Remote Control

All summer long I moved the electric netting sheep pasture every 3-5 days. Every week. For months. It was kinda tedious. Every time I moved it I thought, "It'll be so nice when they're in the permanent pasture for the winter. I'll get a break." Still . . . I was used to seeing them from the house. The winter pasture is by the barn, where I CAN'T see them. And I knew I'd miss that. And I do.

I was also worried because two of the nearby neighbors have dogs. So worried that I'm seriously considering "borrowing" a friend's llama as a guardian animal. If it works out I'll purchase him in the Spring. DH has suggested a video surveillance system, which seems a bit extreme, but I haven't ruled it out completely.

But slowly it's begun to dawn on me that I already HAVE a surveillance system. You see, my barn is on the road going down to THE barn, Hidden Hollow Equestrian Center, where my horse (and a lot of other horses) is boarded. Because of the indoor riding arena people are up and down, back and forth past my barn all day. A few days ago my dressage instructor sent me this photo of the girls, getting into trouble eating trees. (She said, "If you fed them hay they wouldn't eat trees!" I said, "But trees are free!") Then via Facebook a rider told me that that one of them (she wasn't sure which) was infatuated with my husband as she always ran to the fence when he was around. And just moments ago I received a phone call from another rider who informed me that my sheep were happily eating plastic. So while my control might be remote, I haven't lost it altogether!

But, shhhhh! Don't tell the girls. They'll think I installed the video camera after all. I just hope they don't try to find it and eat it!