Everyone out.....

Lissie,

one joyful cow, outside for the first time in a couple of weeks,

prancing and kicking up her heels,

bless her.

And here comes Bonny to join her mum.

Both are in calf now.

....... and the sheep looking at Lissie and Bonny having fun in the field,

and having a thorough complain about still being stuck in the paddock.

OK, no side field today, but out into the veg plot field,

with me doing the shepherding to make sure they stayed where they are supposed to stay.

So out they go,......

all is looking good, and everyone is peacefully grazing,

they turn towards the left, which is where they are supposed to go....

with me gently pushing them along.

All is looking good, 

although the hens are not happy at being disturbed.

They have several little camps which they use during the day,

.........

...... but this was too much for them so off they went to find a quieter spot.

And on the sheep moved, passing the pigs, but disturbing the goose on her nest, 

she is on the left, by the blue tarpaulin. 

But I thought that everyone looked calm, 

so I sat under the oak tree,

and knitted.

I was guarding two paths, 

one which goes up to the sheep paddock, and the lane, 

and the other going down beside the wood and out onto the far field and from there onto our neighbour's field.

Charge!!!!!

Now I don't know what gets into the heads of those sheep sometimes,

normally they graze away,

intent on eating and not doing anything other than staying concentrated on the task in hand.

And then they do a stampede,

for no reason, or so it seems,

they just do.

So front right of me came a gang of sheep,

from front left of me came the other gang,

at the same time did they do this.

and at full speed.

Oh. 

What to do,

which path to guard, 

not to worry, the sheep chose,

and off they galloped onto the woodland path.

Oh

Can't go after them and try to turn them round because the path is narrow and all that they will do is run ahead of me.

Need to get round to the front of them.

Means that I have to go down the lane and across my neighbour's field to head them off and turn them round. 

Suddenly shepherding does not seem quite  such a fun thing to do. 

I look at my knitting now tangled up in a heap at my feed,

obviously I was not going to do much of that now.

So hurry back to the house to get my boots on,

my pink crocs not being suitable to chasing sheep hither and thither

I call to Lester that the sheep are off and away,

he looks at me, just looks. 

I go inside to put my boots on,

can't find my socks so it does take a minute or two...

go back outside, look to see where the sheep are.

Nowhere, that's where.

Crikey, don't say they all fallen into the river,

going off the high bank like a bunch of lemmings.

I start having a worry,

see Lester now running across the neighbour's field,

but no  still no sheep anywhere.

I hear the bleat of a sheep to the left of me,

hope it is not being made by a sheep as it floats on down the river,

'what will I say to people about why we have no sheep anymore',

that is what my head is thinking as I watch Lester move across the field.

They are found! 

I am relieved. 

See Lester usher them along,

and then on to the woodland path.

They have finished messing about with having a stampede,

and now are happy to carry on eating.

They come along the path to me.

And allow themselves to be herded wherever we want them to go.

Sheep are themselves, 

just different to us,

that is what I keep reminding myself as I settle myself down to not doing any knitting,

but keeping an eye on the flock,

just in case they take it into their heads to do a runner again.

Vx