It's that time of the year in the rural calendar when stock are getting shipped off to the works and moved around given hotter weather and shorter feed supply. At Struan Farm, my agreement with Farmer John on this year's pet lambs is that he would take Spanky, the only ram pet lamb, and that the four ewe lambs, Rosie, Ruby, Pip and Pepper, would stay here, hopefully have lambs next season, and hopefully stay pets for as long as possible.
Sounds like a plan right? Well, drenching and movements were meant to happen a day or so ago. Hubby John decided that it would probably be a good idea for us to put Rosie's red collar back on her to avoid any identity issues. She looks the most like the other lambs on the farm, the brown faced lambs are obviously my pets. While the pets were in the yards waiting to be drenched with the other sheep I had a chat with them, told them everything would be fine. They believed me. I had a hard time looking Spanky in the eye, he was in another pen.
Yesterday morning I saw that there were lambs in the house paddock, new lambs that had been brought onto the property. I called out for the pets, and only Rosie came running. Hmmm. Awhile later I took a walk to try to find the other three, Pip, Pepper and Ruby, the brown faced lambs. They were nowhere to be found, so I rang Farmer John. There was some concern on this wife's part that they might have been loaded onto a truck heading to the works. OhnoOhnoOhnoOhno was the tape running in my head. Rosie and I had a talk, we decided not to get too upset just yet, crossing our fingers and hooves.
Fortunately this story has a happy ending: turns out Farmer John had put them in the yard next door with those he was moving elsewhere, and had forgotten them! They were rescued and reunited with Rosie. Bottles all around, phew!
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