Sorry Ocean Birds !!!!!!

Sorry Ocean Birds !!!!!

{I forgot this photo of my adventure}

posted by Callopie

I watched 3 Seagulls as they braved the Ocean as it came and came and came while it went and went and went. {I wonder if their toes get cold? }. They never swooped down and threatened me as other 2LFC {2 Legged Flying Creatures} have as I am eating MLGV in the pasture. The 2LFCs like the Hawks, nasty Blue Jays and Grackles. And they didn't make annoying noises as do the Grackles and Crows. Their wings did make sounds when they flew but nothing as fast as the Hummingbird. Although I saw white, grey, black, brown and tans from their feathers nothing as bright and lovely as the Gold Finches, Cardinals, Red Winged Blackbirds or Hummingbirds~who move so quickly I find it hard to decide just what color each may be. And although not unpleasant in form they didn't make the lovely rippling movements of the Morning Doves. But I am very glad we met and so sorry I forgot their part in My Adventure.

Callopie "Explorer Extraordinaire"

MY VERY OWN ADVENTURE

posted by Callopie "Explorer Extraordinaire"

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Around the Corner, Across the Patio, Through the Gate

Yes, I got in trouble and Yes, I was punished. But it really was worth it. I went on my own adventure, ALL by myself. I saw wondrous sights, met other creatures and found my very own PLUS. At first it was quite scary. When Susan, our HC, left the condo on some errand I managed to sneak out the door and then staying right next to the wall I inched my way~all the way down the stairs. Finally, downstairs on what is called the 'pool deck', I peeked around the corner. Just in case something dangerous lurked there. {Also to check for our HC, she is tricky}. Then across the patio I raced. Still undetected I crawled onto the gate and wiggled through.

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I slid down the rail, I walked over the sand, I see the Ocean Tide

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Although the wood had splinters I carefully slide down the railing and onto the sand. I'd never been on 'sand' and it was strange. Parts of it were dry while others were damp and all over were so many exciting things. Bits of rock and shells, feathers, dips in sand and then piles of sand. What fun! Finally I found my way to where the sand was very wet~~the OCEAN. And it was beautiful, HUGE, and busy. The Flock thinks I never sit still? I guess they never met the OCEAN. It comes and goes.....well first it goes and goes and goes and then it comes and comes and comes. I think that part is what HCs call THE TIDES. The strange thing is that the whole times it goes and goes and goes it still comes and when it comes and comes and comes it still goes. I guess the OCEAN doesn't need rest or sleep.

******** So I walk far, I meet a grey Cat's Paw, I climb big rocks

******** WOW....the sand goes on and on and on. I wonder if it ever ends but I decide to walk as far as I am able certain there will be more new adventures. Soon I meet a very old and pale Cat's Paw and we had a friendly chat. Out in the Dennison Flock they live with a 4LFC, Mr Tig. Last year when Ellis was here he sent Mr Tig a box full of Cat's Paws. Ellis told him he could use them to show his flock where they could not be, Cat's Paws could make a border for Mr Tig's Pasture....or whatever a 4LFC calls where they live. After meeting the Cat's Paw, I found a wonderful mountain of beach rocks and I climbed them. The red ones were my favorites.

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I discover Sea Grass, I Play Hide and Seek, I meet a PLUS

******** Around the rocks was MLGV, like in my Pasture. Well, not exactly the same but a lot like it. I prefer Pasture MLGV. Although some of the Sea MLGV was green, most of it was brown and dry. Hm, guess when it gets cold even in my Pasture the green turns brown also. Although I did not find the Sea MLGV very tasty, I did find it made a great place to play Hide and Seek.....but as I am alone on the adventure Hide and Seek isn't much fun. I can Hide but no one to Seek me or I could Seek but no one to Hide. Maybe next time others can sneak out with me. So I went back to the sand and was so very very happy to find my very first PLUS. And we had a very nice chat also. I told him about all the other PLUSES and he agreed to come home with me, 'when' I end my adventure later. So now 2 of us are on my adventure.

