When someone asks Aaron Kaufman about his line of work, the 30-year-old California native smiles proudly and says “I shear sheep.” It is a reply that raises many an eyebrow and tends to generate a lot of interest. Aaron will describe the long hours working in extreme temperatures–from below freezing to sweltering heat–and detail the exhaustion of dealing with headstrong mammals. He’ll mention getting up early the next morning to do it all over again. He will then tell...

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My job as a writer of “Learning Curve” articles for Black Hills FACES magazine is to provide comic relief from the more serious stories while at the same time providing biographical sketches of the people I’m learning from. Unfortunately, the Learning Curve subject for this issue turned out to be intrinsically unfunny, but I did get to spend time with a number of interesting people, and I did learn a few things. For this issue the publishers, Beth Palmer and Ann Henrichsen...

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Birgit Perkins swings her shepherd’s staff toward the red-and-white border collie, redirecting her toward the corner of the pen where five sheep are huddled. The dog attempts to circle behind them, but the rambouillet/targhee cross ewes hold their ground. They know that they are facing an inexperienced dog. Birgit is giving Cassie, my dog, her first lesson in working livestock. Until now the collie’s innate but dormant herding instincts have not been tested. At first, she...

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K.J. Groven has never been able to picture himself as a nine-to-fiver. As a child in Norway he dreamed of being a farmer and as he grew up the idea of living an independent life remained important to him. While he may not have ended planting fields back in Norway, his independence and doing what he loves are still the cornerstones of his life. As a blacksmith and woodworker, he is working steadily to master an ancient and complex Norwegian style of log-building, the most familiar...

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