It's Mother's Day weekend, Readers!
I spent part of the weekend on a ball field,
which delayed this posting by a day.
I found a sheep farm within walking distance of the baseball field.
I drove past this cool barn and noticed the sheep in the pasture.
I parked the car,
dumped off my boys, and said,
"See ya'! I'm off to see some sheep."
The barn was an incredible structure.
The farm is owned by a retired judge.
I learned this because the caretaker of the farm spotted me at the foot of the long driveway
and came down to see what I was doing.
"Would you like me to let you in the pasture?"
he said with smiling eyes,
crinkled with age and weathered from working outdoors.
I leaped and squealed and ran up the driveway ahead of him.
"Watch your step!" he yelled.
I tip toed through the hillside pasture,
gritty with sheep $h!t,
capturing moments in the lives of the sheep.
This momma had triplets ten days ago.
This one had twins.
And this one.
This one was moved about on wobbly little legs.
It had just been born 45 minutes prior to my arrival.
You can tell by the backside of the young mother.
38 babies in all this spring.
all due to this guy--
the tan one in the back.
"I want his job,"
said my husband as I was showing him my snapshots.
In any group of animals I see,
I always try to find myself.
Here I am,
the one with the fat @$$,
when all she eats is grass.
The sheep were afraid of me at first.
They grouped up and ran from me
and I was discouraged because I had a tough time getting
clear pictures the first few minutes of my unique opportunity.
So I did what I do best--
started talking to them.
I whistled and sang.
They liked my singing!
I don't think they ever heard Old Mac Donald before.
All it takes is one.
Just one within a group to believe in the good.
See her.
#13.
I named her Eloise.
She gave word to the herd that I was OK,
and they actually started to approach me.
"You're a natural shepherd,"
said the kind man.
We got to talking about little league baseball,
and how many years ago,
he, too, played on the very field my son was playing on.
He also told me he had a sick friend who wished to be with the sheep.
With the grit of a person who is sick,
yet has a strong desire to live, his friend has a Bucket List.
He called her to see if she was up to seeing the sheep in the front pasture,
but she was too ill today.
Weekend homework assignment:
I need to find someone from Plum Boro,
outside of Monroeville, PA,
who knows the retired judge who keeps sheep.
I'll get the pictures to them.
Find me a contact, Readers.
Let's see how far this blog will travel.
And for the true reason I was visiting Pittsburgh again this weekend--
Sam's baseball team had a tournament there.
A loss on Friday night,
was somewhat smoothed over by the rare opportunity to play beneath the lights.
The gritty little guys regrouped today,
and regained their focus.
They left their mark on this Pittsburgh town.
and won two games convincingly this afternoon.
The true grit of baseball, though,
does not lie in wins after losses.
It's all in the pants.
How does one best clean grit and grime out of pants?
I took a survey on facebook this week
and also consulted Pinterest.
I got lots and lots of advice--
from Shout it Out to Fels-Naptha soap.
New products,
and the Do-It-Yourself mixes.
I have been using just about everything--
but throw one of these tablets in the sink while the pants soak.
The other day,
as I was soaking the pants,
Sam entered and asked me if I was making muffins.
I said no.
Later, Natalie walked through the kitchen and said,
"Mmmmm! Cheesecake good!"
I wasn't making that either.
An hour or so later,
I smelled it too.
A fresh, lemony scent that seemed familiar.
Then I realized my mistake.
I was soaking the pants in my Cascade Dishwasher packets!
A high school and facebook friend Leslie
actually suggested Cascade dishwash soap on my post.
So, as Ellen Louise says,
"It must be a thing."
Here's another thing I learned this week--
grit is important--
actually more important than born talents.
You can read about it in this book
OR
watch this fantastic,
animated book summary here.
It truly is for everyone--
students,
athletes,
and basically anyone with a goal.
Find your grit and get going!
ELOISE
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