Lists

The year of the Rooster.

I got a small booklet for lists, the other day. It's called a Listography pocket book and it's very sweet. It contains pages for lists of things to do when I have more time, lists of things to look forward to, ways to nurture my mind and so forth. The funniest page is the one where I'm to write down my favorite dinners.

It struck me that I am not really a deep and profound person. I never ever make lists in my head. I long for this and that to happen, I wish that certain things will never come about and that's about it. Making lists must be something some people do and others do not. Or?

I do get homesick to places where dear husband and I have lived, during our time together. Missing friends in other countries is also something that comes naturally, if you have lived a bit here and there. However, to start writing down a list of favorite places would be difficult for me. Favorite books can also be a challenge as books represent different moods, certain places and even special people, in my mind. Some authors are directly connected to specific animals in my small, muddled brain and will always be so. To write a list according to that would take some time and probably give me a headache.

It's a beautiful little book but I'm afraid it will stay just that, pretty and empty. It would be interesting to list my perfect breathing spaces but I don’t really understand what it all means. I should sit down and fill in all the things I would like to be more knowledgeable about, but that would take a long time and fill up a lot of pages. Instead I will play with Ebba, feed the sheep and collect some more eggs. Those activities could be listed on the page of things that make me smile so maybe I could learn to be a list maker. Or not.

Mindy, our beautiful white sheep has an infection in her udder. It was a ball of infected stuff that we now emptied, cleaned up and hope will heal quickly. The vet was not highly concerned as she still eats like a horse (Mindy, not the vet, as far as I know...) but we will see how things are, in the morning. It's always a huge worry when someone is feeling poorly and I feel inadequate, every time, as a sheep keeper. Sheep and goats are tricky animals to care for as they tend to inform you that something is wrong a little too late. Mindy showed no sign of anything being wrong today, so that gives me a flicker of hope that all will be well soon. It would break my heart if anything happened to our darling sheep. Tending to her needs is a scrum and we tackle sheep left, right and center, trying to get to Mindy. Her three friends form a barrier around her when the disinfectant powder makes its appearance and we push and wrestle our way to help her. It's called sheep-rugby and we struggle to win. I could make a list of things that worry me, come to think of it.

The henhouse is back to being a calm, fun space with happy looking hens. We had to give up keeping three cockerels in one place and little Matti and Ullrick went to heaven. Matti became so horrid to the hens that the young ones stayed where they had slept and missed their food times. Ullrick copied his friend and it just became unbearable to watch. He pulled feathers and chased around like he was not altogether there.

I spent a few sleepless nights over this and then made the sad decision. We did not have good homes to send them to and it being in the middle of the winter did not help. Just giving them to someone we did not know well was never an option so to heaven they went. Sad times, but half an hour after they left the hens were munching away and two days later everyone started laying eggs, in abundance. Monty is calm and sweet again and told me that this is how it should be. I do believe him but I miss the young cockerels we lost, but certainly not the grown-up ones they became. Why they had to be so horrid I don't understand as young Eric grew up to be a charmer. Maybe the feisty breed of ours could not handle sharing hens. I do know that the sheep felt relieved when their friendly, calm hens returned to them. I certainly don't miss having hens flying in to me in panic as they were being chased by nasty young boys.

So, I could write a list of things I wish had not happened and a list of friends I miss from the animal kingdom.

Life's little ironies; we just started the year of the rooster, as China celebrated their new year. Maybe we can make it the year of Monty and, once again, hope for the best?

Happy New Year to all who celebrates it this time around. The world could do with starting afresh....