Woolly lives with a flock of sheep, a few cows. chickens, goats, pigs, and a dog on Mopplee Farm. Crops are grown on the farm and harvested at various times of the year. Farmer Ted and Matilda take care of the farm and the animals. Woolly has a special place in their hearts as she was a rescued lamb. Woolly was hand reared by Farmer Ted and Matilda and has a strong attachment to them. She loves them and they love her. Unlike the other sheep, Woolly thinks of herself more like a dog than a sheep! She follows Farmer Ted and Matilda around the farm and spends more time inside the farmhouse than outside. Woolly always wants to be a helper to try to repay the kindness that Farmer Ted and Matilda have shown. Sometimes this can complicate things, and she gets in a pickle, but it always seems to work out in the end.

Farmer Ted and Matilda take pride in their animals and crops. Tending to them keeps them terribly busy. They have prize winning pumpkins, jams, Chee-Berry cheese, and their soft wool. Their goods sold at the Farmer’s Market are always popular and the stall sells out before lunch. Matilda has become a fan of making fudge and everyone wants to know her recipe. She tells everyone that it is secret family recipe and then laughs. People try to guess the ingredients to see if they can spot the extra spice she uses. So far, the “extra spice” remains a mystery.

The farming year has been difficult for Buckleberry. Summer was extremely hot and there was hardly any rain. All the farms suffered. Crops wilted as they were dry and thirsty. Animals struggled to stay healthy. The soil cracked across all the farms. Then there was autumn, farmers thought that their farms would return to their normal state. However, autumn saw storms and torrential rain. Dry fields could not cope with all the extra water, and some crops washed away. The winter was harsh, exceptionally low temperatures, lots of snow and ice. It was difficult for the crops to grow. Everyone looked forward to spring and thought that better weather and conditions would be good for the farms. Farmers struggled to provide crops for the community. Cows and goats did not want to provide milk and very few animals had babies. The Buckleberry farming community was in trouble. Famer’s Markets stopped.

A meeting was called at the Buckleberry Community Hall to try to discuss what was happening and see if a plan could be put into place to support the farmers. The community all knew that the farmers provided support for Buckleberry more than just providing food. They thought about all the events such as harvesting together, providing extra food supplies during emergencies, and placing Buckleberry on the tourist trail via interesting stories. Everyone gathered in anticipation of finding a solution. Milky tea and biscuits were available, people greeted one another and chatted. Mayor George called everyone to take a seat and started the meeting. People were asked to put forward suggestions on how to save Buckleberry farms. Secretary Stella wrote the ideas down and posted them on the Buckleberry Community Club website for everyone to view.

Ideas

1. Sell products like the jam and fudge online.

2. Re-start the Farmer’s Markets and sell more homemade goods.

3. Knit more sweaters and socks.

4. Change the crops.

5. Bring in camels so we can milk them and sell their milk.

6. Share farming equipment.

Mayor George thanked everyone for their ideas but said everyone needed to think more as these ideas would not be enough to save Buckleberry farms. Wildlife Warrior Warren spoke about climate change and the environment and thought that the unpredictable weather patterns were here to stay, and overtime would not improve. People all gave a big sigh. He told everyone that the problem was bigger than just farms. Tall Tony in a very loud voice said, “We need to become an eco-friendly village!” Everyone agreed.

Farmer Ted and Matilda left the meeting wondering what they could do. The weather was awful again and so they sat by the fire to keep warm and had biscuits and coffee. Farmer Ted scratched his head. Matilda knew that he was thinking. Woolly was in the house and sat beside Farmer Ted. Woolly listened carefully to the chatter between Farmer Ted and Matilda. She tried to work out what was going on. Farmer Ted asked Matilda to get an old book from their bookshelf. The book was large and dusty. Matilda blew the dust off and gave it to Farmer Ted. Farmer Ted said, “Maybe we need to go back to some of the old ways!” Matilda nodded her head.

Farmer Ted asked Matilda to get a pen and paper to plan. He read ideas such as rotating crops, using clover and alfalfa to feed the animals, making use of the fresh stream water, getting rid of weeds by using ladybirds, using native plants to provide shelter and to help replenish the soil. Woolly nudged Farmer Ted’s leg as if to say she would do what she could to help too. She then wagged her tail. Farmer Ted became hopeful and phoned Tall Tony to share his ideas.

Tall Tony was pleased to hear from Farmer Ted. Tall Tony also talked about using solar energy, community composting and using water tanks. Between the two of them, Tall Tony thought they had a plan. Another meeting was called and the information was shared with the community. Everyone agreed and worked together to save Buckleberry farms. Tall Tony was elected the leader of the “Eco-friendly Committee.”

Tall Tony held a series of workshops. He taught people how to build “ladybird hotels.” He gathered bamboo, twigs and straw and placed them in old flowerpots and boxes. Tall Tony asked that people planted marigolds and sunflowers and herbs such as coriander and parsley. He also asked that people placed pebbles on a saucer and added water. Ladybirds would fly and land on the pebbles and then drink the water. Other farmers helped Tall Tony with composting, water tanks, and solar ideas. Everyone in the community did something to contribute to saving the farms.

Farmer Ted introduced clover and alfalfa to the animals. They all smelt the feed and turned their noses up. One of them said, “Yuck!” Woolly was disappointed that none of the animals would eat the feed. Woolly decided to take it upon herself to be a leader. She thought that if she ate the feed the other animals would do so too. It took a little time to become accustomed to it. The taste was new and after a while it became ok to eat. In a loud voice, Woolly said, “Think of this as being a gourmet meal!” The other animals were shocked to see Woolly eat the new feed. Woolly called all the flock together and explained that if the sheep did not eat the feed that there would be no home on the farm. With that, the sheep all devoured the new feed. Farmer Ted stood back and scratched his face. This meant he was surprised and pleased that the sheep ate everything he gave them.