David Kennard (1) (1966–)

I enjoyed the book but going to give it 4 stars because it wasn't quite as exciting as the summary for the book makes it out to be. The summary says ' as he battles to save his farm' and 'storm clouds are already gathering when Borough Farm suffers a series of disastrous setbacks.' It is true that he does have to suffer a lot of setbacks, which made the book interesting but doing what he has to moving through the setbacks is not up to some of the battles like an adventure book.

I agree with show more the summary's description:
David offers an honest and affectionate, often comic picture of life on his sheep farm. But throughout this gentle meditation on his family's rural way of life, David is in a fight for that life, and for the survival of his family and farm. He must rely---as always---on his faithful sheepdogs Greg, Swift, Gail, Fern, and Ernie.

I am all about the dogs as I currently try to read all the 'dog' books I can and herding dogs are one of my favorite dog topics. From that I have an interest in the sheep they have to herd. In this book you learn a lot about keeping sheep and the challenges those that keep them have to deal with. That is the main focus of the book. But along the way you learn about the work they do and stories on situations they run into as they manage the sheep. And for those who like to hear of sheep trials, there is some of that too.

Love the descriptions of the countryside. Love the interaction with the children. Love hearing of the dogs. Here is a line I thought was cute:
- Trying to sell the idea of a new pup to the children, on the other hand, was about as difficult as trying to convince them to eat chocolate."

If you like descriptions of the challenges of farm life and raising sheep, you will like the book. show less

I enjoyed the book but going to give it 4 stars because it wasn't quite as exciting as the summary for the book makes it out to be. The summary says ' as he battles to save his farm' and 'storm clouds are already gathering when Borough Farm suffers a series of disastrous setbacks.' It is true that he does have to suffer a lot of setbacks, which made the book interesting but doing what he has to moving through the setbacks is not up to some of the battles like an adventure book.

I agree with show more the summary's description:
David offers an honest and affectionate, often comic picture of life on his sheep farm. But throughout this gentle meditation on his family's rural way of life, David is in a fight for that life, and for the survival of his family and farm. He must rely---as always---on his faithful sheepdogs Greg, Swift, Gail, Fern, and Ernie.

I am all about the dogs as I currently try to read all the 'dog' books I can and herding dogs are one of my favorite dog topics. From that I have an interest in the sheep they have to herd. In this book you learn a lot about keeping sheep and the challenges those that keep them have to deal with. That is the main focus of the book. But along the way you learn about the work they do and stories on situations they run into as they manage the sheep. And for those who like to hear of sheep trials, there is some of that too.

Love the descriptions of the countryside. Love the interaction with the children. Love hearing of the dogs. Here is a line I thought was cute:
- Trying to sell the idea of a new pup to the children, on the other hand, was about as difficult as trying to convince them to eat chocolate."

If you like descriptions of the challenges of farm life and raising sheep, you will like the book. show less

Well written. An inside look at sheep raising for a living. There was more too it than I knew, of course. I liked it.

This is the second book by David Kennard, describing his working life as one of the few remaining shepherds working the sheep in North Devon. This book deals with the immediate aftermath of the Foot and Mouth outbreak, where farms all around Kennard's had seen their livestock decimated by the disease and then culled to prevent further spread.

In this book more than the first, Kennard really opens your eyes to the many vagaries of fate that will affect the profit to be earned. Here he show more struggles with low prices thanks to Foot and Mouth, and varying diseases that he has to treat over the course of the year. He also suffers the breaking down of the only farm tractor; one of his older dogs suffers a tumour which thankfully is benign; and one of his flocks is threatened by loose dogs. He also sees a number of his fellow shepherds give up the game for good.

With that backdrop of gloom, you'd think the book would be rather disheartening to read, but Kennard manages to find the humour in many situations and presents a life that, though extremely hard, is extremely rewarding.

The characters of both his children and dogs are greatly developed in this second book, and it is lovely to see them grow up - especially his rather solemn son, Nick.

Out of the dogs, Ernie makes me laugh a great deal, while Greg's descent into old age is heartbreaking. As a working dog, he now only has a couple of seasons left where he is effective, and Kennard describes the difficult decision of trying to replace his best dog with sensitivity and great sadness.

I thoroughly enjoyed this rather simplistic account of shepherding life. It was never going to be a literary classic, but does what it says on the tin very effectively. For those who have enjoyed similar tales by such authors as James Herriot, it will be a welcome addition to the bookshelves. show less