On the lamb...

As a writer, I'm always fascinated to learn the origin of those catchy phrases that have become part of our venacular. I'm even more excited when I find common, some-all-too-common-borderline-cliches are rooted in agriculture.

Like "pecking order" for instance. I watched that work itself out in the chicken coop out back.

Or "don't count your chickens before their hatched," another lesson from the coop.

Out in the vineyard, I get first-hand experience with "grow like a weed."

And "if it's not one thing; it's another," pretty much sums up farming "in a nutshell."

Our friend Brad and his son-in-law Charlie, both fellow viticulturists and farmers, pulled into the drive right at dusk tonight with ten Targhee yearling ewes. (That's sheep, in case you were wondering.) The gals were stuffed into the back of Brad's pickup for the 25 mile drive in from St. Peter. The gals didn't appreciate the ride.

Brad offered to have the gals summer with us so we wouldn't have to mow the back pasture anymore. The deal works well for Brad too. He's only got about 2 acres of pasture for his flock of forty-plus sheep, and feed is as costly as fuel these days.

Marc had been working hard to string up barbed-wire around the pasture to keep our guests safe. But Brad knows his sheep well and thought they might be too skittish in their new surroundings to be held in place by strings of wire. We had another area enclosed with woven wire, which was a garden last summer, so Brad and Charlie and Marc attempted to herd the gals into that area for safe keeping overnight.

Well, the herding wasn't exactly "a piece of cake," and one frightened ewe broke through the barbed wire and bolted. At nightfall, she was last spotted three properties north, heading toward the lake. We hope she rests well, stays safe, and emerges with the sun so Marc can locate her tomorrow. All we could do tonight was tell the neighbors that if they see a white sheep with a green ear tag, that's our girl. She's on the lamb...

P.S. Pictures coming tomorrow.