About the shepherdess

This little farm is called the shepherdess, named for my first chore and resulting affinity for sheep as a little girl…. Sometimes a ewe will abandon her newborn lamb and refuse to nurse it. In those cases, Daddy would bring the little lamb into the house to keep it warm (as I remember, in a shoe box, on the open oven door where the gas pilot light radiated some heat.)  If the little one made it, he/she joined the rest of the flock in the field. Every morning I would carry a huge bottle of milk to the fence and stick it through, and that little one would come and latch on, and nearly pull me through to her/his side.  I still adore little lambs! So the shepherdess commemorates my experience of bonding with the little ones and my love for them.

Our Mission

Our mission is to be a quiet place for your spirit to rest and renew, a place to experience your connectedness with nature and with one another.

Whether you visit the shepherdess alone for solitary retreat, or with a group for intentional study or collaboration, or to participate in the life and chores of the farm, there is a place for you here, and you are welcome.

Extraordinary Experiences

the shepherdess is a work in progress, with plans for raised garden beds, labyrinth, meditation tree, swing set, walking paths, and a retreat house with meeting space and lodging… all designed with accessibility in mind.  Even if you use a  wheelchair, walker, or any other device for ambulatory assistance, you still will be able to dig in the dirt, plant seeds, pull weeds, harvest produce, and then in the kitchen, cook it up or learn to preserve it.

The silence of this place invites you to an inner quiet and a slower pace. Sounds of nature replace the sounds of traffic and commerce. There are country roads for walking or running.  There is room to run your dog. With no street lights, on a clear night the sky is spectacular.  Watch the sun set to a soundtrack  of bullfrogs, crickets, night owls, and sometimes a chorus of coyotes in the distance.

Our Core Values

At the shepherdess we tend especially to matters of the spirit, individually and collectively.  Our core values are non-negotiable:

  • We value and celebrate diversity. While grounded in the Christian faith, we welcome views and practices from people of other faiths or no faith. All people and their myriad views and experiences are respected mutually by guests and staff.
  • We value the environment and strive for practices that protect and nurture Earth.
  • We value listening to and learning from one another, fostering understanding and finding commonality, building community.
  • We value and expect honest, transparent business transactions.