About Wolston Farm

"We who choose to surround ourselves with lives even more temporary than our own live within a fragile circle, easily and often breached. Unable to accept its awful gaps, we still would live no other way."

Welcome to Wolston Farm, home of Ian Caldicott and Raven OKeefe, located in Scio Oregon. At Wolston farm we raise sheep, and train sheepdogs. We care a great deal about our animals and our land. We take every step possible to ensure that our animals are happy and healthy.

This area is exceptionally well suited to raising sheep and training sheepdogs. The climate is very mild so it is rarely to hot for the dogs or to cold for the people. While we do get plenty of rain in the winter and spring the grass also grows year round. It is unfortunately also perfect for a number of sheep parasites.

You may wonder where the name Wolston Farm comes from. Wolston is a small village in central England where Ian spent his early childhood. According to local folklore you are only a true Wolston native if you have fallen in the stream that runs through the center of the village. At this point you have probably guessed that Ian did indeed fall in the stream as a youngster and therein lies the reasoning behind the Wolston Farm name.

To be successful on a small farm we believe it is important to be flexible and diversified. We sell wool, sheep for breeding or dog training. Ian teaches herding lessons and takes in dogs for training as well as makeing shepherds crooks and walking sticks, he also does some consulting on small farm management. Raven paints pet portraits (and other things) and does sculpture with our wool as well as helping with the stick carving . We sell our products on the farm, online, at art & craft shows and at sheepdog trials.

Raven has been an artist pretty much her whole life, specializing in pet portraits. We put some of Raven's dog related art on note cards, clothing etc and sell them in our online store, specifically in the BC Styleyes section. Raven's sheep related art and other products derived from our sheep are in the Sheep Thrillz section. Most recently she has been doing pen and ink drawing of Totem animals that we now put on coffee mugs and more.

Ian had been working and training dogs for over 30 years and teaches herding lessons at our farm and at clinics. Along with maintaining our web sites Ian also makes shepherds crooks.