******** Then disaster strikes, And although I hide?, The PLUS and I are BUSTED!

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Just when I have a companion to explore with me, it happens. The PLUS has stopped to rest while I go ahead. He calls and when I turn AARRGGHH !!! MY HC !!!!! What a disaster. My absence obviously had been discovered and now I had been found. I did try to hide and found a rock but it was far to small and although I tried to hide I was much larger than the rock. The PLUS and I were BUSTED. And from the look on the shoes I was in serious trouble.

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We are ordered home, This time an open gate, The PLUS and I cross patio

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My adventure has ended. We are ordered back to the beginning, the boring Condo. No crawling up the rail nor slipping between the rails of the gate. No sprinting across the patio keeping eyes out for potential problems. Our HC takes the elevator and tells me that I can return the way I came, along the wall. {This seemed hopeful as once she leaves we may sneak off to more adventures but....}. HC warns before the elevator door closes, that if we are not knocking at the condo door within 10 minutes we will be hunted down again. And punishment WILL be compounded. So 5 minutes later we reached the door.

The Punishment-no playtime with the rest of the flock, no story time before bed, no extra MLGV the rest of the day. {PIFFLE-My adventure was worth all that times 10 and more}. Sullivan reminds me that some may be confused as to "What are PLUSES?" I'll mull over how to explain them to you, later, when my punishment is ended.

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CALLOPIE~~~~"EXPLORER EXTRAORDINAIRE"

AND MY NEW FRIEND PLUS {he still is deciding on his name}

FLOCKISM~IT'S OFTEN BETTER TO BLEAT FOR FORGIVENESS THAN BAA FOR PERMISSION

Cold we say? YES !!! Shear you say? NO !!!

posted by Ellis the Ram

In regard to winter.....Ovine Angst !

There are several issues with which we are constantly forced to face and frequently must voice our concerns. {Our HC Susan defines it as complaining. We disagree OF COURSE!} . So here we are yet again.....the arrival of another winter, unseasonable cold invading where such temperatures are seldom seen. Perhaps?? hearing at times a buzzing from the distance. Buzzing which may or may not be the sound of SHEARS, so we can not relax. ~~~~ The Flock is beginning to ripple. Why? Cold always leads to the subject of ~~~~~~

THE DREADED SHEARING.

Realizing many may not understand why we may be concerned? A few situations to consider...... 1. There is the indignity of being grappled, flipped, and wrestled as we are sheared. 2. The imminent and fearsome knowledge that we may be nicked, cut or suffer the scraping of our skin. 3. The horror of being the target of some novice with shears in hand, for the first time. 4. The grating sound of the shears as it attacks our fleece and the deafening buzz as it nears our neck and head. 5. That shears would break, leaving us to be incompletely sheared~WHO KNOWS WHAT WOULD BE GONE AND WHAT WOULD REMAIN. How Humiliating!!!

And then if the dreaded Shearing occurs WE would be COLD.

Some may question why they should be concerned about THE DREADED SHEARING. Worldwide there are countless Ovines not fortunate enough to have chosen a HC with whom to reside. Thus don't have the option of their flocks having a pasture indoors. Ovines may live in bitter cold or even terrible heat. In our pasture we have an ovine who originally resided in Iceland. 4LLL {Four Legged Limp Lamb-we should ask him to introduce himself in 'Meet the Ovines'} and he could tell of the cold. THEN. Today we happened upon a photo sent to our HC by another HC. Our hoofs felt like ice, our skin immediately developed goose bumps {why are dreaded afflictions always given animal names?} and our ears and tails shriveled inward. All of which makes us look beyond ridiculous!!!!! Our HC Susan was sent a postcard from a pen pal who lives in Australia, they met on Ravelry. {What's Ravelry? Browse and you will discover}. THIS POSTCARD WAS, A postcard of an Ovine, who was 'actually being sheared'. HORRORS !!! Are HCs sheared? Without consent? NO. If 4LCCs or even 4LFCs are sheared they have the privilege of residing indoors. Plus they are often given a treat afterwards. But we Ovines face THE DREADED SHEARING. WHY? So that other creatures may be warm. So HCs may don garments to keep out the cold, NORMALLY MADE FROM OUR SACRIFICES. For coats or beds for 4LCCs and others of the domesticated variety....your fleece isn't at risk PLUS you are allowed indoors with your HCs. Many Ovines aren't invited indoors.

