I pull into the driveway, and as I get out, I am thankful that I did not get there much later, as it is already quite warm out, and in this heat and humidity Dan and Joe get hot very quickly. Coffee filled travel mug in hand, I open the back of the Jeep and let the dogs out. Dan, then Joe. Dan makes an immediate bee-line down the hill with Joe in hot pursuit. They know our path, we have taken it every day for all of their lives..
As I walk down to the first gate, a green welded bar gate, I have Day stay and then walk through, I release Dan and he and Joe gallop down the first part of our walk through the middle field. I look up to the hill field, and do not see sheep, but I know where they are; they are in the center of the field, under a Maple tree, staying cool. We continue our walk, and I remark to myself that I have never seen the grass this tall. I believe it's Orchard grass, and the seed heads are almost chest high! I then add, that we need to get this mowed! We continue on our walk, Joe runs ahead, Dan runs ahead but always checks back in with me. I spy the sheep right where I thought they would be. About half way through our walk, all of a sudden about one foot from me, a big brown blob flies up off the ground, I quickly realize it was a Turkey- a hen, and there were several tiny Turkey chicks peeping to keep in touch with their mom who just beat wings to get away from the dogs and I. Fortunately Dan and Joe are not hunters and we leave the little Turkey chicks to find their mom... In addition to the jolt by seeing a Turkey that close to me, I am also smashed into by a 17 year Locust who must have been scared by said hen, because as she took off he/she simultaneously hit me and bounced off.
We continue our walk and Dan jumps into the pond, as usual, to cool off. I then bring Dan and Joe to the Jeep and leave them in their crates with the back open, and I set to check the sheep. I have two groups of sheep now, since there is another ewe that is pregnant, and the wether, yes, the supposedly neutered ram lamb is mounting her and reacting to ewe's urine... great... I do not need her bothered by him. So, yesterday, I took the older lambs/mothers, the ram and the wether to the hill field, and leave the two youngest lambs, their mothers, three non -pregnant or mother sheep, and the pregnant ewe in the lower field. The latter group is in the barn, the coveted area- when it is hot out, for two of the walls are field stone, making that room cooler than outside. I check everyone out see that pregnant ewe is not looking close, so then I decide to clean out the barn a bit. I get that done and then, it's time to leave and get home to get more cleaning done.
Thanks for coming along....
No comments:
Post a Comment