The Boys of Summer | Foxfire Fiber & Designs

Came across some photos of the boys standing waist deep in clover last summer - which reminded me of an old Don Henley song, the title of today's post. It was fun finding these shots in my archives as the days shorten and we get our first taste of winter.

To follow up on my last post: the vibe in the carriage barn has mellowed considerably. Yesterday I enlarged the pen, to see what would happen if I gave the guys a little more space. The usual amount of shouldering ensued between Tea and Cilantro, but it was just posturing really. At dinner last night, wee Cinder put his ears back and challenged one of the big wethers, so cute to see him acting brave and rammy. When the wether answered the challenge, Cinder was quick to assume the posture of "just kidding!", when he realized, I think, that he was outsized by about 150 lbs.

So today I gave Holly the sign that it was fine to let the whole group out into the yard. We watched to be sure everyone was behaving. In a comment to my last post Valerie asked what would happen if we didn't manage the re-introduction of the boys carefully. In past years, we've had some bloody heads when the fellows had just a bit too much space, enough room to clobber each other. We've since learned it's best to take things slowly, make the pen tight at first, until the boys re-establish the pecking order.

Naturally, Tea and Cilantro are sticking together this morning. They hip checked each other on the way out the door into the pasture, but appear to have declared a truce. Looking at the photos from last July, they were pretty much side by side even then. I suppose it's a yin-yang thing, and they always seem to work it out, eventually striking a balance.

Of course, we're careful to administer equal amounts of attention to all of them.

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