Everyday Vegan presents … A Shepherd’s Birthday

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@shoreflicks was right, that’s probably the first and last time that will ever be tweeted, more so because (at least for me) it’s true.  A discussion about yarn prompted that tweet, and let’s face it, if you read my blog or follow me on Twitter, you know about my new passion for knitting.  Much as I love art, I’m more about craft.  Before my kids were born, I completed all number of needlework projects, but you can’t take a year on an original needlework design when you’ve got two kids in diapers!  Now that my two are independent (or at least close to), I can relax once again with fiber.

Enough about me, where’s that Shepherd?  Tom Chenal, owner and shepherd at Summerhill Farm in Morganville, NJ, celebrated his 60th birthday this month in style.  Below is a picture of Tom and Fifi, one of the many lambs born this spring and an integral part of the celebration.

Fifi is the youngest of quadruplets, and her mother rejected her right after she was born.  According to the shepherd and his wife, Barbara, they were unsure the first few days if Fifi would survive.  They brought her into the house tried to bottle feed her commercial lamb’s milk.  Poor Fifi had a tough time at first but finally took to the bottle and is now a strapping one month old girl!

A couple of hours into the shepherd’s birthday party it was feeding time for Fifi.  Tom’s nephews took turns bottle feeding her in the kitchen as the festivities continued around her unabated.

Spilling out from the house, guests roamed the farm greeting the other lambs born this year, their mothers, and the llamas that now live next door.

The wool on these triplets is the same sported by mom; she’s brown and beige because her wool fades over time.

This everyday vegan recently learned to knit and can’t wait to make a few projects with Summerhill Farm wool. Wondering how a vegan can work with wool?  My choice to become vegan primarily rests on the treatment of animals with a strong preference to the use of grain to feed humans rather than cattle.  No animals I’ve ever met (including my own dog and cat) are treated as well as Tom’s sheep.  This shepherd sheers his own sheep so I know their wool is gently removed.  Once we get this wool cleaned, carded, and dyed, I want more than anything to spin it into yarn and start knitting!

Assuming I can find a spinning class within an hour from my house…

Anyway, no birthday is complete without cake, and for this shepherd, it’s a peep cake! While not vegan, it is colorful, seasonal, and the shepherd’s favorite.