The sheep ran away last night. Okay, so I thought I would leave them out to graze all night and lock them up in the morning before I leave for work. But there were not sheep to lock up. Oh, this is not good I thought. Matt drove the truck all over the hillside looking for them in the pre-dawn dark. No sheep. He had to leave for the juvenile prison where he was teaching this week, two hours from here. It was up to me to find them. I rang the bell at the edge of the field. No sheep. I decided to go get dressed for work and drive up the hill to look around. Sure enough, there they were, lying peacefully on the field right in front of the neighbor who called the police when my sheep were eating her grass. They had gone under her electric fence to get to the field, even though they have a perfectly good hill to lie on, with grass still on it. I had left the dogs in the house, bad move, because I had to run across the field waving my arms and yelling at the top of my lungs to scare them into running back across the road and down their own hill. As I was chasing the flock, I spied a group of goats standing off to one side up on the rise of another hill. When they realized I saw them they dashed into the woods on the ridge to hide. Baaaad goaties! When I had my Jeep I could ride all over my land in 4 wheel drive and chase sheep, but I have the mini-van now and don't know how well it would do through the dips and crannies of my hill. What if I got stuck and couldn't get to work? I knew my aide, Robin, was on a field trip today and I had to be there early to get the kids off the bus. I am SO screwed I thought. I rode back down the road along the hill to get the flock in the gate as they ran down, but as I pulled in the driveway I could see they stopped half way down. I ran up the hill as fast as I could, which is not real fast, once again yelling and waving my arms. I think the sheep were amused. I started right for them and they bolted, thankfully in the right direction. Got them locked up in the barnyard and there they stay. I had already shot off emails to Mary and Jan about keeping an eye out for the sheep, and stopped Will, my dairy farmer neighbor, to ask him the same. I didn't have time to let them all know I found the sheep. They all did what I asked and Mary even talked to the neighbors up top. She doesn't think they are calling the police again, and as of 9 PM, no cops yet. They told Mary one of my sheep is living with their cows and has been for the last two years! Very interesting! The weirdness continued when I got to work and I couldn't find my students. They were not on the bus, in fact the bus did not even come. I checked the cafeteria, my classroom, back to the bus stop, back to the cafeteria, back to the classroom (they are at opposite ends of the campus!) A strange substitute who I never saw before was sitting in my classroom, but no kids. It seems there was a disturbance on the bus and the driver decided to take the young miscreants back to the home school (an hour away). I finally had some kids to teach and the Twilight Zone began to dissipate back into reality. I know my colleagues wonder why I fall asleep sometimes in their classes in the afternoon, when the room is hot and dark and a movie is on. I didn't let the sheep out to graze tonight and gave them bales instead. I told them they are on lock down and can't go out to play. Baaad sheep! Baaad sheep!
