Our aged gentleman sheep Smokey enjoyed what, to my human eyes at least, seemed to be a pretty perfect sheepsummer. There was lots of lush pasture grass for Smokey and his goat companion, Pumpkin, and our summer-long string of cloudless days made for many hours of napping and contented cud chewing in spots of warm sunshine. There are a number of large trees in our pastures, so, if the sunshine got to be too much for a fellow who always wears a black wool coat, there was plenty of shade available.
Smokey is 14 -- that’s fairly old for a sheep -- and he has arthritis. He moves slowly and his joints creak audibly, so our farm vet prescribed medication which Smokey gets twice a day. This medication schedule meant that, though the summer weather beckoned and Smokey’s humans might have liked to be off riding bikes or hiking in the mountains, either Leah or I had to be home at the beginning and end of the day when it was time for Smokey to get his pills.
Still, whatever playtime Leah and I might sacrifice is more than made up for when we hang out in the barn or pasture with our longtime four-legged friend, a gentleman of such dignity and peace.
