Come here, sheep

We had Part II of stock handling and fencing today...regular work hours at the studio once again rearranged so I could spend the whole day with Isaac (thanks Rachel for being so accommodating!). The fencing was a surprise for both Chrissy and me...who would have thought that fencing was an entirely independent industry, with careers to be had in it and its own set of jargon! Lots to be learned about posts, rails, that famous kiwi #8 wire, stays, footers, dip posts, barbed and diamond staples...our minds boggled and I'm sure my face wore an expression somewhere between confusion and despair. Thankfully, like all things in life, it passed and we could move on to the more hands-on, although way smellier, section of the course: shepherding. This entailed much traipsing through mud and other unmentionables...first step was to round up a small mob and herd them into a fenced yard. Then the boys each got to try drafting (separating them), tipping a sheep (way harder than it looks - the instructor has years of experience but I think the boys were a little scared of breaking necks or legs (not their own)), checking teeth and hoofs and private bits, and finally, drenching - administering medicine by sticking a nozzle into their mouth. It was all quite interesting and the sheep on the training farm behaved very well.
(Above: Isaac giving the sheep a drink of water as he practices drenching...he was a natural!)

Nick took the assembly at TCS today, and he tells me that Caleb and Jayden were taking the assembly...this means standing up in front of the school and giving notices, house points, introducing the speaker etc. It's excellent public speaking practice and Caleb had no problems pulling it off.