Estonian Native Sheep

For Wovember Words today we are in Estonia! When team Wovember member Felix traveled there in 2012 for a residency, she discovered the wondrous organisation Hea Villa Selts (Facebook link) which translates loosely as The Good Wool Society. This is a coalition of shepherds and wool-workers working to understand and teach the best ways to… Continue Reading Estonian Native Sheep

Sheep and Wool in Denmark, with Richard Regnery

Today on our EU tour of sheep and wool, we are quoting from Richard Regnery’s book, Ruminations of a Grumpy Shepherd. Richard and Gretchen Regnery have been raising a flock of white and coloured Corriedale sheep in Door County in northeast Wisconsin for over twenty years, and this book recounts some of their experiences along… Continue Reading Sheep and Wool in Denmark, with Richard Regnery

Wool in the Czech Republic

For today’s stop on the EU sheep breed tour, we’re in the Czech Republic. We found some of our links for this piece via the cesky a slovensky Ravelry group, and others through extensive use of Google translate services, through which we learned that the Czech word for wool is vlna, and the Czech word… Continue Reading Wool in the Czech Republic

The Cyprus Mouflon: Κύπρος αγρινό πρόβατα

Κύπρος αγρινό πρόβατα, pronounced Kýpros agrinó próvata, is a strain of mouflon sheep particular to Cyprus. It is worth knowing about this sheep and its mouflon cousins, as these are the precursors to all our modern domesticated breeds. Unlike domesticated sheep, wild mouflon have a hide rather than wool, and do not require shearing. However,… Continue Reading The Cyprus Mouflon: Κύπρος αγρινό πρόβατα

Croatia and the Halubajski Zvončari

Today in our European tour we are traveling to Croatia to explore a modern manifestation of an ancient shepherding tradition. In Croatia, the word for sheep is ovca and the word for wool is vuna. Every year there is an amazing annual pagan-slavic festival in Croatia in which men and boys gather together to ward… Continue Reading Croatia and the Halubajski Zvončari

Bulgaria’s endangered Karakachanska ovca

Continuing our tour of Europe for Wovember words, today we are in Bulgaria, discovering the endangered Karakachan sheep. In Bulgarian the word for sheep is овца, or – for non-Cyrillic readers – ovca. This breed of sheep – along with the Karakachan horse and the Karakachan dog – is a focus for The Bulgarian Biodiversity… Continue Reading Bulgaria’s endangered Karakachanska ovca

Belgium and the Belgische melkschapen

Today for Wovember Words, we’re thrilled to tell you about a particular flock of Belgian Milk Sheep, kept by Barbara and Pete in the province of Luxembourg, in Acremont, Belgium. Researching this breed has been quite interesting; French, German and Dutch are all spoken in Belgium and, respectively, the breed is called brebis laitières belge;… Continue Reading Belgium and the Belgische melkschapen

Austria and the Alpines Steinschaf

On the first stop of our European wool tour for Wovember Words, we’re thrilled to tell you about the Alpines Steinschaf. We are hoping that by the end of the month, we will all know more words for sheep in different languages. In Austria, in which German is the most commonly spoken language, the word… Continue Reading Austria and the Alpines Steinschaf