THE HISTORY YOU HAVEN’T WRITTEN YET ©
A few days ago, a fellow Damara breeder asked a question.
“What would your wishlist be for current breeders, small and large alike, to record or keep now for the future?”
The more I research the history of the Damara in Australia, the more I realise that history is never found in one place.
Sometimes it’s hidden in an old photograph or it’s preserved in a pedigree; sometimes it’s tucked away in a sales brochure or an old newsletter.
But it’s often the stories, that bring all of those things to life.
A photograph shows us who was there.
A pedigree tells us where a bloodline came from.
A journal explains why those decisions were made.
Without all three, part of the story is missing.
If I could encourage every breeder to do one thing, it would be to become the historian of your own flock.
Keep your photographs and back them up.
Keep your pedigrees and registration records.
And alongside them, keep a simple journal.
Nothing elaborate. Just somewhere to record a date, a decision, an observation or simply a story worth remembering. If you prefer to keep things electronically, Day One and Journal are two free excellent apps. They make it easy to record those moments as they happen and keep your photographs together, with the stories behind them.
It might be as simple as…
“Our first Damara lamb was born today.”
“Retained this ewe because she has never ……”
“Visited another breeder today and came home with more questions than answers.”
Those moments won’t seem particularly important today. Years from now, they may explain a bloodline, a photograph or a breeding decision that would otherwise have been forgotten.
History isn’t made up of one big event. It’s built from thousands of ordinary moments that someone cared enough to preserve.
If your grandchildren opened your flock journal one day, what story would you hope they’d find?
© Written by Keith Layman, Hamilton Ridge Damara Stud, NSW
