Rainy Day Outing and some Sheep

Three rolls of film are back from the shop, and I have a stack clamouring to be the first to be posted. Eeny-meeny-miney-mo ... these ones!

This was our rainy-day jaunt to Mud Bay last Sunday.

Early morning; looks like it might just be a nice day for a walk.

Rule # 1: Never trust BC weather in the spring time. It was raining hard by the time we got to the dike, so we never even got out of the car. Laurie took the rest of these through the window.



First, setting the scene. This is agricultural land, mostly deserted at this time of year. There are three or four farmhouses, no through roads, no dearth of potholes. Up ahead is the dike, then Mud Bay. Behind us, empty fields, plenty of mud, a tree with two eagles at the top. Off to the sides, mallards and some black and white ducks, dabbling in the temporary lagoons in the fields. And starlings everywhere.



About a half-mile back, the road skirts a field beside the Nicomekl River, where a small herd of sheep stood dripping miserably. Most were "normal" (to me) sheep. One, I had never seen the like of; yes, that one.

He looks to me more like a big grey caterpillar than a sheep, with that round, creased body, stubby legs, eyes that aren't eyes at all, but shadows only, no visible face. He even moved like a caterpillar, swinging his body slowly from side to side, nose to the grass, constantly nibbling. I don't know what breed he is; he was the only long-wooled one in the field, the biggest by far, and the only one whose face (I think, for all I could see of it) is white.

I looked at sheep on the web, and the closest I could find was a Lincoln, from this site (Oklahoma State University, Breeds of Livestock). Not quite the same, but maybe the rain and the mud served as a disguise. Or maybe it's a related variety.

From OSU, I learn:

The Lincoln is usually referred to as the world's largest breed of sheep. ... Lincolns are rather rectangular in form, are deep bodied, and show great width. They are straight and strong in the back and cover thickly as mature sheep. ...

The fleece of the Lincoln is carried in heavy locks that are often twisted into a spiral near the end. Lincolns should be very well wooled to the knees and hocks, and occasionally some individuals carry wool below these points. ... Lincolns produce the heaviest and coarsest fleeces of the long-wooled sheep with ewe fleeces weighing from 12 to 20 pounds (5.4-9kg).

And:

The breed has been more generally popular in Canada than in the United States.

Well, that ties in; this is Canada. But still, I had never seen one before.

After our coffee and tea in Crescent Beach, we drove down to check out the shore. The rain slowed down to a sprinkle for a few moments, and Laurie managed a couple more shots.

This is a watery sunset behind the trees on the headland.


The rest of our photos will have to wait a bit. (Meanwhile, go look up pareidolia: I've got some cool examples for the next few posts.)