Saturday, February 14, 2009

Feeling Sheepish

Believe it or not, one of my goals for this year was to find someone who had sheep and actually spend some time around sheep.

I've always loved sheep in the abstract, often calling them my favorite animal. I've thought someday I would like to have a few, when we someday have land for them to live on. (Definitely not the case in our current situation.)

I didn't know just how I was going to go about approaching this idea, but it was on the list in my head of things to do since I have a bit more time free these days.

Well, today my dream came true, and I didn't even have to search. I was talking with my friend Amy on the phone, and she told me about a friend of theirs who has sheep. Two lambs (both rams) were born recently and the mother died in the birthing, so she and her daughters were lamb-sitting yesterday.

I told her about my dream, and today I was able to go out with Rachel and step into another world for a while.

Less than an hour from my front door lives a woman who has sheep, horses, donkeys, parrots, and, not so surprisingly, dogs. I heard there may be an iguana as well, but I didn't ask to see it.

It was an enchanted afternoon with these five-day-old marvels of creation. Behold the lambs....


In their little box in the kitchen.

We took them outside to stretch and nibble.









Rachel's jacket was just right. (I was holding the white one but didn't get a picture. My sweater still has a distinct aroma about it, though.)


The others wouldn't come near; this is as close as I could get.


Then back in. Have you ever seen a lamb with a broom and a refrigerator in the scene?


You can barely see a donkey in the back. I was amazed at how the horse sniffed and sniffed the lambs.


This very friendly, very strong dog greeted us at the gate and hardly left our side. And never touched the lambs, except to sniff them a bit.

2 comments:

Lucy said...

Oh, there's nothing cuter than lambs, is there? Though pet lambs can be fraught with problems, they either become big and bold and naughty, or there's the sticky question of their future fate, or both...
But still, I envy you your sheepy cuddles!

Sheila said...

By the way, these are more cell phone pics.