The woman we were going to purchase the ram from came out of the farmhouse and led us to the barn. The first thing we saw inside was a beautiful tortoise colored barn cat. She was very interested in us and followed us around the barn. The woman told us that she was very good at her job...keeping the rat population down.
Next, we saw the bred ewes. They were all sheared and waiting to lamb. They were together in one stall, milling around and eyeing us, full of curiosity for the strangers in the barn. Next, we met the sheep's guardian, a Great Pyrenees. She was a very big, white dog, that apparently has a hankering for whatever is on the other side of the fence. The woman said she has to tie her up or she will go exploring rather than sticking close to her charges. So, I helped the woman untie the lead that was keeping the rams' stall closed. She needed the lead so she could tie up the dog while we had the gates open to get our ram.
Once the dog was tied up, we got to go into the stall that held the two black rams. These were the two rams we would choose from. One would go home with us that day, but which one? We had to catch both to look at each of them to choose. First, we caught the smaller ram to check out his fleece. He was a little lighter in color than the other and a little smaller. He had a very fine crimp to his fleece. He was beautiful.
Then, we had to catch the other ram. He was a little bigger, a little faster, and wanted to be caught a little less than the first ram. We had to chase this one around the stall and make a few tries at grabbing him. At one point, I fell to my knees trying to catch him. I'm sure it was funny to watch. I wish I'd had someone videoing the whole thing. I'm sure it was a sight! Rueben thinks the woman was probably laughing at us. If not then...later. Eventually, we got hold of the ram, but he kept trying to get away. I remember hearing the woman telling us, "...keep his head up...keep his head up." I put my left hand under his chin, holding it up and kept my right hand at his rump. We looked at his fleece...very nice crimp, but very close, very dense. I then told Rueben to go and get the lead while I held him...this was the one I wanted. He will provide us with large lambs that have nice fleece. I had to try to keep hold of him while Rueben went to get the lead. I did it. Rueben brought the lead and we brought him out of the stall. I kept hearing, "...keep his head up..." "...choke up on the lead..." It wasn't easy, but with one pulling, the other pushing, we got him out of the barn and to the Tahoe. Now for the hard part...getting him up into the Tahoe.
This boy probably goes at least 200 lbs.; not easy to deadlift into the Tahoe. Finally, we got his front two hooves into the back of the truck. Rueben was on one side and I was on the other. We tried lifting him, but couldn't deadlift him. We tried pushing and pulling, pulling and pushing...but he just wouldn't budge. Finally, Rueben said to roll...roll...roll! So, we rolled him into the back of the Tahoe. When we closed the door, the ram was still on his side. It took him a good five minutes to roll over and get to his feet.
When we got home, we put him in the small sheep pen in the back to isolate him from the other sheep to ensure he is healthy before we introduce him to the other sheep. I wanted to name him Methusela, because I want him to live a very long life. However, Rueben didn't really like that name (I think it was too long), so we agreed to name him Moses instead.
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