Rural Life In Sweden – Farming In The Archipelago

Rural life in Sweden is beautiful, and living here has given us different opportunities.  We have made some lovely new friends since moving here, and one of those owns the sheep farm on our little island.  Being a small island, he welcomes people into his barn, especially children, to get up close to the animals.  The children’s daycare even takes walks round there for the little ones to see the sheep!  However, the animals are not there all year round, only from late October to early May.  The rest of the year they are out grazing, and they have a very interesting way of getting to and from their grazing land, which is not an uncommon method here.  You see, rural life in Sweden involves living around the archipelago, and incorporating that into your daily living.  In this post I want to share with you the incredible beauty, effort, and uniqueness that rural life in Sweden holds for some.

It may sound harsh to be bringing the animals back to the barn to be kept indoors all winter, but with temperatures soon set to plummet it will be the most comfortable place for them.  Farms with cows do the same thing, and when the cows are released from their barn in the spring time, this has become a big event. They come out jumping like spring lambs!  Our island’s sheep are very well cared for with lots of space in their barn, they even have their own twinkling fairy lights to brighten up the long dark winter 🙂

Rural life in Sweden requires some ingenuity with your thinking and operations to run life.  Farming the sheep is no different.  We are on a small island in our archipelago, with limited grazing areas, so for 6 months of the year they live on a nearby uninhabited island, happily roaming free, and grazing away the beautiful Swedish summer.  So, twice a year there is a military-style operation planned to transport them via…..boat!  I am really lucky in that I have now been able to tag along both taking them out in the spring, and bringing them home in the late autumn.  It is such a wonderful experience.  To be out on the water, on and off the boat all day. To be able to be on an island where there is nothing but nature, sheep, calm, and tranquillity. To be in the beautiful outdoors, and to see the wonderful hard work that man, lady, and dogs put into getting these sheep moved around the archipelago.  Yes, do not underestimate the work of the beautiful collies.  They have a vast area to herd the sheep around. They need to make sure no one is left behind, and they herd the sheep around areas of trees, rocky boulders, and all the other obstacles Swedish nature throws at them!  I hope from my story in pictures below, you can appreciate the effort it takes, as well as the beauty of rural life in Sweden.  Enjoy 🙂

The morning was so calm with no wind for a change

The boat is like a flat moving animal enclosure on the sea

As we approach, three Collies start trembling in anticipation of their job to do as they spy their targets

The boat awaits for the sheep to be herded up and loaded on. It takes many trips back and forth to complete the move of the flock.

Here come the sheep……

Well done doggies and people, job done!

Homeward bound

I hope you have enjoyed learning about this adventure and if you enjoy the images from Sweden don’t forget to head over to our Instagram for lots more from this beautiful country.