W-i-P

Because the sheep turn nocturnal during summer and there are no predators, there is no requirement to shut them into their shed at night, with a few exceptions; when a heavily pregnant ewe is close to delivery, when very heavy snow is forecast, or on the eve of a slaughter.

We were busy with our builder on Saturday, we needed him to drill some holes through a vast thickness of concrete. He was cursing the day ten years ago when he had thought that amount of concrete was a smart idea. When he had achieved what we had asked of him, we shared a beer, as is traditional, and after the beer we didn't really consider the need to shut in the sheep.

But, the girls are the tamest sheep we have ever known and nine times out of ten they will run towards us on sight, so catching them before Dimitris' arrival was never really going to be an issue. Sure enough, an amble down the hillside with a handful of corn was all that was required to have them galloping towards us and into the shed. I had to squeeze myself past their big woolly bottoms to get out of the shed and slide the bolt on the gate. It was the first time we had slid that bolt since they were tiny and the snow was as deep as they were tall. It was also the last time I saw them alive. Somehow I thought I would witness them being walked up the hill, or let them nuzzle my hand once more, but no, the next time I saw them they were both lying still in pools of blood. At least Dimitris had done them one straight after the other and not had the second one waiting around for as long as the full job takes.