Butcher day

The butcher came out first thing on Sunday morning. It had just gotten light when he knocked on our front door. I gave him the good news that the sheep were all ready to go. I was trying to get breakfast and just opted for coffee. While Annmarie and I were talking she hollered about a sheep in the front yard. When we were laying in bed, prior to getting up, Annmarie had noticed one of the sheep bleating. She thought that this was the same sheep. I went outside to catch the lamb when the butcher hollered that the sheep had gotten out of the corral. When he pinned them into a corner to grab three they started jumping on each other's back to get over the corral wall. Two sheep had managed to get away. I went inside the house and grabbed a dog leash. I was finally able to catch the lamb, drag it over near the butcher on the yard side fence and hog tie three legs together with a dog leash. 

I left it in the yard instead of putting it in with the other sheep. I did think he would do the over back thing again if he was given a chance. I talked with the butcher and looked at the penned sheep. Sure enough the large whether that was so much of a problem managed to get out of the pen and is back with the other sheep. This caused me much angst. I went over to the herd and found him hiding in the background. I was getting ready to push them all in the barn and try to catch him when I realized I could just shoot him. This option seemed like an easy one. So I went back inside and grabbed the Ruger 10/22 bolt action rifle. I pushed all the sheep into the barn and the escape artist was in the very back of the barn hiding. I am not opposed to shooting inside the barn you just cannot miss.  He was not looking at me and I knew it had to. E a head shot. So I took careful aim and shot him in the head. He dropped like a stone. I congratulated myself, laid the rifle down and started to push the sheep out of the barn. He had his head up and was looking around!!  I was able to push the rest of the herd out while he drunkenly attempted to walk. I had given him a concussion!!  The bullet just bounced off his skull. This time I shut the barn doors and waited till he looked me straight in the eyes and shot him between the eyes. I dragged him out for the butcher and he gives me the good news that my hog tieing job only lasted 30 minutes. The sheep got loose. I just got in a position where I could shoot it in the head. I was done with chasing and dragging live animals. 

I saved all the solid organs, cow tails and cow tongues for some friends who feed their dogs an all natural diet. I will take the skulls up on the hillside to decay naturally. I have two skulls up on the hillsidefrom two years ago. It would take six months if I buried the heads but that is more work. I am not in a rush. 

The butcher was done in less than three hours. 

I tried to get on the machine roof and fix the Internet dish. We got all the tools together and I crawled up in the roof. I had not been up there ten minutes when it started to rain. I have worked in the ER too long to not know that I needed to get off the roof ASAP, no internet still.