Zwartbles get ready for a journey



Do they know what's coming?
 

I really should know by now.

 

When a plan goes even better than expected...

There's a surprise in store!

 


Saturday 10th November 2012
The words dull and dreary
do not do it justice!

When the livestock trailer appears on the farm, all the animals should be wary. There's a fair chance it's not good news for at least one of them.

And todays victims were...














... Number Ten and Number Eighteen.


Without doubt the most endearing animals on the farm, these two characters have ensured there will definitely be a space for sheep here in the future.

But for the moment I am really looking forward to being able to tuck into a nice piece of lamb, a luxury which I can ill often afford. We look after them as best we can, we feel affection toward them, but at the end of the day they never were pets.






It must have taken all of about fifteen seconds to lead these two inquisitive animals up into the trailer. They simply followed the remains of the Euonomus plant, now a few twigs in a pot. This was always the first thing they headed for when they managed to sneak through the gate into the stable yard.

But there is a twist.
For sheep are resourceful, headstrong and remarkably agile creatures. They soon discovered that by climbing on the rails of the hurdles inside the trailer, they could almost blunder their way back over the tailgate. A lofty drop onto concrete would have welcomed them, as well as the task of reloading them without the benefit of taking them by surprise this time.

With no way of blocking the opening at the back, I removed the hurdles and decided to park the whole shebang in the paddock.

That way, if they persisted with the escape plan they would land on grass and be in the right place for recapture in the morning.
I just hoped the car would get enough grip to pull the trailer out!

As darkness fell, Number Ten and Number Eighteen settled down, though they still managed the occasional peek over the top.
I really think its 50:50 whether they'll still be contained come the morning.

Whatever happens, they'll be fondly remembered.