Buddy, Can You Spare Some Sheep?
July 30th, 2013 · 1 Comment · Posted in farming
Our landscaping crew is getting bigger
No, our flock of Friesians didn’t suddenly multiply. But our neighbor, Alan, did drop off his 17 sheep yesterday to help with the mowing chores.
I think Alan was embarrassed by the bedraggled look of our overgrown pastures. So he pulled up to the house yesterday in his pickup towing his entire contingent of wooly ruminants. I was ready with a new paddock surrounded by portable electric fencing. Alan brought a big bowl of grain to entice his sheep into the area I had waiting for them.
He opened the trailer doors. He extended the bowl of grain. Needless to say, the sheep had other ideas and started wandering off in different directions. Suddenly I was sprinting to get around behind them and push them back toward the paddock opening. Alan pleaded with them to follow directions.
Eventually, all but one of the sheep were safely grazing where they were supposed to be. As often happens, it was the oldest ewe who had ideas of her own. She ambled along on the wrong side of the fence. I had to give her a little shove to turn her around.
Soon, all 24 sheep were munching away on all that foliage. This morning at 5 a.m. they were already up and at it again. I’ll let them work on this paddock until they’ve eaten everything they care to. Then we begin our rotation around the rest of the property, me coming behind the sheep with my scythe to knock down anything they haven’t consumed.
Alan, meanwhile, plans to leave on summer vacation. But first, he says he’ll be dropping off his riding mower so I can clip the knee-high grass around our house.
Now that’s what I call a good neighbor.
Thank you Alan!