This is Cocoa, the oldest, dearest member of my flock. Cocoa is one of the pair of my very first sheep. My flock started with her. Cocoa will be 17 in March which is very old for a sheep. She's doing incredibly well, given her advanced age.
I took this pic this morning after we fed her and bedded her pen. She and three other senior ewes live in our "Assisted Living" Barn. They get individual pans of grain and mushy alfalfa cubes soaked in warm water every morning. Winter is especially hard on old sheep. We do what we can to help them get by.
I received some sad news just after Christmas. "Chocoloate Chip" who was Cocoa's very first lamb, born 16 years ago, died the day after Christmas. Chip had been living at my sister's house, along with her menagerie of other sheep and goats. Kathy found him in the snow that morning. Like Cocoa, he had been receiving preferential treatment, although declining. And like Cocoa, he lived a long and contented life.
It's difficult seeing out the senior members of our flock. Chip's passing makes me grateful for every day Cocoa is still on her feet at the gate to greet us when we enter the barn. Although she is stiff-gaited and her eyes are clouding over, she's wily, strong and independent.
We had lost another old timer back in June. I was so sad at the time, I'm sorry, I just didn't feel like blogging about it. It was Pansy, a 13 year old Cormo ewe who was the last of our original Cormo matriarchs. She lived long enough to be present for a Sheep Shares gathering in June (if you attended that event, you may remember the frail ewe in the Assisted Living Barn). Pansy passed away the very next day.
Our flock has a higher than average number of old timers - ewes, mostly, who have more than earned their keep over the years. Not all of them are as personable as Cocoa, Chip or Pansy, but their presence is part of the spirit of this place and they are dear friends. Let's hope winter will lighten up for the sake of the old timers.
* note - post edited to fix grammatical error, yikes.
Happy new year Barb. I still have my Cocoa share, haven't decided what to do with it, but this post made me smile a bittersweet smile. Hoping for warmer weather for all of us, but most of all for her.
Posted by: Stephanie | January 11, 2014 at 09:52 PM
Thanks, Stephanie. I'll give Cocoa a pat from you today.
Barb
Posted by: Barb | January 12, 2014 at 07:38 AM
Such a sweet photo of Cocoa and I am sorry for the losses of Pansy and now Chip too. I was there in June and am glad we all got to see Pansy. Losing furry and very productive sweet friends is so very hard. They were cared for well and really did live to a ripe old age thanks to you and Mike. Still it doesn't make it easier when they go. I will think of them when I spin and knit your fiber and yarn. Hugs.
Posted by: Manise | January 12, 2014 at 07:42 AM
Thanks, Manise. It really does make me value their fleeces all the more. I still have Charlotte's (Cormo ewe who passed away in 2009, I think) last fleece. I had it processed at Still River separately. It's a bit tender, as she was frail in her last year, but I am enjoying working with it, nevertheless. She was a hit-you-in-the-ass as you leave the pen kind of ewe, but I loved her and she gave us beautiful daughters. And I have her neppy fleece as a sweet momento.
Posted by: Barb | January 12, 2014 at 08:34 AM
What a wonderful testament to the loving care you give your sheep :-))
Posted by: Jody | January 12, 2014 at 10:39 AM
Thanks, Jody. But really, they give so much to us.
Posted by: Barb | January 12, 2014 at 10:44 AM
Though mine are feline, not sheep, I'm in a similar situation, as I'm currently running what I fondly refer to on occasion as the Cat Hospice. All five of mine are seniors, age 9 - 19. The irony being, the 19-year-old is (knock wood) the healthiest of the five.
Three of them are on special diets (three completely different diets); the utility room shelves look like a well-stocked pet store. Two also have a mountain of supplements, and one is getting subQs. The presence of an IV drip bag would have made more sense during my late Mother's decline, but not for a cat.
We do what we can for our precious beasties for as long as they choose to be with us. Then we let them go with grace and love. Long live Cocoa, may she see many more springs, and RIP to Chip and Pansy. They served well, and are free.
Posted by: Jeanne B | January 12, 2014 at 04:10 PM
What fortunate kitties, to have you go to such lengths for them. Thanks for your kind words.
Posted by: Barb | January 12, 2014 at 04:39 PM
First, I want to tell you I loved your book. I have been singing its' praises everywhere. :)
Your post reminds me of something I read about the author (and real life vet) James Herriot. He said the hardest part of loving animals is that their life spans are so much shorter than ours and our heart breaks a little more with each passing.
Posted by: Brenda Nuland | January 12, 2014 at 08:42 PM
This is always difficult. So lovely that you still have your Cocoa! She is beautiful.
Posted by: Nina | January 13, 2014 at 06:03 PM
What a sweet post and a great view of the great care you give your animals! I'm sorry for your losses. Cocoa has such a sweet face! Sending wishes for an easy winter for him.
Posted by: Torre | January 17, 2014 at 11:53 PM
We, too, have a high percentage of elderly sheep. This winter has been hard. Tonight I had to balance what *I* was best with what Elizabeth (a 15+ year old Jacob) thought was best. She won...but I'll probably go back up later to make sure she still thinks she was right ;-).
Posted by: thecrazysheeplady | January 21, 2014 at 07:19 PM