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Sylvia's Farm: The Journal of an Improbable Shepard
In the tradition of James Herriot, Sylvia Jorrín tells her story of unexpectedly becoming a shepherd in the foothills of the Catskill Mountains.
When Sylvia Jorrín first moved to upstate New York, she had no intention of becoming a farmer. Raised to fear animals of all shapes and sizes, she only wanted to create a life for herself and her friends and family in her twenty-fi...more
When Sylvia Jorrín first moved to upstate New York, she had no intention of becoming a farmer. Raised to fear animals of all shapes and sizes, she only wanted to create a life for herself and her friends and family in her twenty-fi...more
Hardcover, 288 pages
Published
June 7th 2004
by Bloomsbury USA
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I loved the idea of a book about a woman learning how to become a farmer, and doing it all by herself after spontaneously purchasing a run-down, 100 yr. old farm house in the Catskills. She starts with some sheep, and a decade later has sheep, cows, chickens, ducks, and vegetables, not to mention a mortgage that's paid off and a lot of learning under her belt. So, it was a great idea for a story (especially now, as I toy with the idea of farming), but I just hated the author's writing style! It...more
"shall" can be over-used; Unadilla, Oneonta, and Delhi are great place-names; book has great feel for place; a mixed livestock, mostly sheep, operation in Delaware County, New York; brief weekly letters
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She falls in love with the setting of a beautiful 25 room house in the Catskills. This single woman buys it with dreams of restoring it. She needs money. A neighbor sugggests that she raise sheep. We learn about this venture from her journals which she writes for the local newspaper. She is resourceful. She appreciates the "lost arts" She lives a most interesting, full life.
This is the story of an inprobable shepherd and the evolving of a single woman becoming a farmer. The book is comprised of a series of columns written for the local newspaper and is set in the eastern Catskills of New York. She is brutally honest about her failures as well as her successes. She buys a huge old house and acreage. Sylvia joins forces with a neighbor and they form a partnership agreeing to raise sheep. The partnership dissolved leaving her with 15 or so sheep and no knowledge or pr...more
A treasure of a book. A perfect book. I loved the journal writing style unlike another reviewer. It fulfilled all my desires of a book: entertainment, education regarding an unknown world, enlightenment, free (given to me by my BFF). I would love to see the farm. She has more ambition and stamina than I can even imagine.
While Sylvia's story isn't particularly exciting or action packed the strength and resilience of this woman is amazing. She is a survivor. I enjoyed this book.
Interesting story; odd sentence structures happened often enough to be distracting.
Westmoreland
Just bought this!
This woman undertook such a daunting job when she bought an old farmstead with ramshackle buildings and house to live in and restore. Her accomplishements with her sheep, and her chickens and her barn and her jam and bread and friends are enviable. I don't know how she did it all. (ANd still does apparently.) I wrote her an email but she never answered.
This is the second time I have tried to read this book. It was just not that engaging.
Moving portrayal of transformation and hard work.
May 06, 2013
Jill Kimpson
marked it as to-read
Apr 10, 2013
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Jul 12, 2012
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Jul 19, 2012
Sophie
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Mar 20, 2011
Jen Topp
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