So we....we.....the soft, the fluffy, the ORIGINAL owners of the woolen garments, are at great risk. Especially from COLD. So should you find yourself being offered a pair of shears, decline! Should you see in front of you an Ovine atop a table, leave! If you are asked to grapple and hold an Ovine while others with shears are in the area with intentions to shear, intercede! Remember, for all those not blessed at birth with being Ovines......maybe the next time you travel through this earthly plane you may luck out and find yourself in our pasture.

The wool you wear today~~next time COULD BE SHEARED FROM You ! You may be atop the table facing The Dreaded Shears. So, DO YOU REALLY NEED ANOTHER SWEATER?

In hopes, Ellis the Ram for our Ovine brethren everywhere. FLOCKISM for the post~~~~ Shearing is a drastic action which should be controlled not by those holding the shears but rather by those being sheared.

STOWAWAYS !!

posted by Ellis the Ram

Can you believe this? Our adventure to the beach began 12 December, 7 ovines. On the 15th, friend Jack drove down a second car-in which we will travel back North. Along with our HC, after New Years day, sometime. And the car had the rest of our HCs + HCs Parental Unit {PU} belongings, for her winter stay. Among them was a tote filled with fiber. Fibers which will be used to 'knit'. Fibers of cotton, silk, and all sorts of woolen fibers, the best of which we ovines provide. Well, a few non-natural pretend fibers but we are not snobs. Can you Imagine Our Shock when the lid was removed.......and there.......right there........these 2 ovines had tucked themselves in~cozy~They Had Stowed Away.

We are not pleased as they had not been selected to be on this adventure. Esme and I specifically choose 5 to accompany us. A number we hoped the two of us could chaperon. 5 plus Esme and myself = 7. Not 9. I am not pleased.

And they settled right in. And had packed a cozy plush mat to call their bed. Apparently they plan to join the flock in the near future? As though they simply could decide that by themselves. Well, our HC and I will need to discuss new editions, in our normal manner.

Esme and I, as senior flockites, have more experience with these issues. Issues such as disruptive ovines or those wishing to join our flock but not understanding Pasture etiquette. So although we are not pleased, we still opened the gate to these 2 ovines and are working it all out. The "5" though are having difficulty with the stowaways.

They have been slow to warm up. Turning their backs at first. Slowly over the last week there are signs there may be interactions. Hopefully with Christmas Eve tomorrow, we may see a thaw between them.

Hoping it will 'warm up' soon, Ellis the Ram

{Have you noted the odd colors they are sporting? Why Purple, Green and Gold we ask ourselves? This is something which needs exploring....}

JOY RAPTURE MORE JOY TOTAL RAPTURE FINISHING UP WITH MORE JOY

posted by Ellis the Ram

FINALLY, our HC has dumbed {dumbed being the operative word here !} into how to fix our photos. The issue du jour yesterday.

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Which means, ready? Really ready ? TOTALLY READY ?

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HEAR IT COMES !!!!!!!

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All the posts, rants, and photos we have been waiting to create. BLAST OFF !!!! {As soon as we can get our HC away from the laptop. Mostly in fear that given any more time to 'fix' photo issue she will 'hose up' something else}. Won't be long, we are shooing her to the pool, then she must make food to consume, then we will find something else she should be doing. LIFE IS GOOD !!!

