The Shortest Days

sheepish

Yesterday was a beautiful day - the kind that is somewhat rare in mid-December in Maine. Sunny, not too cold, no wind. It was a day to get some chores done outside. To spend some good time with faithful Beate and enjoy the quiet rhythm of a Saturday. Had a special visit from Lori and celebrated her birthday with lunch down at the Pier and some quality time here at the Salty Ewe. While I unloaded some hay, she got out her camera and took some beautiful pictures of everyone (including this one, which I love).

I knew something wasn't quite right when I could not open up the door. Looked in to see a small mess - they had knocked over a partition and gotten into the grain bucket. I squeezed myself into the barn and cleaned up the mess, assessing the damage and trying to determine just how much grain they had eaten.
Meanwhile, the ewes flocked together outside, looking sheepish in every sense of the word. They truly had little guilty looks on their faces - smiles that had a sneaky sheep look about them. It was pretty funny. More funny after I figured that they had not eaten enough to hurt them. Lori took some gorgeous pictures of them while I unloaded the truck - her eye is enviable, and I really enjoy looking at the images that she takes of my sheep. It's fun to see how other people see them. Beate was feeling better and enjoyed wandering around, sniffing and marking, while Lori and I talked and soaked in the sun, the view and each other's company.

These short, short days are sometimes difficult - especially when there's no sun. But, the winter solstice is just days away now, and our days will slowly get longer again. Eventually, I suspect we'll get some snow. The sheep's fleeces will continue to thicken, and Bella and Callie will start to waddle. Winter will melt away into Spring. The rhythm of the seasons. You have to have those shortest days in order to have the longest ones.