RIP Snowball's Mom

The fly strike struck. Remember how I said I could only count 12 sheep that rainy weekend. I tried and tried but always came up one short. Now we know why. Snowball's mom was down with the dreaded fly strike and died without me even knowing. Dan found her a few days later. Of course we moved the rest of the flock but it was a bit unsettling for us. Sad, really.

Fly strike comes in with the wet, warm weather. Nasty little maggots burrow in the wool, reach the skin and literally eat the sheep to death. Very little warning, great pain, and dead in a couple of days. Dan was pretty sickened by the sight. I didn't look but the look on his face was enough.

So we moved the sheep and then couldn't find the ram. Dan tramped the paddock. I tramped the paddock. We tramped the paddock together. Either the wily ram had made a bolt for freedom and we didn't notice or he was buried in the deep grass. Either way we were frantic. We drove around all the farms on the mountain. No ram.

I swapped chores with Yael and she went to search with Dan. And naturally our sheep whisperer found him. He had been hiding behind a tree down in the tall grass. With his coloring he was almost invisible in the shade. But he perked up when she arrived and stood to greet her. Who would have guessed that this Johannesburg chic lady would have such an affinity for livestock. The steers love her too.

So now I am on the farm by myself and I headed out to get the mail and check the stock. We are trying something new this week. We put the steers and sheep in the same paddock and used our electrified tape to seal off the barn and the hay. They have all settled down well together and the grass is practically disappearing before my eyes. Pretty soon the ram won't be able to hide in the long grass.

Obviously he has figured this out because once again I couldn't find him. I walked all over the place. No ram. I was wondering what the odds were of some ram thief taking him but doubted it. He was way too mean to go with anybody but Yael. So I decided to walk the perimeter and check the live tape. I did this. Starting on my right and going around the whole paddock. I finally came within 2 yards of my starting point and there was the ram. I could have saved myself 20 minutes by turning left instead of right. Lesson learned.

And where was the ram, you ask. Guess! He was inside the electrified tape zone, snuggled down in the hay in the barn. He is the exact color of hay so if I weren't on top of him, I'd never see him. Plus, I mentally ignored the barn thinking he couldn't get there without electrocuting himself. I don't know how he did it but he did. And now I get to call Dan and tell him that the experiment has unanticipated side effects.