If Sheep Could Choose

The wind is growling like a cat with a mouse he does not want to share, the snow gates down south are already closed, and the snow is still coming down hard. I need a little diversion, so here's a wee story for a snowy day. When I first saw wool on the barbed wire, it looked like prayer flags to me. I even wrote a bit of poetry about it. Since then I have learned more about it. It can be a sign of fences in need of repair. And I am friends now with a woman who as a child collected the wool on the fence--wool gathering as it was meant to be--back when the Brora mill was still working and the price of wool made it worth collecting off the wire. Knowing that now makes me a wee bit sad when I see the wool on the wire--a different kind of prayer flag, or maybe just a different prayer.

This morning as I walked beside the field with Shaun the sheep and his large family, I wondered what colour wool sheep would pick if they had their choice.

I asked Shaun and his pals, but they were too busy to complete the survey, so I made a guess at what the fence would look like if they could choose. I just happened to have a handful of dyed merino wool tops in my pocket--my own particular brand of wool gathering.