It’s the time of year now where instead of marching down to the sycamore tree at the far end of the pasture every morning, the flock stays up by the barn to eat all the tasty leaves that fall from the treeline.
“Why can’t we have leaves every morning like this all year?”
It’s also the time of year where Duke spends a lot of time trying to chase his sons away from the girls, though he’s not running himself into the ground doing it the way he used to before he got “tutored.” He can’t keep the little guys from coming back for more than a minute or two, but he can still send them scattering when he charges at them, which is highly entertaining.
The third notable thing about this time of year is that it’s when I start wearing The Barn Coat, which is well known to spontaneously produce treats. Even after all of the pockets have been thoroughly investigated, they must still be checked at regular intervals to see if the treats have replenished yet.
Mira was ignoring me today in favor of the delicious leaves, so instead I had all of Lady’s children (except Will, who’s over with the boys) insisting on monopolizing coat-checking duty.
“Do you have any treats for me?”
Cute, funny Dandelion.
“No, I’m the big brother, all the treats should be for me!“
Sweet, gentle Neo.
“No, me! I’m the sister!”
Pretty, dainty Holly.
They eventually gave up and ran off to get their share of the leaves, but they still kept an eye on me to make sure I wasn’t smuggling any contraband treats.
Marigold helped her mama, Holly, keep an eye on me, but stayed well back and always kept Holly between us. Just in case I decided to snatch her. She’s now older than Holly was when Marigold was born, but she is still A Baby (the best baby ever, says Holly) and you can never be too careful.
“There must be treats, why would ShepherdPerson be wearing The Barn Coat if not to carry treats?”
Why indeed? The sheep carry their own insulation and don’t understand what freezing temperatures have to do with my wardrobe choices.
Shepherd Life 
Holly has the sweetest face! they do know clothing choices……pockets for treats. mine know walking clothes! so smart.
They are very smart, especially when food is involved! 😂
Dear Sarah,
If you invented a magical way to replenish the pockets, the flock will not be in awe, just in expectation 🙂 For that’s the way things should always have been, in their minds, most likely.
Hugs,
Natalie
They’ve never seen me put treats into the magic pockets, and yet treats come out! Of course they must be spontaneously generated! I’m just glad Mira’s grown out of punching that pocket with her nose to try to get the treats to come out, the way lambs punch an udder to stimulate milk letdown! My ribs! Probably my own fault, I used to carry her bottle around in the same pocket, so it’s an understandable mistake on her part.