July 8, 2012

Sheepwork On A Sunday Morning.

This morning The Farmer decided we needed to move a mob of sheep. They were on a rocky outcrop just near the house and the plan was to move them down to graze the grass in one of our laneways.  Apparently it was only going to take 10 minutes or so.  (I can hear all the other farmer's wives saying "yeah, right" to themselves - who hasn't heard that one before?).

Anyway Farmboy and I gamely set off on foot while The Farmer took Farmgirl and the border collie down to sort all the gates out.

Here are the sheep.  You will note they are dotted around the rocky landscape and are difficult to see.

Sheep.  Rocks.  Similar From A Distance.

Now if you are more of an urban warrier than a farmer, there are a few things you need to know about sheep.  First of all they are really stupid.  Incredibly so.  Secondly, the sort of rocky country in the photo above is the worst sort of landscape to get sheep out of.  Mainly because you can't get a vehicle or a motorbike in, so you have to go in on foot.  And use tools like dogs and small children to help.

Anyway - Farmboy and I were ably assisted by Herbie The Wonder Puppy.  Traditonally miniature dachshunds are not known for their sheep working ability.  However we seemed to have wound up with him instead of our border collie who was riding happily around on the back of the ute.  Like all good farmer's wives do, I made the best of what I had.  Farmboy and Herbie applied themselves with considerably more enthusiasm than skill.  The end result was the fact that the sheep in the above photo should have been heading somewhere behind my left shoulder.  Unfortunately Farmboy had got a bit excited and yelled at the wrong time......  Reminding myself that the most essential tool when doing sheep work has always been a sense of humour, I eventually got them going back the way they came.  The Farmer then turned up and we all managed to get them through the gate.

The whole thing took over an hour but according to The Farmchildren it was all good fun.

Farmgirl Running Very Fast And Shouting Loudly (Good Sheepwork Methods)

In other Farm news - school holidays have started and The Farmchildren are super excited.  We aren't going anywhere but have some fun stuff planned.

After all that running around this morning we are having lamb for dinner.  I found this recipe on a lovely blog No Fuss Food I have just discovered.  Needless to say I doctored it to fit what I had on hand. (Particularly the fact that I am clearly using a leg of lamb and not a shoulder....!)

Marinated Lamb

I will let you know how it goes.  The marinade smells amazing so far.

I hope everyone is having a great weekend.

Take care.

12 comments:

Nat - Muddy Farmwife said...

Sounds very much like our Sunday morning, although we're flat, flat, flat country so we can use the bikes.
Enjoy your dinner, it looks delicious!

A Farmer's Wife said...

I would have loved a bike the morning Nat....! I do think dinner will be good.

**Anne** said...

10 minutes, ha! Heard that story many times growing and usually took a packed lunch and a thermos. Have you had enough rain?
Anne

A Farmer's Wife said...

We have had enough rain thanks Anne but could do with a it more now.

Sydney Shop Girl said...

The lamb looks amazing!

SSG xxx

Anonymous said...

Hi Farmers Wife,
I am not sure if it's quite the same but in the suburbs there is a mythical thing men call "A Quick Trip to the Hardward Shop" The nice thing about that is the wife does not actually have to assist.
I am laughing about you having lamb tonight after your adventure!
Thanks for the thank you on FF-that was so sweet.
Cheers,
Renie

Makeminemidcentury said...

I bet it's satisfying eating some lamb after chasing sheep around all morning.

Dachshund, bless.

A Farmer's Wife said...

SSG - Dinner is smelling good at the mo too.

Renie - As FF wuld say "Manners are key." I fully get the quick trip to the hardware. I imagine it is like the quick crop check.

MMMC - Oh the dachshund. Much dachshund love in this house. Much.

Z said...

No sprained ankles? Impressive!

Debra said...

I always love having roast lamb dinner after dealing with sheep - it's sort of revenge (is that evil?) ;) When I was learning about sheep I was told they are not stupid just more instinct driven - hmmm...

Emma said...

MMMC's comment has made my evening! Priceless! Hope the lamb was delicious! xx

A Farmer's Wife said...

Z - Definitely sprained ankle territory. It slowed us up a lot as I wouldn't let Farmboy run in the rocky bits.

Deb - Instinct driven vs stupid?? Sounds like some men!

Emma - Lamb was fab.