Saturday, November 27, 2010

Less Than Idyllic

The snow came along and blanketed us in white perfection.

Appearances can be deceiving.  So far this morning:

I put down my oldest ewe, Rachel.
I had been planning on this so it wasn't a surprise.  But it is still bullets and death.

I discovered my naughty outdoor cat, Chloe, has been sneaking inside the house to use the potted rosemary as a litter box. GROSS!!!

Betty Bird decided to land on my unsuspecting nose, and now I have scratches on my face!

Ordinary life is far from idyllic here at Boston Lake. In fact, it is hard to imagine any life with animals as being truly idyllic. One can love the life, but it isn't always pretty.

Now...off to turn this day around!

8 comments:

Gail V said...

So sorry to hear you had to put your old ewe down, Sabrina. It's something I haven't endured yet.
Glad to hear continuing good words about Ash-- and amazed to hear how much snow you guys got. Isn't it something how we prepare for it on the weatherman's advice, and when it really happens, we think "thank God we did those preparations!".

Nancy K. said...

I hope things improved as the day progressed. What an awful start to ANY day!

Sabrina Wille Erickson said...

Things did improve. I took a 2 hour nap, cleaned out and tidied up my "fiber" trunk, and had a terrific heart to heart with my youngests son. :)

Becky Utecht said...

I know how hard it is to put the old ones down, but I think of it as freeing them from the physical body that is causing them pain and holding them back. I'm glad that your day got better.

Sabrina Wille Erickson said...

I think of it that way too, Becky. This last week was cold, right around zero, and Rachel wouldn't even get up out of her snuggled spot to eat. I had to put food right in front of her. She would get up later if the day warmed up. But I saw her shiver a few times. And zero is nothing like -40 that these little sheep can handle. Plus she had lost quite a few teeth. So I knew it was definitely time. And it is always a quick death.

I feel better about that type of end then about watching her slowly suffer through a winter. And in a way, I feel free too, knowing I did the best thing for her.

Kelly said...

Bless you for ending her suffering. I always say that one of the responsibilities of having animals is doing the right thing for them even when it's not what we want to do. It's never an easy decision, but a good keeper of God's creatures makes that choice when we have to make them.

thecrazysheeplady said...

Sorry to hear about your old ewe. I'm close to that point here too. {{{hug}}}

marchwind said...

Sabrina I am so sorry to hear about Rachel. I will cherish her fleeces even more than I do. As you know her was my favorite.