Corny Morning

Thought I woke up early enough - 5:30 - to catch the sheep before they went out to graze. Stumbled out to find they were scattered ALL over the place. I heard baaaasss waaaaayyyy up on the hidden pasture under the ridge. Walked the doggies, booted up and prepared to go get the sheep. The farm this cool, lovely morning was too beautiful for words. Cool, crisp air with a cloud of mist on the hill and a pink sunrise gaining strength behind the ridge. I started out then realized it would probably take almost an hour to get far enough behind them to drive them back to the barn then walk them back. WHY, oh WHY do I have all these dogs but not a single one I can send out to get the sheep??? What's the matter with me? Okay, I thought, let's save my legs and try the corn. I hiked back to the barn and dragged a 50 lb. bag of cracked corn through the barn into the barnyard. Tried carrying it on my shoulder but the poop layer is so high I was too tall with the bag on top. I made a big show of the bag when I got outside and poured a line across the barnyard, very slowly. That's all it took. A couple of sheep spied me from afar and recognized the body language and the white bag. They started yelling and doing a quick walk back to the barnyard. The sheep and goats high up in the hidden pasture heard the commotion and started in, slowly at first then a little quicker. Soon I had a long line of critters coming down their familiar trail. It was stunning, all my sheep and goats creeping through the mist. They had to run all around the fenced in barnyard to get to the gate, but to them a mouthful of corn is too delicious to resist. I knew the corn would be gone before most of them got here, but the sight of a few with their mouths down on the grass would be enough to keep them coming. Soon I was able to close the gate, run inside and jump in the bathtub. It's so gratifying to see their bellies big with green grass. The truly bony sheep are starting to gain weight. GOT to get the shearer in. I came home from work and managed to catch the other Goatie Boy while I was letting the crowd back out to graze. Hoisted him up on the shearing stand, hooked up his head and put up the rails. We were doing fine for about 10 minutes when Goatie Boy decided he had enough. He managed to jump off the other side of the raised stand by shooting under the rail several times. With his head in the cradle this act left him hanging. I pulled him back up and started clipping his very thick coat but G.B. was not amused. I kept telling him he would feel so much better, but no deal. I trimmed his very overgrown hooves and gave him a dose of Safeguard before he took yet another dive which popped the head chain and allowed him to run. He was dragging a long length of clipped mohair which I was able to grab and stop him. Dragged him back and got him positioned one more time. I got some more hair off with sweat pouring and both of us done in. He doesn't have the best scissor shearing I've done but he's a LOT lighter and can itch all the important spots. The other critter chores took me another two or so hours. The sunset was lovely and the air crisp and clear. Oh, if it would only stay this way.