Sheep, Grasshoppers and Birds

Prairie / July 17, 2023 / By

Our wee Spring moisture did not last nor did any rains follow it. The summer landscape is a blend of dying yellow grasses mixed with the darker greens of the clover, vetch and alfalfa. I saw the first grasshoppers back in early June. That hatch is now adults. When the kelpies and I walk the prairie waves of grasshoppers lift and leap around us. The click of their wings and the purr of their collective movement is a notable noise as we travel. The wee garden I managed to sow this year has already been significantly damaged by grasshoppers.

My latest fascination when visiting the ewes on pasture is the numerous small birds that have joined the flock and ride on the back of the sheep. The small birds are here in strong numbers again this year, perhaps on account of the incredible grasshopper population.

cowbirds riding along the backs of sheep

When I arrive in the vicinity of the flock numerous birds fly up from the grass where they were feeding right among the ewes. Several will fly off into the distance with the swooping grace only a collection of birds can pull off, while several individuals will land on the back of nearby ewes. I have my camera at hand and ready and still it is hard to capture these feathered characters. While I am sure the ewes are aware of the birds on their back they do not show any sign of being bothered by them. Occasionally a cagey bird will land on a ewes head and then the ewe will toss her head in annoyance.

The dry land, the hoppers, the birds, they are an elementary sequence of events playing out among a myriad of natural occurrences we are far less aware of. I strive to be in cohesion with Mother Nature and yet when I pause to watch the birds and the sheep, and when a crowd of grasshoppers swarms the hood of the side by side with every trip back and forth, I can’t help but wonder if we have it all backwards. Humans tend to think we control the nature around us but I am less and less sure of that with the more time I spend on this interminable prairie land.

cowbirds landing on sheep

Tidbit From Beyond the Rat Race

Sheep / June 7, 2023 / By

A little slice of life beyond the rat race. It just makes your breath slow, does it not?

Sheep trail across pasture of new spring growth

It is early morning and there is a fine mist in the air from a recent rainfall. The landscape has just begun to flush with the brilliant green of spring. The grass is full of moisture each morning. Half a dozen steps and your boots will be sufficiently washed by their leaves.

The ewes have just been turned out for the day. They were penned overnight to allow for a move to new pasture because the day before they went a walk about off of the farm property. Even though it is early for you and I, they would normally be half way to full with grazing by this time of the morning. Being held in an overnight paddock means that on this morning they are subject to my schedule rather than theirs. I fed guardian dogs before releasing the ewes and the ewes watched in the manner that sheep do, which is to look like you’re not watching at all. But when I moved toward the gate, many heads came up and it took only two calls of “come girls, come girls,” before the ewes were streaming toward the open gate.

From there all I did was watch them go.

Whispering Sweet Nothings

Musing / May 21, 2023 / By

Have you ever noticed there are occasional days that are full of sweet nothings. They are some of the best days and I’m having one today. These days are not lazy ones as you would expect. They never start out with a plan or a to-do list either. Instead these sweet nothing days unfold with steady tasks that are received with grace and conducted with assurance.  You move through the day heeding the nudge that says do-this-next, and so you do. And the sweet nothing feeling arises from the flow from task to task with no urgency behind any of it.  And when you decide it’s finally time to look up you are immensely pleased with what has been accomplished even though none of it may matter tomorrow.