A Shepherds Watch

At Borough Farm, on North Devon's rugged, spectacular coast, David Kennard and his dogs are embarking on a new shepherding year. Part diary, part Herriot-like homage to the countryside and its characters, this book is a portrait of a real life. Kennard presents twelve months with his working sheepdogs as they face a never-ending series of challenges: from rescuing ewes stranded on the Atlantic cliffs to running the gauntlet of psychopathic rams and officious farm inspectors, from spring lambing and summertime shearing to fending off the ever-present threats nature has in store for the 850-strong flock. All this, in the midst of a harsh economic climate for farming and a landscape that is among the most picturesque, yet wildly unpredictable, in the British Isles. As he follows the changing seasons, he also offers a meditation on man's relationship with his environment, and an elegy to a rural way of life.--From publisher description.