Goats, Sheep, Rooster, RUN!

Mackenzie, Josiah, and I went to a farm today...and what a day it turned out to be! Upon arriving, the owners mentioned I might want to watch out for the rooster. He pecks. Alright. No biggy. I can handle a rooster. They explain he pecks at feet (oh, yes, mine were in flip-flops) and tugs on pant legs until he gets picked up. This rooster likes to be held and petted. Huh? A rooster that likes to be held? This is a new one for me, but okay. I'll hold the rooster. So, they describe how to pick it up and cradle it just right in order to make it happy. While they are explaining this, I'm thinking, "Are they really serious?" I listen, wondering if they're pulling a fast one on me, thank them, and the kids and I head down the gravel road a little ways towards the goat pen. No one can see us, except the goats, chickens, sheep, and rooster. We arrive at the pen. I carefully open the gate so as not to let any animals out. I'm pleased with our entry thus far. Until, "Ouch!" the rooster finds my bare foot. Yes, folks, they were serious about the rooster!!! I have the scabs on my toes to prove it, in spite of my speed to capture this crazy bird! Okay, now I have the rooster snuggled against me. I allow the kids to enter the pen behind me, assuming it is now safe for them to do so... And the baby goat was so very sweet! Mackenzie wanted her picture taken with it.
Same baby goat with Josiah. This baby goat, either Tracy or Megan (we aren't sure which was which) never left the kids' sides while we were in the pen!

Now...this baby sheep was a different story! It never left the kids' sides, either...but it was aggressive. Here's a picture of Mackenzie running from the sheep. I snapped it just before the sheep won. He butted Mackenzie enough to send her wobbling off balance. She recovered her balance just moments before he surprised her from behind. He came at her with enough force the second time that she flew like a little rag doll through the air and landed with a graceful "thud." Remember, I'm holding a crazy rooster, so now I'm trying to assist Mackenzie up, maintain control of the rooster, protect Josiah from the same fate, and fend off the aggressive sheep all at the same time! Whew. I'm now thinking the exit gate seems like a good idea and yet is about a mile away. Well, it couldn't have been more than 20 feet away; however, that seemed impossible to reach given the fact that my arms were occupied by the rooster and I needed to stay between the kids and the sheep. By the time it was all said and done, all 3 of us had been bumped to the ground by the sheep, yet all 3 of us were just fine.

This picture is just to prove that we survived! Actually, we all had fun. Mackenzie did not even cry after all that. Josiah, however, did cry when the sheep nudged him to the ground. He cried more of surprise than from actually being hurt, though, as he was barely nudged to the ground in comparison to the way Mackenzie hit the ground! A fun day at the farm, a free outing, and a crazy story to boot!