Introducing our first 6 sheep to Mustang Acres Farm!

Welp! We did it! We plunged into the world of sheep head first! And while Fiona and Susan do not profess to know much about sheep, we do think our lives are fuller (and fluffier) with sheep in it!

The sheep came by way of Karen of Sebastopol. She is a mother of a young man with autism who connected with us through our MCC website’s contact page. Six of her sheep joined our farm on June 17. They include two Fins, two Shetlands, one Romney and one Shetland-Fin cross. We are grateful to Karen for the sheep!

Sheep getting ready to jump off the truck to their new home at MCC

Sarah the shepherd helped with transporting the sheep from Sebastopol to Petaluma. Her amazing wrangling skills made transportation go off without a hitch. The sheep were soon settling in at their new home at MCC.

However, do you know what needs a hitch? How about a gate! Hitched gates to keep sheep in! That brings us to our great escapade story! The day after the sheep arrived at MCC, the sheep escaped! Due to human error, a gate to the backyard where the sheep were kept was accidentally left open, and the sheep went on an expedition through the Mustang Court neighborhood. Through the kindness of our neighbors and Sarah who rushed to MCC, everyone rallied together to corral the sheep and lead them home. Unlike little Bo-Peep who lost her sheep, and couldn’t tell where to find them, if we left them alone, they would not come home, and won’t likely bring their tails behind them!

This called for immediate posting of signage on every gate we could think of, to remind everyone to please keep the gate closed!

The arrival of sheep provided an impetus for creating our inaugural t-shirt fundraiser for Mustang Acres Farm. What better design for a t-shirt than to have sheep on it! Fiona drew a lamb and ewe with their heads pressed together, because some children with autism show affection by pressing their heads or faces next to the other person’s. They may be non-verbal, but they express love in their own way.

The response to the t-shirt fundraiser was overwhelming and heartwarming. We had set a modest goal of selling 50 t-shirts for this 3-week fundraiser in June. We were astounded when we hit this goal within 24 hours of launching the fundraiser. By the end of the 3 weeks, we had sold 105 t-shirts and raised just over $3,600. Some donations were made without purchasing a shirt.

Some lovely comments came in as donations were made:

  • “Such a wonderful vision and can’t wait to see it realized!” – M.M.

  • “Exceptionally worthy cause.” – R.W.

  • “This is such important work. Thank you for doing this.” – T.O.

  • “This is a wonderful opportunity for an enriching and more independent life for young adults with disabilities!” – M.S.

  • “Farming and folks working together, keeping it sustainable! A win-win dream worth developing!” – N.H.

  • “It just touched my heart.” – B.C.

  • “This is an awesome project for families with young adults to have supported independent living opportunities!” – J.S.

Our hearts are full and we are deeply grateful to all who supported our fundraiser and continue to support our farm effort.