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Good Day Sunshine

The first thing that happened at the ranch today was that a sheep had its head stuck in the eat-throughs and was wailing to get out. As a matter of fact, the same animal was stuck like that yesterday, too. The eat-throughs are this face of welded steel pipes with articulated parts that allow you to throw out hay and when the buggers go for it you can lock their heads in there if you choose to do so. But we didn't lock this sheep in, instead it stuck its head through these narrow pipe sets that are on either side of the main openings. Usually to free the animal you stand on the feed side of the grate and manipulate its head and chin and it helps by pulling backwards and out. But this sheep, #84, is confused and tries to escape forward rather than in reverse. If you have the approximate picture in your mind that I intended with my description then you know that forward is no means of escape for the animal. It took Brian and I together to free 84, he with head in hand and me behind dragging her by the wool. Brian calls the sheep pillocks, a derisive term of endearment that is growing on me.

We also spent some time today patrolling the electric fence lines to look for shorts. I walked the length of the riverfront fence, about 300 m, and saw things that I never noticed before like a big spruce tree, some alders, and the amber defoliated stems of the invading Japanese knotweed. The sun was out for much of today, if "much" can really be applied when the daylight hours are only from about 7:30am to 4:30pm. But we are less than three weeks from the solstice, and the days will be getting longer soon. After we took care of the fence and feeding pillocks, I had a chance to hit my golf ball and practice yoga out in the pasture, with the sun on my face.