Sheep Update & More

Another bit of glory in the morning.

The other evening an older man found his way up here, not an easy thing to do, looking for the sheep. They don't belong to him but to a friend he was helping out by seeing if he could locate them. It turns out they are supposed to be living in a pen the other side of the first ridge to the north of us. Unfortunately, the man who is supposed to be caring for them had a stroke several years ago and isn't managing those things too well.

A lovely cactus bloom. Doesn't it look like it's made of jelly?

This man told Mike that Umber, the ram, is actually quite elderly and probably won't be with us too much longer. I commented this evening about how sad that would be for Griton but still I hope Umber gets to live out his life up here, free and happy with his equine buddy.

Sweet Happy Child

When I went back and looked at that group of photos I took the other day, I could see how gray Umber's old muzzle is. Since Lilly and Sienna have no interest in the horses, and Umber only has eyes for Griton, and likewise Griton is only interested in Umber, this odd relationship doesn't appear to be a 'sheep' thing but truly a bond between two very different beings. I said if we start catching them sleeping together, maybe we should worry.

Lovely Louise Clements

But back to the visitor. Since we don't mind having the sheep here and with mountain terrain like ours, he didn't seem to think that anyone would be interested enough to come up here and try to capture an old ram and a couple of ewes and it sure wouldn't be easy to herd them out. So for the time being, the sheep are legally here. Yay! Who could ever want to break up a romance like this, especially now that we know one of the parties is an elderly ram?

Such a touching photo of two very different beings who have grown quite attached to each other.

I know, everyone has said they love the rose photos but there are many, many other things beginning to bloom in the garden now. I will have something besides roses to show for it soon and some of those flowers will be pretty amazing. Plus, the last and most favorite of my rose bushes, Deep Secret, has finally made buds and I will be blessed with it's beauty and fragrance again soon. Deep Secret is a hybrid tea rose and it had a rough go of getting through the winter which is why it is so far behind the others. The scent of this rose is so strong that you can catch the fragrance of even the earliest bud from ten or more feet away. You will love this rose!

Robert Clements with its glossy polished leaves.

We brought home three new fish today...two shubunkin goldfish and one tiny little calico fantail. I knew the fantail probably wasn't a good idea but I couldn't resist! One shubunkin is very colorful and was also the most aggressive fish in the tank ~ good survival skills. The other one we chose doesn't have much coloring but looked to be very healthy. And last was the busy body little fantail that was into everything. They are currently hiding in the rock labyrinth with a netted kitty snack abatement system over the pond. Hopefully tomorrow they will feel secure enough for photos.

I truly love these columbines...

And lastly for what turned out to be a very busy day, I have a great new haircut and it wasn't done by Griton. ;) I went from waist length curly red hair when Mike and I met in 2000, to hair that has gradually gotten shorter each year and is now a just above my shoulders, naturally curly cut that I absolutely love. Maybe in the next day or so I'll feel secure enough to take some photos along with the fish.

and I love their oddly graceful seed pods just as much.

It's been a long day. I may be great at living in solitude up on the mountain with the animals...not so great at being around a lot of people in town on a long errand day. I think I'll head up to bed.