Thursday, August 23, 2012

Nothing like a little late-night sheep chasing to get the heart pumping

Especially when we only had one flashlight between us.  At least Madman was home for this little escape party.  Though he got the flashlight - which was actually a headlamp.
The girls and the lambs were bustling all over the property in the dark when Madman heard them, and we headed out the door to round them up.  The porchlight showed they were up in the garden, but they came barreling down the hill when they saw us heading for the pen.  (You'll possibly remember that there's a 3-step plan for when the sheep are out.)  Then they barreled back up the hill, then down again.  For sheep that should have been fast asleep, they were awfully lively.
At one point, I was stranded in the dark - caught in the long gap between the light of the porchlight and Madman's headlamp, not daring to take a step.  Sheep went thundering past me, and at least one stopped and snuffled my hand (just in case I was carrying anything good to eat) but I have no idea which one it was.  All snuffles sound alike in the dark...
Eventually we got the fence fixed and all the sheep back inside, though as usual, Goldie was a trial.  She's quite content to climb fences or knock down posts, but for some reason an open gate just scares the crap out of her.
I remember thinking earlier in the day that it had been a nice quiet spell with no animal breakouts.
*sigh*


7 comments:

  1. Dunno about you, but I am superstitious and try to never think things like that.

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  2. The little stinkers! How the heck do they keep getting out? And what were you thinking jinxing yourself like that? You just dared them to get out!

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  3. I have an extra flashlight I can send you. No after-dark-sheep-chaser should be without one.

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  4. At least, it wasn't raining. ;^)

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  5. So ... the advantage to coming in late is I get to read everyone's comments :) the superstitious, the helpful, and the eternal optimist (which, I admit, I hadn't thought of.)

    Hope it's been quiet since the last escape.

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  6. Late night solo goat chasing can be equally exciting. For that matter, daytime solo goat wrangling is very similar to your experience.
    I vote for another headlamp:)

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  7. Full moon hijinks? Labor Day celebration for hardworking sheep?Or...they heard you thinking about a breakout?

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