2/08/2011

I'm Delighted to Announce....

....we're having babies. Lots of them.

Well, actually, we are not having anything. Big Brother is.

And it's not babies, it's lambs.

Hey - got y'all there!

Yes, today our (you understand the way in which I use the words our and we) sheep were to be scanned.

So this morning, Big Brother and the kids had to collect the ewes from the different crofts and take them to a fank which is on the moor side of the villages. There, the scanner scans the sheep from this village, and tells the owner whether each ewe is carrying a single, twins, triplets, or......none.

I feel so sad for these sheep. Someone please tell me they don't know anything about it.

Please??



Here they are coming with the first lot of ewes ...



... who dutifully follow the road. 

Oh yeah. Why do they feel the need to say Hi to me? Why do they have to come and use my, er, lawn (cough) as their potty? 

These are the questions that pass the time for me as I sit in the car taking photos. Clearly I have too much time on my hands.



The ewes from the croft on the left will be joining the rest.



My wee shepherd.



I could eat him.

But they tell me he'll soon be eight and, despite the fact that I reckon they're talking rubbish, I must stop babying him. Yeah, right.





And down the road. Our main road.

Don't you love that sheep still have priority on our main roads.
Long live island life!



I ran out to this point so I could capture them approaching the moor road.

When I say 'ran'.... well, I'm sure none of you actually thought I was using my feet. Did you??

I guess I was in a way - if you count using the accelerator and the brake...



You go, Wee Guy. They'd never manage this procedure without you.



Yep, you guessed it. Came to say Hi again.



And out to the moor.



Inside this trailer is the scanner. I like to think of him holding many a dark secret. I never see his face. I don't know if any of them do.

Strange goings on.

The other man sprays the sheep to show what they're having.

No, not whether it's a boy or girl. Whether it's one or two or three. Boy, you guys have a lot to learn. Thankfully, I know these things.



Here's BB's sheep in the fank, with DR looking busy in the background.



All the sheep owners from the village come together. And then the scanner moves onto the next village.

It gives the men such a good opportunity to have a blether, er, sorry work hard.

And to compare their own sheep with everyone else's, er, discuss the business of sheep.



And it gives our Wee Guy another opportunity to learn life's valuable lessons.

Like Maths: Hey, Wee Guy, if there are six ewes having triplets, eight having twins and thirteen having singles, how many lambs will that be altogether?

Hang on. Don't answer that until I've worked it out myself.

17 comments:

  1. Aha, Laurie - you're on the ball. Well, truth be told, the morning was sooooo cold that Katie thought a much better use of her time and talents was to stay indoors and do her maths.
    Quite right, I thought ;)

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  2. Smart girl! This brings to mind another scene from Jane Austen (how does she do it!) Persuasion: "Charles, do your women often come shooting with you?" "Not that often, Frederick." Wonder if BB is having the same conversation at the fank.

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  3. wow, that's a lot of babies!!! i love the pics of the sheep coming down the street!

    we are about to get our first pigs!

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  4. Yay, more sheep!!!! Your wee fellow is super cute, btw.

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  5. You teach me a lot about sheep and crack me up with laughter!!! Hahahaaaaa, gasp, hahaaaaaa!

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  6. Hi there! Just found your blog and loving it! We live in rural Scotland too and I blog about it. I also share your interest in homeschooling, although we currently do not homeschool! Looking forward to following you from now on! Allison
    http://www.highlandmummy.blogspot.com

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  7. The Wee Guy, so cute in the one pic where he looks as if he's charging forward with his trusty staff in hand.

    I really, really like your sheep! And I'll tell you why tomorrow on my blog post. BIG SMILE!

    Hugs, Mrs. C

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  8. Welcome, Highland Mummy - love the name! Lovely to meet you.

    Mrs C....I'm full of anticipation. Must I wait until tomorrow!

    And thanks the rest of you. (I think my wee guy is kinda cute too, though you'd never have guessed that;)
    My heart is still so heavy after yesterday, but at least I'm able to smile. Sadly, time will not move so quickly for the parents.... :(

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  9. Wow, your world is so different from mine! I see your pictures and read your words, and I think, "Is that real?" I mean, it's not that I'm doubting you at all. :) But it just seems so...so...storybookish...and fairy-taleish...and picturesque...and wow, just so different. The sheep really walk down the roads like that? :)

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  10. I love learning all of this when visiting your blog! I love how the sheep have the "right of way" on the island. Fabulous.

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  11. What a lovely post about life lived in a place far away. The only thing that would have made this more enjoyable would be if I could hear your wonderful accent as I read your words. But ah, I could imagine it, and that I did. ;)
    Blessings,
    Toni

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  12. I really enjoyed reading this post! Loved all the pictures of the sheep. I think it is so neat how they check for babies! Almost like moms in a line for an ultrasound machine at the hospital. :) hehe

    Thanks for sharing! Oh and thanks for stopping by and visiting me!

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  13. You impress me with your incredible knowledge :-P

    And here I was wondering why they still had the "jump" marks on them when they were far enough along to see how many they've got. (Or do they not use chalk markers to see how many animals have been mounted? Or do they not do that with sheep?)

    I have plenty of useless book knowledge that may or may not correspond with reality. Your little pieces of country life never fail to fascinate me!

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  14. Davene, it's funny you saying that because normally when I post about this kind of stuff I always think, 'Oh this is so boring, the photos are so dull, the scenery is so bland....' When I see photos of other places that are just drop dead gorgeous. I guess when we live in a place, it's all so 'same'.

    When we were growing up, they didn't scan the sheep. All the pregnant ewes were together and were fed the same amount. Now they're fed according to what's in their womb.... or what's not :(

    Bekah...the red stuff showing they've been mounted is oil-based (just asked DR!) so it does not come off for a long time...but will eventually. (They don't all have the red stuff - only the later mounts...I'm sure that phraseology is waaaaay off, but you know what I mean)

    Thank you all for stopping by, and for saying Hi.

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  15. Your village is so cute! I love the fact that you all get your sheep scanned together!
    We had our first experience with scanning our sheep last year & it was tonnes of fun! I must say that the scanner sure has a challenge as the sheep move around as much as possible in that tiny space!
    Did you get lots of twins?
    Renata:)

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  16. This is great- thanks for sharing! Love the photos as well as your comments.

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