In cold weather like this, the sheep sometimes go a little crazy for grain, which they love and gives them the energy they need to withstand extreme cold. I always urge Maria to be careful with grain, the flock can turn into a bit of a mob when the grain is around, and it’s easy to get knocked over, as I can testify.

Maria isn’t afraid of the sheep; she has a plan to put buckets of grain out in the pole barn, and the sheep are too busy checking out the gate to notice. This afternoon, they got onto her, and Asher and Ishakoff climbed the gate to get to her grain bucket.

She fended them off with one hand, opened the grain, and tossed some grain a few feet away. The sheep ran over to find it, and she had time to put the grain bucket down and get out before they got wise.

I wouldn’t mind if she were a bit more cautious – sheep are heavy and can break bones pretty quickly without even trying. But she can take care of herself, as she did today.

If I’m apprehensive, I’ll raise a stink, and we’ll fight. But I hate telling other people what to do; she’s intelligent, experienced, and savvy. She can handle it.