"I have three sheep now!"

That is what The Boy had as his Messenger tag earlier this week.

On Monday I went for a 2 hour drive and picked up a ewe and her ewe lamb to keep Master Jack company. The ewe is very small - she is only about 80 lbs and maybe 3 or 4 inches taller than Master Jack (who is a miniature breed) so we are thinking that perhaps she'll prove a suitable partner for the breeding project that The Boy wants to undertake this fall. The new sheep are crossbreeds of some kind - nothing in particular, just a grass eating wool bearing 'mutt'. The lamb sure is adorable, though!

They are both still a little skittish, but they are rapidly learning that I am the nice person who shows up with grain and water, and they do seem to get along fine with Master Jack. They have somewhat goofy names - Cookie (the mama) and Bubble (the baby) - and I would not be surprised if The Boy decides on something a little different.

The improvements that have been made to the fence seem to be working - at least everyone was safely inside when I got home tonight. It is true, however, that yesterday Union Guy got here before I did and found that the lamb had escaped from the enclosure. The fence certainly holds the bigger sheep, as only the baby was outside the fence (it is about half the size of Master Jack, so it can sneak through a much smaller space) and the mama certainly tries hard to stay close to her baby! Fortunately the lamb did stay close, just grazing on the opposite side of the wire. Getting her back inside was a problem though - the lamb didn't know Union Guy at all, and refused to come to him for grain or anything else. He ended up chasing her around the yard while the mama hollered and fussed from inside the pen, wondering about this big crazy person who was chasing her baby around. In the end, Union Guy lassooed the lamb with a rope! What a cowboy I've found, eh?

This morning as I was getting ready to leave for work, I heard Duggan growling at something outside. I looked out and saw a deer walking up the trail! It looked right back at us, and proceeded to calmly walk across the far side of the property, just along the edge of the trees. I do love living out here. I have all the benefits of camping - wildlife, fire pits, birds singing, coyotes howling - and I can have a hot shower and sleep in my own bed when I've had enough of the outdoors!