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Joyously, Ellis the Ram

Bodies in a Basket vice Head in a Bucket posted by Ellis the Ram and Esme the Ewe Based on the volume of our Flock Traveling Basket we departed our pasture for a great adventure to the ocean with 5 fortunate ovines from the Pasture. Esme and I are old hooves at the beach, but for the '5' other ovines this will be a new experience. At least an adventure going south, all have been north. Our HC in her typical "I know it's here" manner, did manage to take a few pictures. But, deep flock sigh, is still in the 'hunter-mutter-er' mode{as opposed to her distant predecessors of the 'hunter-gather-er' variety} in finding the device used to load them into the laptop. Soon............you may watch us 'adventure'. So yes the Flock Seven will be revealed as we 'adventure'. Now you know, thus far, it is Esme and myself. Later today the '5' will be named.....seeing an ocean view~lovely but will never ever ever replace THE PASTURE! Cheers, Ellis and Esme

NICE BUCKET!!!!!

posted by Ellis the Ram

Haven't been able to post all week due to our HC purchasing a new printer. And why we ask would that interfere with our ability to post? Well, first a bit of background on our HC and electronic equipment of any sort. She's inept. She's incompetent. She implodes externally & internally. She has time after time gone into battle with inanimate objects.........and loses! So much to our horror we see the FedEx truck approaching last week. Panic increases as we see the driver stop in front of our pasture. We cringe as driver steps off the truck with a huge box with a picture of a printer on every side. We plead for him to take it back as he walks to our door. Alas......delivered. Now after the language we've heard the last 2 years due to the Lexmark printer which came FREE with a laptop, we hoped our HC would hesitate to start all over. BUT Nooooooooooo. {Reason #4377 why we are so happy we are ovines and not humans}. Ah, why we haven't posted......1. Can't have the youngsters in the flock hear such language. 2. As our HC fights with the new printer she sits in front of the laptop. 3. After our HC storms out of the room we have learned she can storm back at any moment which can and does result in more 1. while engaged in 2. Discretion being the better part of valor, we have kept our distance. Fortunately for us after over a week of 1, 2 and 3, our HC has achieved a measure of success. So we wanted to post quickly because in the morning we leave for a new adventure on the beach in South Carolina. Where our HC's PU {Parental Unit} spends a few months each winter. {Although she does have skin that is somewhat 'white', she has no wings and thus does fly. Leading many in the flock to question why people call her a Snow Bird???} And Oh!, her OU {Offspring Unit} aka our HC, is driving her down and spending Christmas with her PU............AND WE GET TO GO WITH HER. Who will go from the flock???? Well~~~~check back tomorrow when the lucky adventurers will be revealed. Oh, to document just what our week has been like? Well between all the hours the HC spent on 1, 2 and 3,~between rounds we had to deal with her reactions to her lack of success with the printer. See............

"NICE BUCKET!"

{Is she drooling or had the bucket recently be filled?? we ask ourselves?}

Common Ground

FINDING COMMON GROUND

posted by Ellis the Ram For those familiar with my story, my life with the 4LCC, Molly with whom we reside has been one of growth and acceptance. Both of which I will admit when compelled, has been ALL on my side. As anyone familiar with domestic creatures will attest, specifically 4LCCs....4LCCs are simple creatures. {As much as I would like to exclaim--simple~minded} by simple, I mean their needs and desires aren't wide ranging. If I were to prioritize the list:

1} AFHC {Attention from Human Creatures} 2} Food with AFHC

3} Water with AFHC 4} Sleep within the same territory with HCs or in reality on top of HCs

5} Walks/Car Rides with AFHC and finally

6} AFHC.

Understanding these priorities has encompassed 99% of my growth. The acceptance portion running wwww-aaaa-yyyy behind.

So with the sad discovery of the destruction of 2 of 3 ears of Indian Corn, which our HC used for seasonal decorations, many of the flock were bereft. Quickly we determined that as they had been outdoors, the criminal element was Squirrels. Squirrels who much to our amusement, have been the bane of the 4LCCs existence. Well....WE are no longer AMUSED.

One may question our attachment to these ears of Indian Corn. For the flock they represent the central focus of our existence~~THE PASTURE. They grow next to pastures. Although not munch-able leafy green vegetation, they do rise out of the soil as does munch-able leafy green vegetation. And if there is anything the flock loves, it is MUNCH-ABLE LEAFY GREEN VEGETATION. Sadly the Indian Corn was eaten, damaged, mauled.

The ears had been placed in a basket being used to collect seasonal decorations, in order for the HC to bring out more decorations. {Why? We have no answer} But the 3 ears fell onto the floor, which can be seen by the photo at the top of this post. And I was compelled to see for myself if it was true..............IT WAS!!!!!

