Kindness To Animals

Today's poem from The Writer's Almanac is one of my favorites.  It hit extra hard this morning though as we just got done 'tutering the boys this week.  There's no nice way to do it.  Period.  It hurts.  They're sad, I'm sad.  They do get better in a couple days and all seems to be forgiven, but still, it's a rough couple of days.

I try to take mostly boy lambs because they are the ones typically needing a home.  You can easily place ewe lambs in starter flocks, as replacement ewes...  Boys...there is only so much demand for breeding rams and only super trained professionals (like this guy :-) should ever keep a pet ram.

I tell the boys that getting 'tutered means they are extra special and that they'll get to stay here forever, and while for the next couple of days that's not going to seem like such a good trade, in the end they'll be happy. We make sure the weather is as comfortable as possible.  We give them pain medicine.  I sit out under the pine trees with them and Betsy's there, too.

Kindness to Animals

by Anonymous

Little children, never give
Pain to things that feel and live:
Let the gentle robin come
For the crumbs you save at home,—
As his meat you throw along
He'll repay you with a song;
Never hurt the timid hare
Peeping from her green grass lair,
Let her come and sport and play
On the lawn at close of day;
The little lark goes soaring high.
To the bright windows of the sky,
Singing as if 'twere always spring,
And fluttering on an untired wing,—
Oh! let him sing his happy song,
Nor do these gentle creatures wrong.

"Kindness to Animals" by Anonymous.

The Writer's Almanac July 18, 2014

This portable gate is blocking Hank's cut through between the paddocks.  For some reason Baaxter never figured out sneaking through the "portal", but the other three loved to bust into Del Boca Vista.  The retirees have zero interest in being visited by unruly grand kids!