Where do we go for fun? Well, all kinds of places, but fish hatcheries, farm shows, and livestock auctions are on the list.

Today, we’re taking you back to jolly old England (almost Scotland, actually), to a little town called Hexham. It lies at the foot of Northumberland National Park and a stone’s throw (literally) from Hadrian’s Wall. This is as charming a hamlet as you might ever imagine. It has lovely bridges, excellent tapas, wonderfully kind people, a first-class auction yard, and mules.

Wait – aren’t we talking sheep today? What’s all this about mules?

Yep – mules -- that are technically sheep. Listen in to Drew Patrick and Chris Armstrong, master auctioneers at Hexham and Northern Marts, to find out why some of these sheep are mules.

And Hexham is in the Borderlands, so some sheep also look like rabbits – but that’s another podcast.

Links:
https://hexhammart.co.uk/
https://www.worldatlas.com/articles/the-world-s-top-wool-producing-countries.html
https://www.nahillsheepshow.com/

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Located in the southern portion of Scotland, Lanark might be best known in agricultural circles for those big guys from the area around the River Clyde, and to history buffs as the first place local resident William Wallace drew his sword in earnest. We love heavy horses with a passion, but the sheep need to have their day, too.

Last September, Lanark Agricultural Centre saw Shetland Sheep and members of all sizes and colors coming for the Gathering, because “There can be only one!” (oops – wrong movie again, though with William in the first paragraph, the sword thing kind of took us over.). All shapes and sizes of SHETLAND SHEEP and the society that supports their continuation came to show, to sell, and to talk to the Backyard Green Films crew.

We’re still high on life from one of the most memorable trips of our lifetime – can you tell? And still aloft from meeting the people and livestock of the British Isles. Long may they rein (still had to make a horse joke).

Links:
https://www.shetland-sheep.org.uk/
https://www.shetland-sheep.org.uk/shows-sales-and-event
https://www.britannica.com/biography/Robert-Bakewell
https://www.britannica.com/story/whats-the-difference-between-great-britain-and-the-united-kingdom
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_conquest_of_Britain
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shetland
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dorking_chicken
https://www.visitscotland.com/info/towns-villages/lanark-p244081
https://scandinaviafacts.com/norsemen-vs-vikings-whats-the-difference/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fair_Isle_(technique)

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In life, there are talkers and doers. Of the doers, many of them have a characteristic known as “True Grit,” and today’s podcast guests are in that category.

Millie and Stacy Bradshaw own Dry Creek Livestock, and a few hours north of Salt Lake City, these two intrepid souls are building a place to call home on the windswept plains and low hills of Utah. On their ranch you’ll find a range of critters, including goats (for meat and milk), cattle (for beef), livestock guardian dogs (for the previous two) and - periodically – mountain lions (because apparently ranching is just too easy in Utah). Millie and Stacy know more than the average farmer about the plant life that surrounds them, and they use that and their livestock in a way that works with nature to build something out of this lonely land.

We hope you join us today for a talk with two modern-day pioneers (and a few comments from the always wonderful Tom Boyer), who are building a patch of land into a place to call home. It’s something right out of a western movie, but these are the real heroes – even without the star billing.

Links:
https://www.instagram.com/dry.creek.livestock/
https://www.premier1supplies.com/
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt17505010/?ref_=ls_t_4
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1883_(TV_series)
https://www.nps.gov/state/ut/index.htm
https://heyexplorer.com/29-things-utah-is-known-and-famous-for/
https://english.stackexchange.com/questions/582124/how-did-sand-come-to-mean-courage-pluck
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1403865/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0065126/?ref_=fn_al_tt_2

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