April 28, 2010

Morning Mystery


This morning, as per our usual routine, we fed the sheep and chickens on the way down to the bus. It was pouring down rain and we were running late (we are running late 50% of the time). I got out of the car, left Jordan inside to avoid the rain, and walked to the pole barn.

I heard a baaaah coming from behind me, not inside the pen with the other sheep, but in the rush I was only vaguely aware that something was off. Next I saw that two of black garbage cans, which hold the bags of oats, chicken feed and scratch, were uncovered. Then Norman walked up next to me. "What are you doing out?!" I asked him. He didn't reply. I looked around - all the gates were closed, there weren't any signs of him pushing under the fence. "How did you get out?" I asked, but again he offered no explanation.

I am glad it was Norman and not one of the other sheep. Norman, being that he was bottle-fed, thinks I am his mom; so he is more than happy to follow me around. The other sheep (except Notag, who loves all people, and Junior, who wants to ram the heck out of you) don't follow me and don't want me to touch them (see Essence of Sheep post). My first thought was to lift Norman back into the pen. But seeing as how I was in work clothes and heels and didn't have time to change, and the bus was coming, I decided to consider other options. It's funny how slow my brain works in the morning. There is a gate on the other side of the pen, away from the trough where the sheep were munching oats, that Norman would follow me through. So we walked around to the gate. I opened it and in he went. Easy-peasy. And we didn't miss the bus. My shoes were only slightly muddy.

Still, there is a mystery to solve - How did Norman get out? Did he escape? And if so, was he smart enought to knock the lids off only the cans with oats and scratch, but not the can with chicken feed? Hmmmm, I wonder?

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