The Whole Murphy Thing

One thing you don't want to do is get between a group of sheep and a fresh grazing area.  Whenever I open a gate, I am very careful to make sure that the gate can swing wide enough, fast enough so no one gets wedged and that I am clear of the gate as well.

Last night I decided to open up Del Boca Vista.  The chain rattled as I unhooked it and the chorus of baas started and everyone came running.  As I moved some sheep around so the gate could open, I quickly stepped back, pulling the gate towards me.

The sheep started swirling around, jostling for position, but no one raced through. This all happened in a matter of seconds, but still long enough for me to notice the strange behavior.  And then Murphy walked up, through the group, out the gate and everyone followed him.

I find this whole Murphy thing* fascinating.  Did he do something to earn their respect?  Are they all snickering behind his back as they send him off to look for lions and tigers and bears?  Has he pulled some sort of Graham Lamb scam to trick them into believing he's the only one who can go out first?

There's a story here I'm sure and I'd love to hear it.

*I linked this to all of Murphy's posts, so you'll need to scroll down a couple to find the stories about him leading everyone out.  If you are new to the blog, you can click on any of the "labels" over on the right side of the page, down a bit, and read all sorts of stories about any of the individual animals or events.  For example, if you don't know who Graham Lamb was, those are usually pretty...um...interesting ;-).