A Mom in Training

The five-month-old red ewe lamb lay under the overhang with the other lambs, ewes and llama.It was late afternoon, partly sunny and in the 70s -- perfect conditions for cud-chewing and ruminating.

The chicks, though, with their only partially-feathered bodies, found the day chilly, and had to take frequent breaks to dive under a hen's downy feathers and warm up.

Then, a chick found another warm spot. It hopped atop the red lamb and flapped its wings.

The lamb didn't react, just like five months ago, the lamb's mother didn't react when she climbed atop her.

Maybe it's in the sheep's genetic make-up that they, at some time in life, will be used as a mattress, as a springboard, for the young, and that they will accept it, and continue ruminating on sunny afternoons.