Perhaps it is the years of experience raising sheep on grass, perhaps it is the way I see the natural world and the animals in it – which is as co-species of this land. Not as mine, not as pets, not as production units, but as animals deserving of a rich, naturally lead life. This naturally lead life does not equate to a life free from stress and danger and harm. It equates to a life in which those things are always just around the corner but hopefully held in check long enough for each life to be well lived in the setting it was intended to be lived in. And for ruminant animals that setting is grass.
The point I started out to make is that perhaps experience and my immersive life in the natural world of sheep is why cute is the last word I reach for when describing sheep. That and docile, docile is not how I know sheep to be either. No, sheep are realists who think hopeful and think bigger than themselves. While they have cute moments, they are not cute in nature. And I admire them to bits.
Not all sheep are created equal though and there are years of genetics behind this grass based flock as well as experience. So I was pleasantly surprised to unroll the photos from my camera this evening and see that in the first few days of lambing I somehow managed to capture a few scenes of who these sheep are and what grass based lambing can be.
The bulk of lambing is yet to come and I see the crows and ravens are circling. Nonetheless, when we start out with unassisted births and attentive mothers and strong lambs I feel reassured I’m on a path I know is befitting of me and my nature.