Lessons from the Paddock: cont'

Back to our sheep farm story... My dad needed to repair some of the fence that composed Abraham's paddock. Now my father is 6 ft something tall. He was never intimidated by animals because of his height and stature. He was a strong man. So to him Abraham was no problem. I really think he saw this issue as another whole male dominance thing. He was the master and the sheep had to listen. Anytime Abraham would challenge my dad by either stomping the ground or lowering his head my father would do the same thing back. Quite silly at times watching a grown man challenging a sheep.

So into the pen my father went with all his tools. We asked if he needed assistance and we were told no, so we headed back inside the house. My mother was cleaning the kitchen at the time and had a great view of Abraham's paddock. I remember standing there at the window watching also. My dad chased Abraham down to the other end away from where he was working. For a few minutes Abraham reluctantly stood in his corner. Then my father did it. He turned his back on the ram and bent down to fix the fence. Abraham did an about face targeting my dad's rear. My mom just started laughing. I asked if I should go warn him and my mom responded with "No your dad is so stubborn. He has to learn the hard way." I could tell my mother was getting pure enjoyment from watching this whole thing. Well Abraham started stomping the ground, which for a sheep is a sign of "I am challenging you to a duel". Then he lowered his head and broke out into a full gallop. I still till this day can't figure out why my dad didn't hear the sound of his feet galloping towards him. He is no horse but he was fat enough you should have heard something.

With one swift butt to the rear my dad went flying. This 6 ft some man went head over heels into the fence. Was he ever mad. By this time my mom was rolling and had moved to the back door. I think she knew her husband more than we kids gave her credit for. My dad turned around beat red with fury and lifted the hammer up to the poor old ram. My mother threw open the back door and yelled "Don't you even think about it. If you hurt that sheep you aren't coming back in here." Yes you could feel the love. From that day on my father never turned his back on dear old Abraham. Abraham finally died before his 14th birthday. My dad and I actually skinned the poor old guy. I know that sounds gross but my parents still have his pelt as a rug. It makes for great conversations. People always ask "What is that?" and we would reply with "Oh, that's just Abraham."