Baa-d Day: A Woodland Walk and Saving a Sheep from the Brambles

If I haven’t got anything else planned, I usually set off for a long walk in the morning. Today, it was raining in my village, but as I drove further afield, it began to sleet.

I parked my car and entered a nearby wooded area. Immediately, I
was struck by how many trees had lost branches, and some had even toppled over completely due to the high winds we’ve had.

It was a bit eerie; the sound of the wind grew stronger, whistling through the branches.

I decided to return to the safety of the cart track to avoid any branches falling on my head! I’d only walked a short distance before I started to wonder if I’d switched my car headlights off. I was 99% sure I had, but that 1% uncertainty made me return to the car to check. I didn’t want a flat battery at the end of my walk.

Upon arriving at my car, the headlights were indeed switched off. As I set off on my walk again, something caught my eye in the corner of the field beside me. I saw a sheep standing there. This was unusual, as sheep typically run away when approached by people. Instead of running off, this sheep appeared trapped and unable to move. I realised the sheep was stuck in the brambles. I couldn't see anyone about to tell, so to get to the sheep, I had to climb over a 7 bar metal gate, then over a wooden fence complete with an electric fence at the bottom. No easy feat when you're getting on a bit! I was also a bit nervous of the electric fence as I'd had many youthful adventures of being zapped! Once I successfully climbed over each obstacle, I was finally close enough to the sheep to assess the situation. The sheep was clearly frightened, but I managed to get a few brambles off it, including the one around its neck. Gradually, the sheep pulled its way to freedom. I was a bit concerned that it would run straight through the electric fence. Of course, that’s exactly what it did, but it probably didn’t feel a thing as its fleece was too thick.

I watched the sheep run off over the field to join its friends at the haystack for breakfast. I'm glad I went back. If I'd carried on with my walk, the sheep could have been there a lot longer. It didn’t even say thank you ... 😊