Thursday, February 24, 2011

Oh sh*! the sheep!

On my days off I like to pretend I know what I am doing and help J with the chores. This entails letting the Ewes and their babies out of the barn, letting the puppies out, feeding the Ewes, horses, and the rams.

Saturday I woke up way too early, dragged myself out of bed, put my muddy jeans on (because we don't wash our "work" clothes daily, or weekly for that matter) a jacket, some gloves and headed out.

To my surprise I was greeted by 3 rams. Um, excuse me but you boys are supposed to be penned up way out in the back. J told me not to worry - they must have found a hole in the fence and meandered up closer to the house. I start walking out to the back where the rams are supposed to be and I was starting to get worried. Each morning the rams meet J at the fence because they know they are going to be fed - they weren't there.

I yelled to J, who was still back near the house letting the Ewes out of their pen and giving them water, "I don't see them." Still, he wasn't worried. I keep walking, hoping they are still bedded down from the night before and nothing. I look back at the house and out on the road I see a large slow moving cloud. "Oh, sh*! the sheep are out on the road!"

J dropped the bucket of water, "Oh crap, they are!" At this point I'm frantic and running in circles not sure of what to do. "I'll run to the other side of the ranch and catch them on that end." J said, "I'm going to get the 4 wheeler. It's okay, you don't need to panic." Umm, okay.

So, I take off running for my life. Not really, but it felt like it. The whole time I'm thinking - wow, I need to do more cardio at the gym. Anyway, I get out on the road and J is already there on the 4 wheeler. So much for beating him to the rams and blocking them off.

The rams turned right around and found their way back to the house and up the driveway. It's as if they knew they had been bad. I've heard from fellow ranchers that right when you think you got it down something happens just to keep you on your toes - I'm starting to believe this is true!

2 comments:

Amy said...

That's hilarious. Mostly because something like that would totally happen to me.

City Life to Ranching Wife said...

I really can't help but laugh at myself sometimes.