SHEEP!

As I said before, Michael, Shelby, and I went to my parent's house in Tennessee this past weekend. It's lambing season for them and sheep and lambs were everywhere! Well, not "everywhere"...I mean they have them well contained.

Sheep, like any other animal have very different demeanors from sheep to sheep. Some are sweet: And some are not:

This ewe was a touch looney. I liked messing with her. She REALLY liked getting her picture taken, so I made sure I did that often. It's a wonder she didn't stomp her hooves off.

Oh and if you are wondering how to shut sheep up (they love to hear themselves talk), there is only one way:

Feed them. It's harder to talk with their mouths full. Sheep are polite like that!

It even works for the lambs. A nifty little tidbit about sheep: Lambs and calves both nibble at grass/hay/solid feed from a young age mimicing their mothers. However, lambs are actually able to digest and use that solid food at a much younger age then cattle. Their rumens (the stomach compartment that breaks down grass and hay) develop much more quickly in sheep then in cattle. Rumens are essentially nonfunctional at birth. I think rumen development is fascinating. I would say it rates up there with fescue toxicosis as one of my favorite ruminant nutrition topics. Anyway....back to fun pictures of sheep. I will leave you with some cute lamb pictures.

Peaceful lambs:

Contemplative lambs:

Looney lambs (equals future looney sheep? I don't know, more research is necessary)

"Focus"

I was going to do a post about this past weekend that Michael, Shelby, and I spent at my parent's house in TN. However, I'm gonna have to split it up. I have too much material. It was a GORGEOUS weekend. Saturday was exceptionally nice. After all the snow and nastiness and cold that we've had this winter (and it looks like it's back today), it was a lovely break. I spent some time playing fetch with the dogs.
Shyann, my parent's dog, lives to fetch. Well, she lives to "do" stuff. She's a border collie in every way. She just wants to do. She has such focus and intensity. You can see it in her eyes:
She could fetch until she passed out. Fortunately I'm over it before that ever happens!

Her favorite toy is her Bad Cuz:

SOMETIMES Shelby will even get the ball:

This doesn't happen very often. He always gets to the ball first, but Shyann swoops in and grabs it. He has the speed...just not the focus. He's only part border collie....part beagle. The border collie part says, "Get to the ball....get the BALL!" The beagle part says, "SQUIRREL!"


I mean, look at this intesity:

Can you blame poor Shelby for being like, "It's cool...you can have it."

This is the same intensity that Shyann brings to all endeavors. Take the following picture for example:

Pure focus. Keeping her eye on the prize.

Yep, that is one focused dog:

This is Shelby's "focus" face:

Then the beagle part kicks in and goes "SQUIRREL!":

He's just happy to be here.

"I LOVE the farm!"