So, imagine my shock when the 4LCC gently came to stand by me and inspect the damage, and then consoled me.

This was so shocking I called out to Esme to come and witness the 4LCC's behavior and she was so taken aback {I've often told her she is too sentimental} she joined us on the carpet. Then in a totally unexpected turn of events the 4LCC reclined next to us. If I were as kind hearted as Esme I might say the 4LCCs behavior was a show of support for our loss. But the reality is........we have found common ground~~~~we both detest

SQUIRRELS!!!!!

Sadly, ELLIS THE RAM

Why I'm in the freezer....

Your first question would be, So why am I sitting in a freezer?

Opening post by Ellis the Ram

Well, it is one place I could be alone. Even the youngest or most troublesome of The Flock wouldn't sit next to me beyond the first moment, cold~OBVIOUSLY! And these were my berries and until they froze they were in great danger of being eaten, by everyone ~ especially Esme. Esme has in the past done just that and having learned the hard way....WHEN IT COMES TO BERRIES TRUST VANISHES.

Esme? She is my lifelong friend and co head of my flock. Chain of command runs , I~Ellis the Ram and my partner Esme the Ewe. Bit by bit, when we permit their participation, our friends {HC-Human Creatures}, our peers {Ovines-Sheep} and even the housebound creatures which may reside within our Pastures homes of our HCs, namely 4LCCs and 4LFCs. All who may reveal themselves as our blog grows. Or you may meet them first, when they are key to what we wish to speak about in a post.

Definitions, yes. Many times we speak and write using 'acronyms'. No we had no clue what they were either when we first decided to reside with Susan, the HC in our Pasture. For some reason she seems to use them to the extreme. Several months into our living arrangement I finally had my fill of 'acronyms' and expressed a desire that she speak ENTIRE WORDS. It was at that point we learned why 'acronyms' were her norm. She is a Navy Veteran and it seems HCs who spend time in the Navy are trained to speak in acronyms. {The flock thinks it strange but we compromise on this point as it has caused trauma all around when we complain about the frequent new acronyms.} And trust me when I say learning to live with HCs is no small feat if one wishes to maintain their sanity.

Knowing of our difficulties with questionable groups of letters, we commit , when using the acronym for the first time, its definition will immediately follow in these {)[ keys on Susan's laptop. To backtrack then, these creatures we refer to as 4LCC and 4LFC? That would be 4LCC {Four Legged Canine Creature} and 4LFC {Four Legged Feline Creature}. Learning to live in harmony with THEM we have come to regard our species as highly evolved. This based solely on their behaviors.

My 2 best HC friends live in Canada and California and after meeting me, Ellis, they requested to live with Ovines in their own Pastures. With our blessings, Esme and I, they enjoy the benefits of sharing their Pastures. Of course those 2 flocks are no where near the population of The Van Hyning Pasture where we reside. At last Flock census, our numbers are well over 60 Ovines, each with their own terminally unique personalities, quirks and excellent qualities. The Flocks of Dennison {California} and Duncan {Canada} contain single digits of Ovines but are very clever and unique in their own ways.

As this is my first post I will end here. And no, I've long been out of the freezer. The photo was taken in August of this year while Esme, I and selected members of our flock went on holiday with our HC, her PU {Parental Unit-Polly} and the 4LCC, Molly. The berries.....Blackberries and Blueberries picked daily, frozen and returned to our pasture in Pennsylvania. I love berries!

For The Flock and Esme, I bid you good evening and sleep well.

ELLIS THE RAM

P.S. We must share the laptop with Susan our HC. We sometimes rely on her to research and inform us on the best method regarding ways and means to achieve our goals. Did I mention she is severely ADHD thus easily distracted co mingled with serious hyper focus issues and quick to fume when multiple inconsequential requests are made of her? {I think the word overload would easily describe the issue we deal with at times}. We request patience from you......so if you have any extra patience you don't need...WE ARE ALWAYS IN DIRE NEED!!!!!