Sheep Arrive

Thursday morning began as every other day...

Take care of the dogs, cats, chickens, and guineas

Rush back into the house to get out of the humidity and heat

But with one acception...

We also had to get everyone ready for a 3 hour one way trip up to Humansville to pick up our wee sheep

Well, things didn't quite go as planned and we left an hour after I had wanted to leave and then we had to make 3 stops: one to deliver shrooms, another to fill up the tank, and another for lunch about an hour into the trip. Basically we left the farm at 10:15 am (had planned on leaving at 9 am), arrived in Humansville at 2:30 (I had wanted to be there by noon), then departed at about 4:30 pm. Not exactly on schedule.

We arrived at the farm in Humansville to pick up the sheep and get a few lessons on sheep catching and loading as well as hoof trimming and giving shots. I think I'm ready... it really isn't all that different from grooming a BIG dog and giving them shots... right?

I think the saddest moment for me was when we took Lucy out of the fenced area and Stinky, this years lamb, had to stay behind as I had chosen instead to go with an unrelated ram whom we named Thomas. Stinky started calling for his mom and Lucy called back to him. It is sad that we couldn't let them know somehow what was going to happen so we could prepare them.

Getting them each onto the "Yankee Cattle Trailer", as Bob lovingly called the borrowed trailer with a cattle panel covered with scrap fence and a tarp using zip ties and orange bale twine... interesting... we had a lot of gauckers on the drive home. Not sure if they thought our trailer was interesting or our passangers.

When we finally arrived at their new home we had to take the dog kenned apart from where we had been using it as part of the fence and doorway to the front garden and move it to the backyard where the first paddock is yet unfinished... that is another story.
The boys quickly reassembled it as I tried to unroll a piece of woven wire fence to put up in its place at the garden so Bambie wouldn't get in there and eat up what is left of it after the locusts and grasshoppers have had their fill.
The sheep were getting a little antsie and wanted to be off and on the grass.
So, we abliged them.
Here is Clare to the front and Thomas to the right - Lucy is behind Clare... she still isn't sure about all the goings on at this point.
And frankly...
This is what Thomas thought of us and his new digs at first.
Though on Friday when we fed them some corn chips they all warmed up to us happily.
Clare is a sweetie and just loves all the petting and scratching we can give her.
Thomas will stay back and watch until invited to take grain or a chip.
Lucy is coming around quickly and likes to be scratched as well.






Here they are just before nightfall that first night. A very hungry and thirsty trio that during the night ate all the grass to the ground and drank 3 to 4 gallons of water.

In the morning we let them out into the extended run area and later in the day moved the entire thing so they could get more fresh grass. In all the run and kennel were moved three times yesterday and we gave them the grass that I had pulled out of one of the front flower beds that had been terribly neglected due to my broken arm. There is plenty more to pull from several other beds and though it is humid it is slightly overcast today... guess we will be doing more of the same.