I wonder what it must be like to be burdened with a wool coat for one's entire life!
Sitting with the sheep and watching them on this particularly warm day,
I imagine that it might be something like a hot flash that never goes away.
Amazingly, the sheep never appear irritable from the heat.
They are, however, wise at picking what type of activity belongs with what temperature.
They are much more active in the late evenings these days...
while afternoons are spent beneath the shade.
I am sure that wintertime is their favorite
and that they never feel a chill.
One thing I will say is that sheep are stoic.
You never quite know how they feel about much of anything.
They are as peaceful as can be...
spending their active hours happily tearing off grass, chewing, swallowing,
only to later bring it all back up again and chew, chew, chew.
Gracie and her girls are quite secure in their tranquil world...
with no predators to upset the routine...
and they graciously share that sense of peace with anyone who will sit with them.
You only have to spend a few moments listening to the soothing chewing
and your vital signs drop... you mood mellows...
and for the time being, all is right with the world.
It's no wonder that sheep are the animal of choice for counting to sleep.
Last night under the orange light of this moon...
we said goodbye to our fainting goat, Chip.
His condition was obviously neurological and it came on quite suddenly.
Dr. Becky felt it was some sort of central nervous system lesion.
There was nothing left to do but euthanize the old boy...
as he was thrashing about and unable to stand on his feet.
He had a good run, Ole Chip...
and we still have several of his children amongst the herd.
He was one of our original breeders and came to live with us at an early age.
Here is a photo we took to register him as a fainting goat.
(you have to provide proof of fainting when registering!)
Comments
Love the "fainting pic" . . .
and the moon . . .
I also love the pictures of your sheep.
I have quite a collection of your sheep pics and those of Joan, Knit One, Raised 4 . . .
Makes "counting sheep" quite the pastime . . .