Just A Couple Chicks

We are so grateful for the love and support you all have shown us this year. You are wonderful, and we are so, so lucky to have you in our lives. — With gratitude, Chicki Minaj and A.C.

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Here’s What’s Happening At Good Spirits Farm

Chris took a temporary job relocation in Virginia and left this week. I am now truly running this place on my own, which feels daunting. Juliet, apparently, wanted to test my already on-edge nerves when she decided the electric fence did not apply to her. As I was stringing hotwire for that day’s move to a new paddock, she got impatient and moved herself, hopping through the hotwire.

The thing about sheep is that if one goes somewhere, they all soon follow. I could see the rest of the flock contemplating going on the lam, too. Rounding them all up would have been impossible by myself, so I knew I had to get Juliet back with the bunch ASAP.

(the crew contemplating a full-on jailbreak)

The good news is that she’s the tamest of all my sheep. Wrapping her up in a bear hug/WWE-style hold isn’t impossible. But: She also weighs about as much as I do. Furthermore, her center of gravity is so low that moving her is like trying to scooch an anvil through deep sand. There was one final issue, too: The fence was on and the switch to turn it off was far out of reach.

Lifting her over the fence was a no-go. I tried, but she was just too heavy (and wiggly). I was going to have to scoot her under the hotwire. So: I used the only insulator I had to grab the line: my rubber boot. Somehow I pulled my boot off (while keeping Juliet in my grasp), and used the toe to lift up the electric wire. (Yes, I could still feel the shock, but it was only mildly awful). I pointed Juliet towards the other sheeps and gave that fuzzy rump a big ol’ shove. Success!

Had the whole herd gotten out, it would have been alright. There is another sturdier fence between the farm and the road. And I could have called a friend to help. But: I want to use my requests for favors as sparingly as I can. I felt so grateful I was able to troubleshoot this situation before it escalated to a “phone a friend” scenario.

(Me? An instigator? I would never!)

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Here’s What I Loved This Week

This sweet potato pie recipe from The New York Times’ recipe site, which is absolutely worth subscribing to. The recipes are well-tested, and the comments from readers with suggested tweaks and improvements are usually helpful. In this case, I followed the commenters’ advice to roast the sweet potatoes, and swap cream in or evaporated milk. Divine!