It was a beautiful day after a mild frost to start. The flock was still in the Stud Paddock from Monday's circuit, and seemed quite enthusiastic about following me anywhere else. We circled the Racecourse Grazing Area, staying in the "bottoms" as much as possible, then headed into the Lucerne Reserve for an hour of dessert and nap. At least, I think that's how they feel about the lucerne--that it's a special treat, and when they've filled up they often settle down for a rest and ruminate. It was quite windy all day, but nice and sunny, so all in all a pleasure. Increasingly, the circuits are just plain easy--very few disagreements between any of us. I put this down in part to the flock getting more and more used to the routine, and to trusting me about where I'm taking them. A big part of it, though, is me learning what is the most likely path for the sheep to WANT to take, and not being either stubborn or overly ambitious in my choices. We did have a small contretemps at the end, coming back across Curly Sedge Creek (Video V3). The individuals following me into the narrow lane were not my special ones, and they stalled at the creek. When I tried to get the dogs to bring up the rest of the mob to put a bit of pressure on the front sheep, it completely backfired, and all the sheep in the laneway turned around and flowed back into the lucerne. The second try involved several of my special kids, and went beautifully. The other thing I'm noticing is there are many more sheep in the flock who are now prepared to come up and "talk" to me. I only figured it out because I've been keeping an eye out for my special kids, to mark them so the shearers know which fleeces I want to keep to sell to enthusiastic hand-spinners. I've always been able to find my special kids because they come up to me. To my surprise, lots of others are doing that as well. I'm guessing this is the result of staying in a consistent routine with shepherding for several months, combined with the relative ease with which the circuits flow--I must be much less scary, more of an honorary sheep these days!
Leaving my nice warm bed and snuggly kitty was not easy this morning. Skye was still under the covers when I finished running the dogs
Video V1 above
ideo V2 above
P1: Resting up after morning tea in the lucerne. Back to the Racecourse for the rest of the day.
Video V3 above