Keeping Watch: 30 Sheep, 24 Rabbits, 2 Llamas, 1 Alpaca, and a Shepherdess with a Day Job

by Kathryn A. Sletto

In our fast-paced modern world, quitting one's job to live off the land is a common if often unrealized dream, but Kathy Sletto and her husband Terry know that one of them will simply have to. They were both raised on farms, they own a picturesque parcel of land, and they love the sheep they are raising on the side, but the work with the animals is taking over their lives. She is the fiber arts specialist, and she jumps at the chance.

Besides, they got into this predicament because of Sletto's crazy love of animals. An initial purchase of two sheep quickly grows to an entire flock with the addition of llamas, an alpaca, and way too many angora rabbits— each treated more like family than livestock. It's a fault Sletto recognizes when she can't bring herself to cull her favorite sheep for the good of the flock, put down a roaming dog, or give up on a lamb born blind. She sees in these animals distinct personalities, respects their quirks, and recounts their adventures in hilarious tales—Tony the lonely, lambloving alpaca, Steve the possum-playing rabbit, Mack Dawg the llama with berserk male syndrome.

When freelance grant writing promises to balance the household books, Sletto must counterpoise new demands with the old, showing how the most modern and most ancient of work can coexist in this American life.

Genres: Nonfiction, Animals

224 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2010

Reviews

[Stephanie A. · Rating 4 out of 5]

A super fun and breezy ride about a year in the dream life of owning all of the fluffiest farm critters, even more accessible to me since it's set in my home state. If you can get past the ugly reality that anyone attempting make money off livestock who is not independently wealthy is inevitably gonna sell some of them to slaughter, the book is packed end to end with cute, heartwarming and/or funny stories about both the hoofed creatures and the family dogs and cats. The author seems very friendly and down to earth, and reading this felt like I was listening to stories from a chatty friend over coffee about all the wacky hijinx in her day-to-day life.

[Joanna · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book drew me in with the Llama on the cover, and kept my attention and won my affection with the stories of Sletto's personality-filled animals. This book has a lot of heart, laughter, and the challenges that come with trying to farm and have an outside job at the same time. I highly recommend it.

[Renee · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting premise...it's what I want to do. Sometimes her writing was inspiring and sometimes read more like a blog.

[Kevin · Rating 4 out of 5]

A weirdly simple memoir about a Minnesota farm raising a bizarre mix of animals. At times it's a bit hokey, but mostly it's just an interesting glimpse into this family making a go of raising animals in rural Minnesota.

[Barbara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quick read and fairly entertaining, although I can't imagine anyone NOT crazy about fiber animals would take the time to read this book. Her writing style is choppy and book could have benefitted from editing. But I enjoyed the anecdotes about her critters.

[a · Rating 5 out of 5]

loved this book. I chuckled all the way through. Steve and Rambling Rose will stay with me for some time

[Robin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved it. Lots on interesting animals and stories. I'm passing this one along to a friend who knits, spins, and has sheep/goats for the fleece.

[Virginia Graves]

Very interesting book about the life of a fiber artist and their animals.

[Jacquie Krauskopf · Rating 5 out of 5]

I LOVE this book!!! I really hope for more.
Filled with wonderful animal stories that make you laugh. I also love how she weaves bits and pieces of her childhood into the stories where needed, but she doesn't bore us with chapters only on her childhood like some NF books do.
Great book!

[Caryn Lantz · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quite a charming memoir of a Minnesota shepherder! Lots of great stories about the animals and all their personalities.

[Bonnie Roman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Could not stop laughing about Steve. I have a giant REW angora and all I could think about was him on the side of the road.

[lfed12 · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you are thinking about raising sheep, read this book first !
Kathryn gave honest accounts of the farm. Great Book.

[Shannon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute book. Their farm is near my parents' house.