Babysitting Oliver Tomorrow – Is it Back to the Sheep Farm Again?
So tomorrow it’s back to babysitting Oliver solo, well at least for the morning, Through July and August both my wife and I have been babysitting Oliver on Wednesdays, with the reserves Elizabeth and Nick coming in the afternoon. But my wife started back to work today and Elizabeth started working at her new school job (her last year in her Masters program working a year in a school) last week, so all that’s left is me in the morning and Nick and I in the afternoon. I am sure everything will go fine, a lot of times he is better when there are fewer people around, i.e. there is less to get him stimulated when it’s just DA!
As I thought about this tonight I remembered that I hadn’t written about last weeks babysitting the highlight of which was another trip to the Stratton Hall Herd Sheep Farm. Oliver loves his baas and was excited when we told him we were going to visit them again. When we got there though someone forgot to tell the sheep that we were coming!! They were not in the portion of the pasture where we could see them or feed them, rather they were way on the far side of the field. The owner was at the main gate though and asked me if there was anything we needed, i.e eggs or such. I told him no – we had just brought our grandson to see the sheep. He said ok and that he would go and get them. So he went over to the pear trees and then off to the sheep and soon the Pied Piper of Stratton Hall farm was coming across the pasture throwing pears and with a herd of sheep behind him!!
As we watched the sheep come across the field towards us I saw that one sheep was coming along the outside of the fence alone and soon was at the main gate and staying in the driveway – baaing at us!!
We were concerned that she was out, but the owner said that her name was Helen and she was really bossy so they didn’t keep her with the other sheep. (Well everything about that is true except the Helen part – Helen was my mother’s and her nickname in high school was Impossible and well nothing much changed through the years-enough said!) He also said that she wouldn’t leave the farm. Anyway Oliver got a kick out of seeing her!!
The Farm has three main breeds of sheep: the Dorset Horn sheep, the Leicester and the Jacob Sheep. The sheep in the driveway must be a Leicester sheep Here is a Dorset Horn sheep….
and here’s a Jacob Sheep that we first thought was a goat!!
Here’s a little about the Jacob sheep from Wikipedia:
The Jacob sheep is a rare breed of small, piebald (colored with white spots), polycerate (multi-horned) sheep. Jacobs may have from two to six horns, but most commonly have four. The most common color is black and white. Jacobs are usually raised for their wool, meat, and hides. They are also kept as pets and ornamental animals, and have been used as guard animals to protect farm property from theft or vandalism and defend other livestock against predators
Generally referred to as an unimproved or heirloom breed (one that has survived with little human selection), the Jacob is descended from an ancient Old World breed of sheep, although its exact origins remain unclear. Spotted polycerate sheep were documented in England by the mid–17th century, and were widespread a century later. Unlike most other old world breeds, the Jacobs of North America have not undergone extensive cross-breeding and selective breeding; their body habitus resembles that of a goat. Relative to their American counterparts, British Jacobs tend to be larger and heavier, and have lost many of their original characteristics Read More
I told my wife the other day I think that the unicorn came from the Jacob Sheep. What do you think?
All in all it was a fun short trip to the farm and the more I think about it the more I think we may take another trip there tomorrow!!! Who could resist a grandchild look like this!
