Clara and Zoe the sheep are two very opposites when it comes to personality. As I have said before, Zoe just simply doesn't know that she is a sheep. Clara, on the other hand, is quite content to be a sheep and follow all of the other sheep around. She is very sweet and demure and at peace with her 'sheepiness'. Two weeks ago, our farm manager brought Clara into the barn so he could work on her feet during the week. This meant housing her with our three goats, no one seemed very happy about this arrangement-but Clara, being a good sheep didn't complain too much. We have three goats at the farm: Queen, aptly named and a bit of a bossy one; Heather, sweet girl; and Gracie, Queen's kid from 2009. I went into the barn on the second day and Gracie had fleece in her horns where she had been repeatedly ramming my Clara. Clara would just simply walk away and didn't mind if Gracie was above her in the chain of command. Their order was established and life went on-three goats and a sheep.
I came into work on Monday and noticed all of the goats were inside the barn and the sheep was in the connected outside paddock. I went outside to visit Clara only to find Zoe had been moved into her place. I wish I had been there when Zoe was moved in and the goats thought they were going to bully her around like Clara! Zoe has been living under the hay rack and basically telling the goats when she might share. Oh, those are my girls!
07 March 2010
27 February 2010
Not just sheep?
This is confession #1.
One of my best role models is a rogue sheep named Zoe.
Now Zoe is not just any sheep, she is an independent-minded sheep that really doesn't know that she is a sheep. In March of 2007 I had the privilege of bottle-feeding twin ewe lambs that were a week old. The girls were very ill and stayed with a much more experienced shepherdess for the first week in which they were in a very fragile state. After losing their mother and receiving IV fluids from our dedicated vet, they came to live with us for a month at the cottage. They spent their evenings and weekends at the cottage and their morning and afternoons at work with me at the farm. I would load them in their small dog crate in the morning and carry them to the backseat of my car where they would ride quite contentedly (in the beginning) the ten mile route to the farm. I would then carry them (still in the dog crate) into the Museum building where they were then transferred to a larger, more comfortable crate. This routine worked well for the first two weeks, until they began to get healthier and healthier. Zoe and Clara soon learned how to walk on leashes, as they got to heavy to carry in and out each morning and night.
I guess this might sound odd to some people, but I loved every minute of it! The girls were still weak when they came to stay with us at the cottage, but their personalities were already emerging. Clara, always has been the sweet, even-tempered sheep. She has always gotten the 'memo' that sheep are supposed to follow other sheep, stay (fairly) quiet-unless it is dinner time, and enjoy a nice scratch under the chin. Zoe, on the other hand never or ever has received the sheep 'memo'. The first night when I let Zoe and Clara out for a romp in the living room she went straight at my dog, Molly, chasing her around the living room. I ask you, what self-respecting sheep chases dogs? The answer is Zoe, of course. She has always been the leader of the two sisters and when introduced to the flock she was convinced that she was the leader of them, as well. Please note, this 'flock' in the beginning also consisted of two goats that Zoe tried to herd into the barn on first meeting. Now, don't get me wrong, Zoe is a great sheep and has always been the ambassador that is her job description. She just goes about it in a not very sheep-like manner. Zoe and Clara still walk on leashes and in the summer time are walked by our summer campers on the Farm. In fact, this summer Zoe could be seen beneath summer campers and even joined us for our overnight campfire!
So, what better role model than Zoe? I do hope that I am a quick study!
One of my best role models is a rogue sheep named Zoe.
Now Zoe is not just any sheep, she is an independent-minded sheep that really doesn't know that she is a sheep. In March of 2007 I had the privilege of bottle-feeding twin ewe lambs that were a week old. The girls were very ill and stayed with a much more experienced shepherdess for the first week in which they were in a very fragile state. After losing their mother and receiving IV fluids from our dedicated vet, they came to live with us for a month at the cottage. They spent their evenings and weekends at the cottage and their morning and afternoons at work with me at the farm. I would load them in their small dog crate in the morning and carry them to the backseat of my car where they would ride quite contentedly (in the beginning) the ten mile route to the farm. I would then carry them (still in the dog crate) into the Museum building where they were then transferred to a larger, more comfortable crate. This routine worked well for the first two weeks, until they began to get healthier and healthier. Zoe and Clara soon learned how to walk on leashes, as they got to heavy to carry in and out each morning and night.
I guess this might sound odd to some people, but I loved every minute of it! The girls were still weak when they came to stay with us at the cottage, but their personalities were already emerging. Clara, always has been the sweet, even-tempered sheep. She has always gotten the 'memo' that sheep are supposed to follow other sheep, stay (fairly) quiet-unless it is dinner time, and enjoy a nice scratch under the chin. Zoe, on the other hand never or ever has received the sheep 'memo'. The first night when I let Zoe and Clara out for a romp in the living room she went straight at my dog, Molly, chasing her around the living room. I ask you, what self-respecting sheep chases dogs? The answer is Zoe, of course. She has always been the leader of the two sisters and when introduced to the flock she was convinced that she was the leader of them, as well. Please note, this 'flock' in the beginning also consisted of two goats that Zoe tried to herd into the barn on first meeting. Now, don't get me wrong, Zoe is a great sheep and has always been the ambassador that is her job description. She just goes about it in a not very sheep-like manner. Zoe and Clara still walk on leashes and in the summer time are walked by our summer campers on the Farm. In fact, this summer Zoe could be seen beneath summer campers and even joined us for our overnight campfire!
So, what better role model than Zoe? I do hope that I am a quick study!
Day one
Okay, now that I have a blog-what do I do with it? I am sitting here in snowy New Hampshire with two warm dogs at my feet.
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