This Tweet provoked mail asking if it was true. The short answer is yes.
This is Larry as a baby. He was an orphan lamb, raised on the bottle. Unlike every other orphan lamb I raised he did not go to join the flock in pasture with joy, he was miserable. I missed him so I brought him home again and he has lived in the back yard ever since. He is seven years old.
Larry is a St Croix wether, a neutered hair sheep. He loves to eat. He is obese.
A few days ago I neglected to close the gate behind me going to feed chickens. Larry spends hours trying to get into the henyard. He watches the chickens scratching and just knows whatever they have is yummy.
We have had days of drizzling rain, the henyard is just slop. I had my back to the gate when Larry made his move. I spotted him out of the corner of my eye and made a wild grab for his collar. Larry outweighs me.
I caught the collar but the sheer momentum took me off my feet and I bounced off the hairy sheep, who is shedding in clumps, before landing on my butt on the glop and coming to a halt with the back of my head in the mud.
No, not hurt at all but the henyard mud is full of chicken shit. I was momentarily speechless. Larry looked at me and reversed course out of the henyard and out of sight at full wobble.
The chickens were most distressed, their tiny little brains can’t process such high dwama (maybe that should be low dwama since I was rolling in the mud).
I squelched to the back door peeled and took a lovely long hot shower and washed my hair, twice. Then I did laundry. Larry remained out of sight for several hours until it was time for supper.
Now you know. The tale is told.
Y’all come back!
What a great story!! You couldn’t make that up (LOL)!
What a smart boy Larry was to stay out of your way!
Posted by Marlene Gavens on February 9th, 2009.
I had a Shetland lamb who was a bottle baby because he was a triplet and tiny (fit into my hand). His name was Wilbur. He was raised in the kitchen with a litter of Sheltie puppies. He thought he was a dog for the longest time-I even caught him eating the lamb and rice puppy food! (Eeeeuw!) He was traumatized when he was exiled to the outdoors, but did eventually reconcile himself to his status as livestock, though he always insisted on special priviledge. Not as much as Larry, though…
Posted by Brenda on February 10th, 2009.
Why oh why is there never a video crew on hand when you want one?
PMSL
Gaz
Posted by Gaz on February 13th, 2009.
Larry would probably try to eat the video camera too. He has been on a diet for about three months and is suffering. In fact as I write I can see him checking the fence along the henyard to make sure he can’t get in there, he has worn a little track.
Posted by Henrietta on February 13th, 2009.
[...] Old Lady Wrestling In Mud | Red Ink Diary [...]
Posted by St Charles School District St Croix Sheep St Olaf | Lightningbackground on February 17th, 2009.