Early Morning Feeding

Big Brother needed my help yesterday morning with the feeding.

...and if you believed that, you really will believe anything! 

Truth is, of course, that he was out feeding and I went out with my camera and for a blether. He loves to have a blether, does Big Brother.... him being the talkative sort, an' all that.

Yeah, well, anyway ...

These are the sheep that are expecting twins. Now, just to be specific, they are the sheep that are expecting twins - they are not the gimmers which are expecting twins.

What? You mean you don't know what gimmers are. 

Dearie me, you are an ignorant bunch.

Gimmers are the sheep that will be two years old when their lambs are born. For Big Brother, this means they are carrying their first lamb, or lambs. He doesn't put one year olds to the ram.

(I really sound like I know what I'm talking here, don't I?)

This is Big Brother's mark - a blue dot. All the villagers have their own mark, so the sheep are easily identified when they are together, say, for example, on the machair.

The sheep, somewhat like Jackson, take no notice of what you're saying once you've placed their food in front of them.

Our weather has changed slightly from the stunning weather we've had for the past few weeks. Day after day of sunshine with but the gentlest of breezes - I could easily get used to that. Now, our wind has gone to an Easterly, which means a marked drop in the temperature. It normally means no rain though. For this time of year, it's smashing weather.

The cold doesn't bother these Blackfaces one jot. They're a hardy bunch.

Hello, yourself. He, oops, she seemed so friendly. She seemed interested in my camera. She came closer and closer until I began speaking to her. Then she was off - quick as a flash. Clearly I don't have BB's dulcet tones.

And here is Louis. Big Brother is his uncle too. He's adorable, and he told me he loved having my company on his morning rounds.

** When I re-read that last sentence, it almost sounded as though BB was adorable, and had loved having my company this morning. 

Yeah, right.