animals

this week was animal fun week. our chickens started laying eggs....well, one did. you can just see her tail in the picture. she is buff with white in her tail. she is a red-sex link or red star. they supposedly lay about 300 eggs a year.

this thursday and friday, newell --the sheep capital of the west--(maybe, that is what the sign says when you enter town) hosted a show and sale. i convinced my sis to go with me to the prize ewe and ram sale. there were people and sheep from wyoming, south dakota, north dakota, and probably a few other places.

we passed a truck with this puppy. not at all friendly. i do believe he was a great pyrenees which were bred to guard sheep. the are very large, strong, and fierce and not suitable for a house pet. i have seen grown ones guarding sheep near the real center of the nation marker.

we couldn't get into the area where they were holding the sheep for sale. the picture shows only one of 3 double rows of pens. we really like the ram. i don't know what breed he is, but we liked his horns and his wrinkily nose.

dennis, the cat also added to our animal fun week by bringing in a tiny snake which scared my sis. it wasn't a common garden snake --- those have lenthwise stripes. it might have been a baby rattler! dennis followed me out as i threw it over the fence into the neighbors back yard. dennis is not very poplular right now.

there are also reports of a tagged mountain lion that comes into town during the evening. people are warned to keep their pets inside during the evening hours.