The days are still warm and yellow. The purples and reds are moving their way down into the valleys though, and everything feels different. Smells different. Rain is in the air.
It is a beautiful time for walking the backroads.
I am looking for the sheep. I have traveled home from Idaho, caught up on all the hugs and work at home, and I am out to see the sheep. I can see telltale clouds appear in the distance and I sit on my bumper and wait ~ you can't rush this kind of thing.
The cute little boy on his skates just keeps plowing ahead and cuts right through the middle of the herd. Crazy locals~
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The work with sheep never ends. I am sheltered from the rigors of decisions and logistics and figuring things out, but I can see it from a distance. There is a lot of planning, organizing, and working through details. More than you would ever guess. There is also just a lot of talk..."What does the grass look like on the desert?"
"What color chalk do you have?"
"What is your girlfriend's name?"
"Looks like the weather is going to change this next week"
"When are you getting your sheep done?"
"Yeah, she's the one that takes pictures of things (they are talking about me) and tells people all kinds of things on that blog of hers..."
"You know that branding your sheep blue makes your sheep less intelligent?"
This kind of chit-chat goes on for quite sometime (a very important aspect of working) as hundreds of sheep are fed through the pens and into the chutes where they are vaccinated and looked over and branded.
G.Q. and his handsome brother are quick at their work, it is hard to tell which is which? They are sheep men (they tell me) and know how to move them all in a hurry ~ "whoopin" and chasing. They get through this flock in great time, making sure to mark each ewe with chalk and branding them all before midday. I am impressed.
We end up letting the ewes stay here and rest and Josie, the dog, naps right in the middle of the pen. She is a great sheep dog and my first animal-friend at the lambing sheds. She is so adorable and such a love muffin, I have missed her all summer. The sheep love her, too.
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As much as I love getting away from my little life in a small town...I have decided I love it here, too. Thank you all for missing me ~ (hugs to my boys big and small - and in the middle, too.)
Love and lambs to you today my sheep loving friends ~ I have missed you, too.
(Hallstroms...I promise pictures of Idaho this week!)
In His Grace and Peace,
jj
