My First Novel's Inspirations ~ Part 3

Happy Monday! I hope you all had a great weekend and are ready to take on another week's challenges. My husband and I kept all four of our grandchildren this weekend. Our 3 year old twin grandsons, 2 year old granddaughter and 11 month old grandson. We had a great time! 😊 That was the first time we had all of them all by ourselves. We love our grandkids and enjoyed them so much, but I must admit, I am dragging a little today. My house also looks like a small cyclone went through it. That isn't really the kids fault, though. That's from me putting my time into them, instead of my regular chores. We also did a good bit of rearranging and baby proofing beforehand, so all that needs to be put back into order.

Today, I want to talk about some of the animals that show up in my story. Anyone who knows me, knows I love animals, especially those that may be found on a farm. I knew I wanted my main female character to be a farm girl. Figuring out what kind of farm, took a little research. In the rural area of England where my character Charity is from, sheep farms are common. 

I didn't know much about sheep, except what the Bible has to say about them. Here's a couple of the many passages from the Bible, where sheep are used as a comparison to God's people.

Ezekiel 34:11-16 ESV

 “For thus says the Lord God: Behold, I, I myself will search for my sheep and will seek them out. 12 As a shepherd seeks out his flock when he is among his sheep that have been scattered, so will I seek out my sheep, and I will rescue them from all places where they have been scattered on a day of clouds and thick darkness. 13 And I will bring them out from the peoples and gather them from the countries, and will bring them into their own land. And I will feed them on the mountains of Israel, by the ravines, and in all the inhabited places of the country. 14 I will feed them with good pasture, and on the mountain heights of Israel shall be their grazing land.There they shall lie down in good grazing land, and on rich pasture they shall feed on the mountains of Israel. 15 I myself will be the shepherd of my sheep, and I myself will make them lie down, declares the Lord God. 16 I will seek the lost, and I will bring back the strayed, and I will bind up the injured, and I will strengthen the weak, and the fat and the strong I will destroy. I will feed them in justice."

John 10:11-15 ESV

I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. 12 He who is a hired hand and not a shepherd, who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. 13 He flees because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep. 14 I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, 15 just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep.

Sheep

I had dallied with the idea of a dairy farm, but the sheep won out. I liked the way they worked into my springtime story. The shearing and lambing of sheep in the spring appealed to me. I also read about much of the process from shearing to spinning the wool. Although, I couldn't go into any detail, in my story, I tried to touch on some of the steps, briefly at different points.My story takes place in the mid 18th century. The industrial revolution didn't begin in England until the later part of the 18th century. This means most of the work done to prepare the wool for sale or personal use, was either done by hand or by simple machinery such as a spinning wheel. 

18th Century Spinning Wheel 

I thought the type of sheep, would be important to mention, too. I chose the Leicester Longwool Sheep.

"The Leicester Longwool breed is also known as the English Leicester (pronounced lester). The breed was developed in England in the mid 1700s by innovative breeder Robert Bakewell, the first to use modern selection techniques to improve livestock breeds. Bakewell transformed a coarse, large boned, slow growing animal into one that grew rapidly for market and produced a higher quality fleece."

I put them in my story, because I liked what I read about the quality of their wool, their uniqueness and because they were described as docile. My story is a few years ahead of their actual "development" but I wanted them in my story, so they made it in anyway. 😄

Leicester Longwool Sheep

Donkeys

I mention donkeys briefly a couple times. The reason I wanted them in my story, is that I learned that donkeys were and still are in some places, kept with sheep because they can protect the sheep from predators. They don't really protect the sheep, because they care about them, but because they don't like strange creatures in their space. 

There are a good many videos of donkeys doing their thing on YouTube, if you are interested. For time sake, I'll move on.

Sheep Dogs and Chickens

I briefly mention sheep dogs in my story, but I didn't do more than that. I probably should have put some time into them, because sheep dogs are an important part of a sheep farm. I allude to the fact that there are chickens on the farm, but only talk about the gathering of their eggs. I have chickens and enjoy them. I probably could have written a chapter about Charity with her chickens, but I have to be reasonable. The dogs and chickens, just didn't get a starring role this time. 

Cow 

Charity has a milk cow, that makes it into a couple scenes. My research of the cow, basically revolved around how the milk in that time period, would have been kept cold. Thus, I spent more time researching the springhouse, than I did the cow. One of the reasons writing a book can take so long, is research. You can chase a rabbit down a hole and not come up for hours. This was one of those times for me. I found the springhouse so interesting. Maybe I should have been more interested in the cow, but she still gets to shine a little. 🌟

Goats 

I talk about goats a couple of times in my story, but one goat is special. I know this is going to sound weird, but I have a stuffed goat my husband bought me on a trip we took to Pidgeon Forge, Tennessee for our 25th wedding anniversary. Since I got the goat, it has sat on the dashboard of my car. I call her Nanny and we make jokes about her leading the way on every trip since. Yes, I know, LAME, but we have our silly fun with it and I really like my goat. My husband bought it from a place dedicated to goats. At the zoo, I am right there along the kids (no pun intended) in the petting zoo, visiting the goats. I don't know why I like goats so much, but I do. They are cute. Anyway, there is a special part for a nanny goat in my story. 

Horses 

I talk about horses the most in my book. They were used in so many ways, during that time period, they needed to be a big part of my story. I won't talk about them today, though, since it will take me a little longer than the rest of the animals. Next week, I'll plan to focus on them for Part 4. I hope you'll join me again for that.

I think that covers it. I hope you enjoyed learning a little of the back story. When and if you read my book, I hope you enjoy reading about the animals as much as I enjoyed writing about them.

Have a great week! May you and your family be blessed with faith, hope and love in the Lord Jesus.

In Christ,

Sandy

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