The sheep are back. Winter can now officially start.
For those with good eyesight you can see the city in the distance. Well you can just about see the cities stunning cathedral. That’s the only evidence of city life. That’s how it should be. No sprawling high rise cityscape here thankfully. Feels reassuringly old school. Apart from the power lines this view will have stayed the same since The Minster was completed in 1472.
So the sheep are back. That means our biscuit budget will be busted. They come for a daily biscuit. That’s a lot of biscuits. Thankfully they are not like our household pets and are not picky. Any biscuit will do. Even the really cheap ones. The farmer recommends Rich Tea or Digestives. So that’s what the sheep get.
It’s a two way process. The sheep get treated and Hawklad gets time with animals. That’s special time to him. Any time with animals and birds is. They relax him. They fascinate him. He feels at ease with them. He loves being with them. All animals.
Well almost all. English Cattle and Giraffes spook him. They always have. He is relaxed with Swiss Cattle just not English ones. When he goes to the Zoo he loves getting the chance to hold spiders and snakes. Will confidently handle Birds of Prey. Wants to get as close as possible to the big predators. But gives the Giraffe section a wide birth. He just doesn’t feel as trusting with them and English Cattle.
But Sheep are definitely on the trusting list. He would happily have all the sheep move in with us. Probably move me out to make room.
I know my place….
I hope they get a cup of coffee with these biccies….
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Not yet. Iโm sure that day will come.
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Good.
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๐
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Aww, you arenโt that easily replaceable! It would need something like Ironman or cap to replace you. ๐๐
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๐๐x
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My husband comes from the West Riding. Lovely picture of the sheep. However much Hawklad loves them his Dad is surely irreplaceable!
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Thank you thatโs so kind.
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“Any time with animals and birds is.” Birds are not animals? ๐
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According to taxonomists, scientists who study life, if a living being moves of it’s own intention, it is an animal. Birds definitely move of their own intention, as do snakes, insects, fish, and many bacteria and viruses. But even that definition is restrictive in my mind. Life is anything that is brought into being by some form of reproduction, changes in some way, lives for a period of time, and then dies.
No matter how special we think we are, being we consider ourselves the top of the food chain, we are still very much related to the earliest forms of life that came into being 4.5 billion years ago, give or take a few million, when life first appeared on earth. Where they came from, we may never know. Did they arrive on a meteorite from some distant star system that went nova (in which case there would be life throughout the universe) or did such special circumstances exist on primordial earth that life formed here, and maybe nowhere else. We alive on Earth today will never know, unless we are for sure visited by beings from other places, of which so far there is a lot of conjecture, but no available-to-everyone fact. Stories abound, but if nothing else, humans are great creaters if fiction. One thing is definite, life did not appear suddenly 6000 or so years ago. That much is indisputable.
So, yes, birds are animals. And so are we.
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Too many choose to forget this. It would be a better place if they did.
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Agreed. โบ
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I was referring to the fact he seemed to list animals and birds as separate entities. Of course I know birds are animals ๐
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Yes. I just used your comment as a stepping stone to a short learning opportunity, if anyone thought that birds might not be considered animals. Thank you.
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I think son splits them out because he just loves them more than other creatures really.
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I think itโs because he loves birds so much that he splits them out.
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Definitely
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There sheep would keep the grass down
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Definitely
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Thatโs sweet. Animals are precious ๐ป
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Thank you. They so are x
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Remember all that bread you found in the freezer and weren’t sure what to do with? I don’t think the sheep would mind some loaves of love!
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Now thatโs an idea. Will try that.
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Animals are such a comfort and it’s nice to see that the sheep are back. Something to look forward to through the winter, feeding the sheep. I hope you both spend many happy moments at it. ๐
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Fingers crossed x
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That sounds like a fun event to look forward to! I hope you have a blessed Sunday!
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I so hope you do as well.
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English cattle always scared me witless. I can remember once in Wiltshire rushing into a phone booth and taking refuge as the herd came by. I think just because they were big and lumbered about. Camels still scare me…as do spiders and I’m not fond of snakes. But sheep are lovely and I’m glad the lad has access to them again. Animals have always been a big help to me.
