When I first moved here to the farm, it was not a Christmas Tree Farm. We had acres of Flowers, Ornamental Corn, Gourds, pumpkins and you name it, we had it. We also had a lovely well kept meadow where we boarded "sheep" for our horse breeder friend. He was having a problem when he separated the Ewes from their babies and needed a place to put the Ewes where they could not hear their babies calling for them during their weening process. Also keeping the Rams separated until breeding season. ( He and my daughter who is the Equine Specialist for the State of New Jersey became friends many years ago when they both were racing Standardbred Horses). He wanted to be sure his show, breeding and meat sheep were cared for properly and having been friends in the horse business he knew we cared for our animals properly. You do not just put them in a field and tell them to eat. Sheep need watching for hoof problems as well as health problems,
So, since our meadow was not being used and we had enough to do without keeping it mowed every few days to keep it looking nice, we offered it to him to use if he wanted to bring the Ewes to this location. He was pleased because the meadow had been used for our own animals for years and we kept seeding it and mowing it to keep it in top shape. Sheep would help us with our mowing and we would feed them at the same time we fed our own animals. That became my job since my part of the house was closest to the gate and feed tubs of that meadow.Barney and I loved those sheep and became very attached to some of them during their stay. This story is a result of our fun and love for the sheep in our meadow.
"The Sheep Kisser"
by Barney
Have you ever kissed a Sheep? Well, let me tell you I have and it is fun.
Every morning JB and I have the job of counting the sheep in the meadow and making sure they are all well and healthy. Here at RobLyn Farm they board some show and some meat Sheep. (The owners either do not have enough pasture for them, or they may want to keep the Ewes separate from the Rams and Lambs until breeding season. No matter for what reason they are here, we must keep an eye on them to be sure they are well and healthy.
We begin by walking around the entire pasture and checking each Ewe individually. It is my job to kiss each one and make them know we love them. I am really good at kissing because I practice a lot on my family. At first the "girls" as JB calls them, thought I was a sheep dog and they were afraid of me, but now after several weeks, they have learned I am a Jack Russell and just a "kisser", not a herder.
They come to the fence when we walk by and stick their noses out for me…like they are all puckered up…but of course sheep can't pucker. I give them a sniff and a kiss thru the fence and then move on to the next one. Some of the older, bigger ones just lay there and ignore me, so I stick my head thru the fence and grab a mouth full of their wool and pull….. they turn their heads towards me and get their smooch. Their noses are fuzzy and dry. That's a good thing. I would not want to kiss a wet nose. Ugh!
It is kind of fun and some of the little, younger ones are playful and put their heads down like they are going to come after me and when they get to me they just sniff and wait for me to react. Of course I react quickly with a big wet one.
Considering I was raised on a bird farm, and I had never even seen a sheep until we moved here, I would say I am adjusting very well to this type farm life. I really like it here. I have all these new girl friends and I don't even mind that they are not dogs.
The end for now!
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