The Daily Check Down the Road

We almost always have some sheep away from home and it's a daily job to go and check on them. Usually Sue comes along as well, but she has to wait in the Land Rover so she doesn't scare the sheep.





Our first stop was with a flock of eleven old ewes and a couple of tips. Iris was the first sheep I glimpsed...



...But soon Cheeky Ewe was leading them all over to me.







This one is very stupid - she has rolled upside down and gotten stuck no less than three times in the past three weeks. Thankfully so far she has been spotted before it's too late - let's hope that trend continues!



One of the two tips, a two-year-old.



This old girl is very round! She's a lovely sheep, though, and always has amazing lambs.



Another nice girl.



I was soon encircled by sheep.



And with good reason - I had a bucket of tasty nuts with me. You don't need to tell older sheep like these twice - they hear the rattle and they come running.



I had emptied the bucket in front of the old house, but Iris wasn't convinced that the bucket was really empty and came over to investigate.







Cheeky Ewe, as her name suggests, was very cheeky and was right in the middle of the feeding frenzy (she's the one with the long tail).



Amazingly, some of the sheep weren't that bothered about nuts.



Another poser.



The tips aren't used to eating more than grass.



Iris and Penny's Dad (or P.D. as he is known).







Hello, P.D.



Cheeky Ewe was finally full.



Hey, that's no way to treat a potentially pregnant lady!



Sue and the Land Rover were waiting just where I'd left them.



On we drove, and just a few miles later we arrived at our second stop - a small flock of hoggets. Once again, Sue had to wait.



These hoggets aren't as quiet as the old girls (also, the old girls had eaten all of the nuts) so they didn't come so close.







One of the Suffolks was stuck on her back and I was able to get her righted again. A life saved! (Two, as it turned out, as she lambed a week later.)