Monday, July 2, 2012

I love my sheep I love my sheep I love my sheep...

Hobbling, at the moment. 
I'd gone into the sheep pen to give them their nightly grain ration, since what with all the extra security we've had to install fencing-wise, I can no longer reach through from the outside to fill the 4 separate food dishes that are necessary to spread the sheep out enough to prevent mayhem.  Of course, since I was walking through with a full scoop of grain, you can imagine all the excitement.  Sheep were milling around me, dancing with joy.  The usual.
Until our lovely ram, Orion, who was swinging his head around in sheer joie de vivre,  ("Woohoo!  There's going to be grain!!") caught me a mighty crack with his horn right on the side of my knee.
I dropped like a stone.
Holding a scoop of grain.
In the middle of a crowd of eight sheep.
Eight sheep who live for the eating of grain.
Eight sheep who will cheerfully butt their own mothers or their own children out of the way in order to get more grain.
There I was, surrounded by eight sheep of various sizes, on my butt in a mixture of equal parts dirt and sheep poop,  holding a scoop of grain over my head, trying not to cry since my knee hurt so bad, and cursing a blue streak.  (I actually saw the blue streak.  It was the most amazing shade of cobalt with little flecks of electric blue dazzling through it...)
I literally couldn't get back to my feet.  a) It hurt really bad, and b) there were too many sheep focusing on the grain in my clutches to give me room to move. 
Luckily my cell phone was in my pocket.  And Madman is on speed-dial.  He sounded a little puzzled when he answered his phone - like, why would I possibly be calling when he was right there in the house and I was only out in the yard doing chores - but he came bustling out quick when I'd explained the "I've fallen and I can't get up (with sheep)" situation.
A little ice, and I expect I'll be good as new.  But, damn, that hurt.

Next time we discuss getting animals, I'm voting for guinea pigs.  At least they can't knock me down.
Probably.





12 comments:

Erika said...

Owwwwwww!!!!

Bullwinkle said...

I am sure I can be injured trying not to step on an escaped guinea pig. I know this because it is possible to be injured while trying not to trip over an enthusiastic puppy.

And guinea pigs a) don't provide fiber b) live inside c) aren't nearly as cute and D)can escape through much tinier holes.

Bullwinkle said...

p.s. Hope your knee is o.k.

Anonymous said...

Ouch! Who knew that joie de vivre could be so painful. Hope the knee is okay.

amy said...

Hope your knee feels better soon. :(

Wanderingcatstudio said...

At least he only knocked you over out of excitement. My grandparents had a Merino ram named Boo. I wouldn't go out the the sheep yarn with out a long stick (usually the antique yard stick my great grandma use to threaten to "discipline" us with). There was just something about me Boo didn't like. As soon as he saw me, the head would go down and he'd start to take a run. He's stop as soon as he got a tap on the nose (never very hard - I'm a sucker), but I couldn't turn my back on him. Ram have hard heads, and no matter how padded my rear-end is - sheep-head-in-the-butt hurts!

kmkat said...

An acquaintance of mine told a somewhat similar story -- without the painful knee whack or fall into mud & poop -- about being trapped outside by a *pet* ram. iirc, she also had to resort to the cell phone in her pocket to be rescued by her husband.

So sorry for your pain and indignity. Nice description of the blue streak, by the way :-)

Joansie said...

Ouch! A little knitting or spinning will help that knee.

quantumtea said...

Oh no! Hope the knee gets back to rights quickly.

Anonymous said...

You do live an exciting life! Reminds me again why I don't want livestock! Hope the knee gets better quickly.

BeckyinVT said...

Guinea pigs: I hear they're good eating too!

Laurie said...

OW. Are you better yet?