+1 Lamb, -1 UPS Driver

11:27 PM, 6 April 2010
Chilly & damp

Today was largely unadventurous, although three of the lambs got out of the mixed-sex flock; we have no idea how, but suspect they're using hollows under the fence which were deemed acceptably small from our perspective concerning the adult sheep, but which are turning out to be less so from a lamb's-eye perspective. They were, however, much easier to round up than the adult sheep tend to be; they don't want to go far from their mothers, for one. Double Nickel's two lambs and one of the coal-black lambs were the ones out. It's interesting to note that in the close presence of a farmer, the coal-black lamb decided to try to make a running leap through the mesh of the gate. Since this effectively was an electrified trampoline, it really didn't work the way it had hoped.

A chunk of alfalfa was tossed to keep them in the 'corridor' created by the pasture wall and the exterior fencing that was still up from the other day, and with the exterior fencing 'closed' to keep them from easily going further, the gate was opened. Double Nickel immediately went out - not for her lambs, but for the alfalfa. Mitey would have liked to follow, but was blocked by a mildly irritable farmer; the coal-black lamb scuttled in through the open gate as soon as the farmer wasn't an issue, and circling around to behind Double Nickel and her lambs took care of getting them back in. The alfalfa was then tossed in and the gate closed and tied shut again; end of problem, for now, anyway.

After feeding was over and once back inside for a bit, there was peace; the peace was then broken by the sound of half a dozen geese protesting an intrusion, very, very loudly. This was followed by a surprisingly loud THUMP of something hitting the porch. By the time anyone could get out to investigate, the UPS driver and his truck had made a surprisingly fast but very effective departure, leaving behind only a delivered parcel to prove that they had been there at all. No shreds of brown fabric were found, so presumably the geese were only mildly successful in their attempted rout.

About this time it seemed that a sheep might be out from the ewe flock; closer inspection proved it was not out, merely towards the back of the pasture, and that she had just given birth to a new single lamb. This brings us up to seven lambs so far for that flock.

Livestock totals thus now read:

Lambs: 17
Adult sheep: 38
(Total sheep: 55)
Geese: 8
Ducks: 21
Cats: 8
Rabbits: 8
Farmers: 2

Obviously, at some point these numbers will need some adjustment. It's the meek who are said to inherit the earth, not the bleating masses.