Sheep have always hovered in the background of my life since I moved to Bedlam Farm in 2003. I have always had sheep, they were the first things I brought to the farm, and I have always had border collies to herd the sheep. I have written many books about the dogs, none about the sheep. They are somewhat like a garden to me, beautiful in the background, important for my work with dogs, but I have rarely named them or attached them. Since Maria came into my life, my relationship with sheep has evolved steadily. I still have a border collie, I still love to work with the dog and the sheep.

But now they are Maria’s sheep, she gives them names, visits them, watches over them, and they are moving more and more into the center of our lives. She has written about this on her blog, and today I spent some time alone with the sheep out at Lulu’s crossing. One of the thing that complicates my relationship with the sheep is Red, they rarely seem me without a border collie breathing down their necks, giving them the eye.

They tend to get wary when I’m around, looking for the inevitable dog. The sheep have calmed down quite a bit since we moved to the new farm, it is a smaller, more intimate space, they see us all the time, and we see them. Whenever Maria appears, the sheep gather around her. We are shearing twice a year now, it is healthy for the sheep, good for the wool, good for Maria’s yarn sales. Zelda has become more grounded, more settled, Socks and the smaller ewes are growing up, they are affable, gentle creatures.

We are now planning to lamb early next year, our friend Darryl Kuehne will bring a ram in later this Fall and we’ll have lambs in the Spring. Maria will keep a couple, Darryl will take the others to market. Better sheepherding, more photos, more yarn. That is how life goes on a farm like hours, one thing leads to another, something in the background moves to the fore, something unimportant becomes central. I wouldn’t be shocked to see a goat or two around in the outer pasture to help clean it up.

I am paying more attention to the sheep, getting to know them. As I’ve said, I do not love all animals equally, the sheep are just not as important or interesting to me as the dogs, cats or donkeys. But they are becoming more and more important to the farm, their purpose here becoming clearer, more  useful. That is part of the organic life on a farm, it is a living thing, always on the move.