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They are to me as well.
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Lovely post!
My animal loving mother was licked by a giraffe once as a child and it took ages to get the giraffe smell off her hand. We never heard the end of it but she adored sheep and pet lambs particularly.
Enjoy the pleasure.
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Not sure I would appreciate that as well.
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Nor I!
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It looks lovely and serene. I am glad your son finds comfort in the sheep. And, I’m glad he has let you stay in the house. Happy Sunday to you and he.๐ค
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Thank you. Same to you.
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I share Hawklad’s love of animals. And as you know, I have avian friends of my own.
I’ve never met British cattle, but I did spend some time around some cattle in Oklahoma one summer, and I found them to be very stupid.
That’s very cool that the sheep are back! You’ve got someone else to chat with now. I just hope they aren’t critical of your yoga and tai chi๐๐๐๐๐
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They do watch….. xxx
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I don’t like cattle and live in an area that’s full of the things. They’e big, horribly uncoordinated and run like one leg is always weighted down by industrial chewing gum. They’re not aggressive creatures but they can do some damage. This year has seen an increase in the number of people and dogs being trampled by cattle largely considered to have been due to people buying pets during lock-down etc.
Read a story recently about a man killed by bulls that charged him and his dog when he was walking along a footpath. Eyewitnesses said he was trying to shield and protect his dog which makes it all the more tragic. If you are chased or charged by any cattle – let your dog go. Dogs run faster than cattle
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Itโs funny our dog has 3 cows that are his friends. They are so cute together. But he barks if other cows head this way.
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You can pet rays and small sharks at the local aquarium. I bet Hawklad would like that!
How long do the sheep stick around?
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Our local aquarium lets you handle some crabs and shell fish. But not the fish. He would like that.
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Our also has obscenely expensive “backstage” tours that let you swim with sharks, feed penquin, and other stuff I’ve forgotten.
I did it years ago, when it was $100 for a 2hr tour of all the back stage tanks, breeding, food prep, and everything… then we spent 45min taking turns feeding sea otters. But they’re super dangerous so we only got to hold their had then offer food through roughly 2.5″ circles in thick plexiglass. It was still bliss!!
That pkg is now $300, without the tour!
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I must admit I have a few bits of prey things Iโm lining up for Hawklad when the money is there.
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Cool!! I wish I could join in!
We have a few wildlife sanctuaries around here (roughly 3hr drive). One rescues all sorts of animals and has open house on weekends. The one I liked is Shambala, run by Tippy Hedron (of the movie “The Birds” fame). She rescues big cats… lions, tigers, leopards, servals, cheetah, and at least 1 liger from people who tried to keep them as pets (she got Michael Jackson’s 3 tigers). As a sponsor, you can visit once a month as the animals are fed. That’s where I was charged at by a lion. There was a chain link fence between us but it remains one of the scariest moments of my life!!
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I bet those are great to visit.
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I wanted to do the shark swim but $300 is too much money!!
Even with covid lockdown, they had a program where 1 family was let in at a time, for 5 min, to take a holiday pic with a penguin. You have to bring your own camera and take the pic yourself (tripod provided), the penguin is behind plexiglass. And it still cost $50!!! BIG NOPE!!
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Itโs a Shame they cost so much
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“They relax him. They fascinate him. He feels at ease with them. He loves being with them. All animals“. I’m the same but only in regards to warm blooded animals, regardless of size. It’s particularly true when I have a migraine. They calm me in a way nothing else can. Domestic animals seem to be able to sense it and either make a physical contact with me or allow me to touch them – even if they are usually reluctant to maintain physical contact.
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I remember when he was about 4 the zoo had a really large Python which you could stroke. Son ran up to the snake and ended up cuddling him for ages. I never got that treatment.
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Never seen a snake in the flesh – There’s absolutely none here – not even in zoos. Come to think of it, I don’t think even dead ones are allowed into the country. I don’t recall seeing any in museums for example.
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Probably for the best
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