The Ways of Sheep

The easiest way to move the sheep from the barn to the side pasture is through the yard.

When I started doing this last fall, I relied on a dog to push them and show them the way. Now, they know that hay will be awaiting them in the pasture and I can do the task without a dog.

Except for yesterday.

It was in the 40s and Dewey Kitty, the fluffy orange cat, thought it was finally warm enough to go outside and hunt. His focus was the rabbits camped out underneath the chicken shed--the chicken shed that sheep walk past on their way to pasture.

The fluffy orange cat stopped them in their tracks.

For though they are used to seeing Trick, the tabby barn cat, lounging in the sheep shed and walking through the pastures, they aren't used to seeing a fluffy orange cat.

When I reached the scene, Dewey Kitty was wide-eyed and feeling trapped by six snorting ewes, and the ewes were wide-eyed, unsure about moving past the 13-pound orange fluffy thing.

The ewes decided I was scarier and moved to the pasture. Dewey Kitty jumped into the chicken yard where the sheep could not reach him while he hunted.