Filed under: August 2012
Before the sorting
August 15, 2012
Tonight we moved and sorted sheep. We waited until the cool of evening to do it. It took us a little bit too long, so we finished in the dark. It was nobodies fault, the sorting just took a little longer than I thought it would.
The job went flawlessly. The new lambs are all sorted and now weaned from momma. They will rub noses through the fence, but the nursing days are over. We weaned lambs weighing 60 to 70 pounds. Not bad for a drought year!
Once the sheep were sorted, the moms went into one paddock and the lambs into one adjoining it. The sun was long gone, as we moved the older ewes to their pasture. They walked behind me following my “come babies” low call to them. They walked along nicely and went right into the lush pasture.
Then, it was pitch dark. I could only see about twenty feet on the cloudy night. The baby lambs were put with my old matriarch Persephone. She was one of our original ewes and is almost thirteen years old. She will die here of old age. She has helped move my flock ever since she was a baby.
She had been raised on a bottle and was very tame. I like the old girl. She gave us twins every year. Her udder is now shot , so we keep her away from the rams at breeding time. Her only job is to keep everyone calm and lead the flock.
Tonight in the dark, little Persephone led the way following my voice. The baby lambs followed the old matron without question. They walked slowly as she ambled her way to the waiting paddock. I spoke softly to the group. Persephone baa’d softly and kept the little ones moving. They went through the gate as if we moved them that way everyday.
The old ewe and I knew what was happening. I would beckon to her and she would do my bidding. She knew I would not harm her so she followed me fearless and confident. The babies followed because she asked them to do so. If only I listened as close to my Master’s voice….. A guy can learn a lot from a flock of sheep 😮
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