Mary Lake is a sheep farmer and sheep shearer and itinerant slaughterer. She is a tall, muscular woman in bib overalls and a baseball hat and dangly earrings she carved out of a ram’s horn. She wears a chain around her waist with a scabbard full of knives. And she loves sheep, which is one reason she participates in their slaughter. This is a story about where food comes from.

** The first version of this story aired on Vermont Public. I am grateful to Vermont Public for allowing me to share this story with Rumble Strip listeners!

Mary Lake’s business is Can-Do Shearing in Tunbridge, Vermont

Thank you magazine.com/2022/08/12/sylvan-esso-diva-interview/">Amelia Meath!!

#ftg-2727 .tile .icon { color:#ffffff; }#ftg-2727 .ftg-items .loading-bar i { background:#666; }#ftg-2727 .ftg-items .loading-bar { background:#fff; }#ftg-2727 .tile .icon { font-size:12px; }#ftg-2727 .tile .icon { margin: -6px 0 0 -6px; }#ftg-2727 .tile .caption-block .text-wrapper span.text { font-size:12px; }#ftg-2727 .tile .caption-outside .text-wrapper span.text { font-size:12px; }#ftg-2727 .tile .caption-block .text-wrapper span.title { font-size:14px; }#ftg-2727 .tile .caption-outside .text-wrapper span.title { font-size:14px; }#ftg-2727 .tile { background-color: transparent; }#ftg-2727 .tile .caption-block .text-wrapper span.text { color: #ffffff; }#ftg-2727 .tile .caption-block .text-wrapper span.title { color: #ffffff; }#ftg-2727 .tile .caption-outside .text-wrapper span.text { color: #ffffff; }#ftg-2727 .tile .caption-outside .text-wrapper span.title { color: #ffffff; }#ftg-2727 .tile .ftg-social a { color: #ffffff; }#ftg-2727 .tile .caption-block { transition-timing-function:linear; }#ftg-2727 .tile .caption-block { transition-duration:0.25s; }#ftg-2727 .tile .tile-inner:before { background-color: #000000; }#ftg-2727 .tile .tile-inner:before { background-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8); }jQuery('#ftg-2727 img.item').removeAttr('src');jQuery(document).ready(function () {setTimeout(function () {jQuery('#ftg-2727').finalTilesGallery({minTileWidth: 250,margin: 10,loadMethod: 'sequential',nonce: 'd04a94a94a',galleryId: '27',setupFilters: true,layout: 'final',debug: false,gridSize: 25,disableGridSizeBelow:800,allowEnlargement: true,imageSizeFactor: [ [4000, 0.3],[1024, 0.3],[768, 0.2],[640, 0.3],[320, 0.2]],selectedFilter: 'n-a'});jQuery(function () {(function () {var rel = '';jQuery('#ftg-2727 .ftg-lightbox').click(function (e) {rel = jQuery(this).attr('rel');jQuery('#ftg-2727 .ftg-current').removeClass('ftg-current');jQuery('#ftg-2727 [rel="'+rel+'"]').addClass('ftg-current');});})();});}, 0);});