Sheep that want to go to school, and a broody hen

We had a Sheep Escape yesterday! Actually we've had a couple of these incidents due to loose spots under the fencing. We knew they were there, and the plan is to put barbed wire along the bottom of the page wire as this keeps coyotes from digging in and sheep from pushing the wire up and escaping to the longer grass. Anyway, the previous escapes had ended with the sheep just a few feet away, munching on the longer grass: a handful of oats rapidly convinced them to return to the pen. Yesterday, though, they were out of the pen and nowhere in sight. We called, we went down by the creek, we walked over into the hayfield next door ... no sheep. Union Guy even drove up the road to see if by some chance they'd wandered farther away, but no luck. I walked up the road, grain in hand, calling to them and listening. Just at the corner I heard a clomping noise behind me - I turned around, and there they were, peeking out from The Boy's bus shelter. They must have gone in there for shade, as it was a hot afternoon! One look at the grain in my hands and they came trotting right over for a taste. They followed me back to the pen and went right in - I was having visions of Little Bo Peep, with two lambs trotting behind me down the road.

We put up the barbed wire, and they've stayed put today. :)

Today's adventure is the discovery of a broody hen in our coop: The Boy went to get the eggs, and one of the hens was still sitting, which is odd at 4 in the afternoon. I went out later to check on them, and sure enough, she was still there. The feeder was empty, so I filled it and she hopped down for a snack. While she was off the nest, I took the other eggs that had been laid today and tucked them in where she'd been sitting in an effort to increase the odds of getting chicks should she truly decide to brood. When I went back to check a little bit ago, everyone else was up on the roosts for the night, and she was sitting in the nestbox, spread out over the eggs. So, maybe we'll have chicks!

I think I'd better research broody hens now!

The rest of the week has been a blur: work has been rather overwhelming, and this weekend was Mom's moving day - my parents have sold their condo and a house is being constructed in a tiny town 30 minutes from here where they can live mortgage free and near enough to come for dinner! Dad is still in BC, holding down the fort at their volunteer job, so Mom was coordinating the move here. Union Guy and a friend of mine from work carried the heavy stuff (a non-trivial job, as one of the heavy things was a huge side by side fridge that had to go down a stairwell that had a medichair in the way...), and Mom managed all the boxes and lighter things (amazing, really!). We got the truck loaded Saturday night, then unloaded at the storage unit Sunday. It's a relief to have that done! Tomorrow morning Mom has to get her toilet fixed (don't you hate it when your toilet breaks the day before you are moving out?), then she'll pick up The Boy from school and we are all meeting for dinner in town (Mom, The Boy, my sister and her husband and me ... Union Guy is busy with his kids that night). Wednesday morning, The Boy leaves for BC with his Gram for the summer!

My goodness, time flies.