Whisper

I spy with my little eye...
something white and fuzzy!

I pulled over to the side of the road and tried to take a picture...
"Hey, there! Gitcher vehicle off of the Hiway, Girl! Pull rightcheer into the drive ...."
The farmer was waving me into the muddy driveway, where he was standing with his sister in law, chatting, and getting ready to feed the sheep in the back pastures.
I hopped out of my truck with my camera and my knitting.
"OH!" exclaimed the sister in law (after the introductions had been made....) "Is that a Prayer Shawl? I just dropped off three last week with Hospice!"
The farmer rolled his eyes and encouraged us to BOND, as he was off to feed the Triplets.
"Cutest pictures you'll ever get...two week old triplets, back thisaway...."
First I took a shot at the front pasture

while chitchatting about prayer shawls and local handspinners.
Aren't they ADORABLE?
The Farmer explained that these here are HAIR sheep, a special breed, developed in Maine.
I was too busy being distracted by their cuteness to remember the breed name.
"You don't have to SHEAR them", he explained, "they just shed all OVER the place...
come back during shedding season" he said, "it'll look like we been bushhogging chickens!"
ACK!
The sister in law excused herself to run errands and I wandered in the direction of the Back Pastures.
True to his word, is there anything cuter than these two week old triplets?

Just then, I saw a flash of black out of the corner of my eye, and SUDDENLY, there was a Border Collie
sitting at my feet. I held out my hand and he jumped to my side, ready for a command.
"well, I'll be DANGED" said the Farmer, tipping his hat back"who ARE you, the dog whisperer?"
I giggled a little, because that makes the THIRD time this week I've been asked that, in completely random situations, and you know how I feel about signs and wonders appearing in threes....
He went on to tell me the story of how this dog had come all the way from Scotland on an aeroplane, and was the best money he'd ever spent in his whole entire life.

He gave the voice command for the dog to hold the herd at bay while he filled the feed trough.

Then he said "That'll DO!" but the dog held the sheep.
"THAT'LL DO!" he repeated.
The dog looked at ME.
"that'll do" I whispered.
The dog released the sheep and came to my side.
The Farmer shook his head.
"you got the GIFT, girlie, I'll say that."

I thanked him for his time and walked to my truck.

What do YOU spy with your little eye? Are you wearin somethin GREEN?
A very Happy Saint Patricks Day to you!

Comments

[RP]

Hi Auntie Greta,
Mom just showed me the baby sheep. I'm a baby too. Mom said I look a little bit like them, but I have red curls. Say hi to Sandy for me. I have to go to the vet today for a check up. Ok, think I'll take a nap, so when Rachel wakes up we can play and then go skating. Love, RP

[Wendy]

What a wonderful story! I wonder if you are a cat whisperer too? will you come to visit and whisper to Lucy?

[sharon]

happy saint patricks day to you greta...your post's always make my day...baby sheep, wonderful dog pictures and now i have a smile on my face... off topic - do you know of any good places in western virginia where i can stop for a yarn fix on my vacation in a few weeks - we are doing part of blueridge...
sharon

[Deb]

Aww, nice story!

[Lisa]

Hi Greta -
What pretty sheep!
Anyone who has been reading your blog for a while might know this, but I've only been visiting for a little while - where do you live? Definitely rural somewhere. Just curious :)

[allena]

i love your post! it was cool! maybe you should look into getting a ranch with sheep and dogs... you'd be good at it! LOL
thanks for the fun story and pix!
happy knitting

[Sara]

Oh my - that story at once gives me a huge sense of wonderment and the chills!

You're amazing - with how you're built and your gifts and what you "see" around you.

[Elizabeth]

omg.. i just wanna take that little one in the last picture and rub it and kiss it and pet it and call it george !

[Janice in GA]

Barbados or Katahdin sheep (the Katahdin sheep was developed in Maine, so that may be what you saw) are used around here by folks that train herding dogs. Less maintenance on the sheep when you don't have to shear!

Herding dogs are awesome. Good on you for the connection to the BC!

[mia]

The border collies are what I love about sheep and wool. and baby lambs. Cute story!

[sUsAn]

Those photos of the lambs are adorable!!!! So sweet! What a special experience you had! Thanks for sharing as always...I feel like I was there too.

[Norma]

Oh, Greta, I LOVE that story!!!

[Liz]

What a great story! Sounds like they are Katahdins, and they are wicked cute. My friend's Jacob sheep are lambing, and it's so fun to watch them frolic about!

[Melissa]

Greta...what a great story. And the sheep are adorable!

[claudia]

Sheep!! Nothing cuter, indeed.

[monica]

Aye all those fluffy sheep! And doggie too! Happy St. Pat's Day to you too!

[Nathania]

We saw tons of little sheepies on the drive down I-5 to LA this morning. I wanted to jump out and frolic with all the little lambykinses but we were on a schedule so I just got to look longingly out the window. And your story made me miss the Border Collies of my youth, Tip, Catcher and Woop.

Going pub hopping tonight in Pasadena with old friends who get to meet my guy for the first time. I can't wait.

[Ann]

I'm partial to baby goats, myself.

Also, I immediately hear James Cromwell saying, "That'll do, Pig. That'll do." :)