I will be  honest with you, I view sheep in much the same way Red does, I guess we are just too close to one another. Ma is biggest sheep we have ever had, and by far, the dumbest. She is sweet and easy going, but as I told the somewhat shocked crowd at the Open House, Ma may be the dumbest animal I have ever encountered.

Maria agrees that Ma is dumb, but she is fond of her. Ma nearly died during lambing, she had a rough life before coming to us and nearly died in childbirth. She has rebounded from that, but more and more, I think she is suffering from the sheep version of dementia. She wanders around in circles, stares blankly out over the horizon, wanders off with Deb away from the block and completely ignores Red unless he gets right in her face.

If you are a sheep with dementia, you will be fortunate to have Maria as your guiding human, Ma will get to live our her life in comfort and security, she will get her daily back rub, treats and loving care. Red is already beginning to ignore her, to pretend she doesn’t exist, he does this when appropriate and necessary. Ma was happy to pose for her portrait, everybody else was off eating.