Thursday, August 7, 2008

Lamb On a Stroll


That's right, fleece on a leash. I'm a glutton for mutton, but I wonder if this means this pet has a name. I see a week of chicken dinners ahead of me.

20 comments:

Laurie Allee said...

Good to see Bo Peep taking matters into her own hands.

This is too cute. (I won't tell you about a guy I saw recently with a pet chicken...

Where was this sheep and friend walking? Is that pretty green space a park? It's gorgeous.

Olivier said...

amusant d'avoir comme animal de compagnie un mouton.

fun to have as a pet sheep.

Anonymous said...

This reminded me that I once had a pet sheep. He or she was really nice and about this size when mom told me to take it to market and I had to walk it there. I don't remember how much they paid for it but they bought it. The problem was that it got to where it would run up behind my mother and butt her in the butt and knock her down. LOL

So, I got my marching orders.

Profile Not Available said...

How funny! A modern day Bo Peep! This looks like it was taken in town?

Halcyon said...

I love sheepies! They are one of my favorite animals, so I can certainly understand keeping one as a pet.

Added bonus - they "mow" your lawn for you!

Z said...

Oh, and chickens are fair game?!

:-)

Aren't we humans all funny and contradictory???

Mo said...

Cute but they aren't very bright.

Pasadena Adjacent said...

A few years ago I needed a sheep for an art installation I was helping produce. I tried to rent a sheep through some Hollwood rental farm. They wanted $700.00 dollars a day and $900.00 for the breed in your photograph. At those prices I figured I'd search for "Dolly" on my own. Eventually I called off the hunt when someone started to wonder out loud if I might be involved in some kind of bio-terrorism plot (as in Amthrax). Lets just say I reconfigured the design, sans sheep.

Knoxville Girl said...

maybe it's on the lamb from the flock. was it silent? sheep do flock don't they? like chickens, right? oh bother now I'm distracted and will have to find out.

Jill said...

How cute. I hope she isn't raising it to take to the county fair, 'cause if you win, well, it's time to say au revoir.

Janet Kincaid said...

What a sweet picture! My great-uncle was a shepherd and we use to go to his farm in the spring for lambing. They're so cute when they're first born, jumping and hopping all over the place.

Chris said...

Good grief! I think that's pretty cool, although I'm with you. No lamb chops this weekend. (BTW. . . You know why Paul McCartney went vegetarian, don't you? Lamb walked into his farmhouse while they were eating. . . .At least that's what I've read. . .)

Decker thanks you for your comment. He doesn't know you thought him bovine. ;-)

Jules said...

I so love lamb (to eat) but I try and kid myself that what i am eating has nothing to do with those cute doe-eyed looking animals. Although i did see a mother and a lamb in an abatoir one day and I cried for a week and didn't eat lamb for ages!!!!!

Petrea Burchard said...

Sweet photo, Elaine. What a lovely setting. Can't say I'm a vegetarian but I'm not a fan of mutton or lamb as food, so I can still enjoy the cuteness of the critters.

USelaine said...

Laurie and Kelly - It's in Recreation Grove, a city park on the western edge of town, and the rodeo grounds are partially visible beyond the fence. Bo Peep (or Mary Quite Contrary) is heading in the direction of farms and ranches.

Olivier - I wonder if you have had one?

Abraham - Let that be a lesson to us all to mind our manners! I would expect your family had educated you about the whole market process, etc.

Halcyon - I've seen sheep "mowing" the grass in an English churchyard, but you don't see it so much here. They have a reputation for biting the grass too close to the ground for the turf here.

Z - Well, we had pet chickens one year in my childhood, and I did see that B &W documentary film "Chickens: A Process" while in college. And then there was that deer I was required to see cleaned in my grandfather's barn (that put me off applesauce for years - it had been feeding on the fruit in his orchard).

Mo - I hope you're right.

Palm - LOL! I read somewhere that those California Dairy promotional spots were shot using "professional" livestock! I can't imagine what kind of training that involves, but it must cost a fair penny.

KG - LOL! (I get funny visitors!) I thought is was flock too, but if you have shepherds, aren't they in herds?

Jill - I think if they win they lose, and if they lose, they lose. Definitely a no-win situation for the sheep.

D.C. - I remember the first time I saw lambs who still had their long tails attached - they seemed almost like cats!

Chris - I do remember something about McCartney and the sheep, but I didn't realize it was such a pet!

Jules - It's been education by degrees in my life, and I mentioned a couple of experiences among them above. I few years ago, I bought a book called "On Food and Cooking: The Science and Lore of The Kitchen" by Harold McGee, upon the recommendation of someone on NPR. I LOVE the book, but it takes you into our human diet with the joyous fascination of a scientist while using very layperson (but reasonably educated) friendly language. Apparently, "good" bacteria is involved with just about everything we consume, not just meat. You know about the advise to cook roasts slowly for maximum tenderness? It's so the microbial action in the flesh can be accelerated, and thereby decompose the tough cellular connective tissues. And it's good for you, so no need to squirm! You don't even want to know about bread...

Petrea - Vegetarians should read McGee's book too. It's fun, funny, fascinating, I laughed, I cried. I also love lamb/mutton meat. But like most Americans, I'm not big on the non-muscle meats. Well, just liver.

Thank you all for taking a peek, and giving a peep!

Marie Reed said...

Y'm humming Mary had a Little Lamb as I read!

Louis la Vache said...

Oui, le poulet; pas boeuf.

Bergson said...

it's the little prince

magiceye said...

:) well well

raf said...

That cute little lamb is probably safe for awhile as a pet, but when it gets older, nothing is more flavorful for cous-cous than good ol' mutton. :)
Nice capture, Elaine!