone has ever tried to do this they will know just how difficult it is with a flighty ewe, a frightened lamb & a young over enthusiastic Kelpie. But Polly was brilliant she followed my commands with all her instincts & training, thus far coming into play sensing what we needed to do together.

When the few times the ewe took flight thinking she knew better, running down the gully into danger with the lamb blindly following & me quickly running to head her off. Polly saved the day bringing her round, eventually calmly walking the two through the gate with me quickly closing the gate behind them. Polly was rewarded with lots of praise & hugs.

I later found where they had got through the fence which had been damaged by a downed branch overnight & quickly mended it so this wouldn’t happen again.

This had me thinking…

So often we think we know better than the Great Shepherd…don’t we? Especially with family & friends, dashing off to ‘help’ when things seem to be going wrong for them or choosing things that look more enticing but are unbeknownst to us very dangerous.  

Like the ewe who didn’t want to go the way Polly & I were trying to get her to go, which was to safety in the green pasture & beside quiet waters (the dam) away from harm & predators. Psalm 23 comes to mind here.

And the most concerning thing was that she was leading her lamb astray, straight into grave danger. While she may have thought she could navigate the steep gully her new lamb definitely couldn’t!

How does this relate to us?

Well we really do need to be conscious of our own choices & behaviour, especially the influence we may be having with those choices, not only with our friends & family but also in our neighbourhoods & communities.

We need to ask ourselves the following sobering questions;

• Am I like the ewe who thinks she knows better than the Shepherd, going off in my own direction?
• Or am I like Polly who only listened to the commands & voice of the Shepherd?

This scripture came to mind;

“Now may the God of peace, who through the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, equip you with every good thing to do His will.

And may He accomplish in us what is pleasing in His sight through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.” Hebrews 13: 20-21 BSB

Just like the flighty ewe & frightened lamb weren’t alone in their plight, as Polly & I were there, we too are not alone. For we have the Great Shepherd – Jesus Christ, through the Holy Spirit, always keeping His eye on us trying to head us off from danger & draw us back to safety when we err. 

May we look to Him for our choices in life & listen to His voice;

“Your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, “This is the way, walk in it,” Whenever you turn to the right hand Or whenever you turn to the left.” Isaiah 30:  21 NKJB

Until next time,

Jennifer

You’re most welcome to join me in The Reading Nook

& in Prayer

© 2025 Jennifer M. Ross, All Rights Reserved.  Photos at pexels.com

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