The Field

I can't wait to get home and get out into the field. I usually have stops to make - gas, feed, market, post office and such, but once they are done I race home to let the sheep out. I haul in my school bags and goods, change shoes and grab the doggies. We go up to the gate and let the sheep out. Sheep are the ultimate creatures of habit. They like a routine they can count on. The sheep know when I'm supposed to come home and are crowded around the gate. I love the sound of their thundering hooves on the pasture. I watch them file out and take notice of anyone who might be limping or acting funny. They go out as far as it takes to grab a mouthful of grass, then wander farther. Ideally I would have the hill sectioned off, and it is in my "long range planning," but for right now they spread out over the hill. There is a spring coming up out of a low spot on the middle of the hill where I would like to dig another pond someday. My hill has several places where the sheep can find water, and judging by the full water buckets inside the barn they are taking advantage of this outside water source. I'm enjoying the field now, with the layer of clover under the grass. Come August we never know what we will have left on the ground. It all depends on sun and rain, and we know how Mother Nature can throw us a curve ball. But for now, the lovely, lush green grass with little flowers here and there, the piney ridge rising up behind my hill, the valley below, the pond high up on the upper field, they all feed my soul and calm my nerves. The zen of the field is a healing, soothing force. It's not enough to look out the window, I have to be on it, in it, and breathe it.