A visit from the sheep

The sheep don't come by as often now. I guess our offerings -- frozen wisps of dried grass -- are not very appealing.

Yesterday they came to visit and maybe to wish us well on our trip, although by the time they arrived they had forgotten that part of it.

They seemed to find something worth eating in the back orchard and along the rock walls. A few of them clambered up on the tops of the outer rock walls that run along the edge of the forest. From that height they reached for the tender tips of the spruce trees that hang over the walls.

In the next week or so Leroy will drop off the rams, and the flock will begin its next cycle of breeding -- new life beginning in the midst of winter.

The effects of the newly-introduced Scottish Blackface genes can be seen in the lambs that were born this past spring: they are hardier in general, and their longer coats are better suited for this tough environment.