Friday, March 02, 2007

No Sheep for Me

There is a new book out called "No Sheep for You" and I (mistakenly) assumed that it was about someone like me, who would love to have sheep but is prevented from doing so by local zoning laws. But I ask you: What is the difference between a head of livestock and a pet? Why the discrimination against sheep, cows, chickens, pigs (well, we know why pigs), and horses? Is it the noise? Well, my neighbor's dogs bark a lot. Is it the smell? Personally, I love the smell of horse manure. I just don't get it. We have laws that limit the number of cats and dogs one may own, but no way can one keep a couple of chickens, let alone anything bigger.

Sometimes I daydream that my ex keels over (no, I do not wish him ill; in this reverie it is just a catalyst to set the rest in motion) and the kids decide they do not want to sell the old homestead, so I would live there rent-free, paying for utilities, taxes, and maintenance, keeping the property in trust for them, so to speak. Then I could have a few chickens (two-legged garbage disposals are what they are), some sheep and/or alpaca and/or angora goats and/or whatever else makes good yarn, and maybe a pony to pull a cart in the local parade. In this daydream I am also retired (haven't figured out where the money is coming from - maybe my blogs will support me by then) and healthy (i.e. no lower back pain) and the fences are magically dog-proof and a barn appears just as magically as the fences. *sigh*

My reality is one angora lop with an attitude. I'm beginning to think that angora crosses do not molt. Instead, they shed. And now that spring is on its way, Hip Hop is shedding. Talk about light and fluffy fur! The hair mats are 98% resolved, but now the race is to keep new ones from forming. I think I need a finer toothed comb. Maybe TSC has what I need.

Ah, TSC! I love to wander through there, but my Honda CRV looks out of place amongst the pickups in the parking lot. I suffer from truck envy.

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