With this year being hot and dry, we haven’t had to mow our yard more than a handful of times. It hasn’t been all bad. While I enjoy mowing, it’s easily a four hour job to get the entire yard done and with nesting in full swing, that precious time is spent elsewhere. The only problem is that if the yard isn’t growing, that also means the pastures aren’t either.
Sometimes Stoney is lucky enough to get out to graze while I work out back but it’s the sheep that have benefited the most from our lack of yard work. With a few large dog harnesses and twenty foot lines, they’re ready to be put to work.
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| Murphy getting rotated to a new spot after he was caught nibbling a sapling. |
Most people think of sheep as docile, fearful creatures and in a sense, it’s true. Other than rams, most ewes and wethers don’t go on the offensive. They’re barely even defensive for that matter. I’ve yet to see one bite or kick but they sure are powerful when they run.
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| What a fearful ewe is capable of. |
I used to be able to attach each animal to their own cinder block but lately, they’ve really been putting in their workouts. Now they can pull tractor tires and entire stacks of cinder blocks. Once, Matilda took my mom on a wild ride and drug her halfway across the paddock before my mom let go. I’m half expecting them to topple trees or rip down our old barn if they had the motivation. They’re certainly capable of bruising exposed skin as we’ve all discovered at one time or another.
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| Matilda doesn’t apologize to anyone. |
I’ve yet to hear a sheep apologize for any of the damage they’ve done to trees, property or people but I suppose that’s the trade off for having living lawnmowers do the work for us.
