Independence Day

First thing this morning, I Freed the sheep and let them go down to the lower pasture.   They loved it for an hour or so but then decided to go back to the barn.  I am going to start closing the gate and leaving them in the lower pasture for longer periods of the day now that I have a hydrant down there and more secure fence.  But not today, because we won't be here all day and it is too hot.

The heat wave continues and still much of the county has no power.  I am glad we do so I don't have to haul water from the spring, but I could if I had to.

I was over to Naomi's this morning and it looks like a tornado went through her farm.  We were talking about how sheep are critters of habit and how hers had to find new shade.  They are up by her house and look pretty content.  She too has a spring and she had to move all her sheep into that pasture because all the troughs need power to get the water to them.  I asked her about the rams and she said she hoped it was too hot for them to get any ideas.

Talk about independence, Naomi is very independent and doesn't ask for much help even though her husband died last winter.  A neighbor came down and sawed through a large Tulip Poplar blocking her driveway, but just wide enough for her pickup to get through.  John and Charlie are going over to cut up some of the rest of the trees when the heat breaks.  Naomi also has not had phone service and a lady from Tennessee was suppose to come tomorrow to pick up some sheep with a trailer which would not make it down the driveway.  She said her cell phone kept calling wrong numbers so we got through to the lady on mine.

I think it takes a good storm to see how independent people can be.  Town and county services are doing all they can, I guess, but it isn't enough.  It always takes neighbors helping neighbors and friends helping friends.  People are putting things in other's freezers and showering where they can.  One of the  hardships I didn't think of was people being cut off from their computers and cell phones.  Some people are charging their phones in strange places.  I told a lady in the library that I was going to email all my friends to see if they needed a place to stay and she said if they did they wouldn't get the email.  Good thing my friends are independent.