Our friend and neighbor Jack Macmillan came over this afternoon, he brought his tractor and he buried Tess by the hay feeder. We seem to be a close community here at Bedlam Farm and the sheep and donkeys gathered around Jack and Maria as soon as the grave was finished. Usually we take the sheep out to the woods for the coyotes when they die, this is the first time we have buried one on our property – it was Jack’s idea.

He dug a hole for the grave, put Tess in, and then he dug out a nice path to the water for the donkeys and the sheep. Sheep die fairly often, but Tess’s death did seem like a bigger deal than usual, I think because she was a symbol of Maria’s life on the farm, the sheep are hers, not mine, the first animals in her life that are hers, and she was especially fond of Tess. I do not grieve a lot for sheep, they are not like dogs or donkeys or cats to me, but I did feel Tess’s loss, she was a very sweet creature and she did symbolize my coming together with Maria in our life here. I guess I have more sorting out to do, the photos affected me.