One of Sam’s favorite places in the world is the sheep barn. She has so many friends in there! Sheep can sometimes have a bad rap of being dumb or just following along with everyone else. But because they are prey animals, they find safety in numbers. They truly take care of their own!

Every spring, the staff has someone come in to shear the sheep. This takes a few days, as there are more than 80 sheep on the farm! They do this very slowly and carefully, and when they’re done, they put the wool out on the hillside as compost for the wild animals to use as they like. While there are some farmers who are careful in shearing their sheep, it’s not always the norm. There are some that need to be shorn every year so they don’t overheat, but instead of making use of their bodies (and valuing them just for a product), nobody expects anything from or of these sheep other than for them to be themselves.

Sheep can be very shy, and some of the animals in this barn had some very scary pasts. But there are also some who LOVE people once they get the chance to know them. Sam actually has bruises on her legs from sheep who paw at her for attention (like dogs do) and kick at her with excitement. We unfortunately could not get a ton of pictures because the lighting wasn’t great, but also because we were rushed from all sides. Sam’s friends really really wanted their kisses and back scratches and it’s hard to say no to these sweet faces!

Adriano is one of Sam’s very best friends. He was rescued here as a lamb along with his twin sister, their mom, and several other family members. He used to be the leader of the flock until another sheep took over, but he is still very protective over everyone in there. As soon as he and Sam make eye contact, he rushes right over. His friendship makes her feel very special.

Louise is another good friend! She is definitely pushy when it comes to back scratches and wants all of the love and attention she can get.

I got my best picture with Hazelton, who is Louise’s younger brother. He was born at the sanctuary around this time five years ago! He was very very sick as a baby, and almost didn’t make it. Things could have been quite different if he was born at the place where we rescued his mom and sister from. He is a very friendly and goofy guy who looked at us so sweetly for a little love.

As it was a bit difficult to get some good sheep pictures, we went next door to meet some goats. Halbert is one of the friendliest guys on the farm. He came from a really sad situation, and was once afraid to even go outside. He loves kisses and will push his way through to demand the back scratches and hugs so rightly his.

Hope and Dana (the one wearing the pink jacket) are twins! One of the best things about winter on the farm is that the goats will sometimes wear coats, too! Their natural coats grow in just like mine, but some animals need a little extra warmth depending on age, medical history, body weight, or just how they react to the cold. I asked them if I could share some lunch, and they were very kind to oblige!

Then, Hope and I went outside to get some fresh air and check out the other goats across the way. Hope is also a favorite of Sam’s. She once saw Hope having a seizure, which was very scary, and Hope is now on special medication to keep her healthy. She is a very loving goat and she was very nice to me, as well!

We walked around the farm a bit more, and said hello to some geese named Goosey and Angelica! They were surrendered by a guardian who couldn’t take care of them anymore due to life circumstances. I wasn’t sure what they thought of me at first - geese are big honkers and make a lot of noise! It might look like they’re trying to bite me here but don’t worry -they were very gentle and preened my fur with their beaks. It was fun to become an honorary goose :)

We were on our way to Michaels to pick up a framing order, and discovered a flat tire! We drove very carefully to a place where we can fill it up with air, but as we weren’t sure if we could still hear a slight leak we drove a little bit out of the way to get it checked out. Hopefully it’s an easy fix and we can get back on our way!

Edit: stone puncture! Gotta love those country roads. We are getting a new tire and should be good to go in no time. They even have a jar filled with all the nails and things that cause people’s flat tires. Our stone might be too deeply embedded to pull out and put in the jar, though.