ampampquotHelen Whybrow is a tothebone writer and this is a tothebone bookbeautiful real full of life.ampampquotampampamp8212Bill McKibben author ofampampamp160The End of Natureampampamp8220Sheep have helped me become a good shepherd not just to them but to a place that is my sustenance and joy as well as my unending labor and worry.ampampamp34In the heart of Vermonts Green Mountains Helen Whybrow and her partner are presented with the opportunity to steward a twohundredacre conserved farm. Whybrow knows that ampampamp8220belonging more than anything requires participationampampamp8221 and radically intertwines her life with the land. Six months after purchasing Knoll Farm they unload a flock of Icelandic sheep onto the field and Whybrow becomes a shepherd entering into ampampamp8220natureampampamp8217s constant cycle of life into death into lifeampampamp8221 and all its unexpected lessons.ampampamp160The challenging and profoundly rewarding work unfolds for Whybrow in the everyday rituals of farmsteading and caring for her familyampampamp8212birthing lambs in the late winter harvesting blueberries in summer fending off coyotes and foxes seasonal shearingampampamp8212while instilling the lessons of the land in her daughter and caring for her mother.