I was nervous as a first-time Mom. Ok, maybe "nervous" isn't the best word to describe the sort of headcase I was at the beginning.
But it was NOTHING compared to being a first-time lamb owner and hearing the coyotes howling at each other VERY near by.
We threw on a floodlight. The howling stopped. I walked the fence's perimeter, scanning the woods (we kept the pasture away from the woods' edge so if a predator got bold enough to approach they'd need to cross open land) with another flood-type flashlight, talking to the sheep as I went. Karl called out the window, "Come back in, they've stopped howling."
"Yeah," I said. "Because they know where I am. They're close."
But I went inside. I lined up my shoes, the gun and the flashlight so arming myself on the path out would be more "natural." I then took the fastest shower ever. I laid down for 5 minutes before they started calling again. Out I went, lights on. The howling stopped. Again I walked the perimeter. I went back inside. I had seen one set of eyes in the woods on the opposite side of the driveway from the pasture, but couldn't tell if it was deer or coyote.
I laid back down and waited. An hour passed without a word. Then another. I got worked up wondering if it could be worse that I DIDN'T hear the coyotes. I used the flashlight to peek at the sheep from my bedroom window (not realizing how the beam would flash back off the screen and wake my husband). The sheep seemed fine. "Let the fence do its job," Karl said. I think I groaned. "They're an investment," I explained to the man who says "I keep seeing dollar signs whenever you have a new idea." He said, "So was the fence," and rolled over.
I finally drifted into a restless sleep.
This morning I woke up and counted the sheep. They are all present and munching happily. They knocked over some hay bales we had stacked as a windbreak for them and have been plaing "king of the mountain."
Sun's out, coyotes are gone, and I have cleaning to do...
Have a great one!
Shannon
But it was NOTHING compared to being a first-time lamb owner and hearing the coyotes howling at each other VERY near by.
We threw on a floodlight. The howling stopped. I walked the fence's perimeter, scanning the woods (we kept the pasture away from the woods' edge so if a predator got bold enough to approach they'd need to cross open land) with another flood-type flashlight, talking to the sheep as I went. Karl called out the window, "Come back in, they've stopped howling."
"Yeah," I said. "Because they know where I am. They're close."
But I went inside. I lined up my shoes, the gun and the flashlight so arming myself on the path out would be more "natural." I then took the fastest shower ever. I laid down for 5 minutes before they started calling again. Out I went, lights on. The howling stopped. Again I walked the perimeter. I went back inside. I had seen one set of eyes in the woods on the opposite side of the driveway from the pasture, but couldn't tell if it was deer or coyote.
I laid back down and waited. An hour passed without a word. Then another. I got worked up wondering if it could be worse that I DIDN'T hear the coyotes. I used the flashlight to peek at the sheep from my bedroom window (not realizing how the beam would flash back off the screen and wake my husband). The sheep seemed fine. "Let the fence do its job," Karl said. I think I groaned. "They're an investment," I explained to the man who says "I keep seeing dollar signs whenever you have a new idea." He said, "So was the fence," and rolled over.
I finally drifted into a restless sleep.
This morning I woke up and counted the sheep. They are all present and munching happily. They knocked over some hay bales we had stacked as a windbreak for them and have been plaing "king of the mountain."
Sun's out, coyotes are gone, and I have cleaning to do...
Have a great one!
Shannon
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