Saturday, January 28, 2023

Poem for Saturday and Mount Vernon Sheep

The Sheep
By Ellis Parker Butler

The Sheep adorns the landscape rural
And is both singular and plural—
It gives grammarians the creeps
To hear one say, “A flock of sheeps.”

The Sheep is gentle, meek and mild,
And led in herds by man or child—
Being less savage than the rabbit,
Sheep are gregarious by habit.

The Sheep grows wool and thus promotes
The making of vests, pants and coats—
Vests, pants and coats and woolen cloths
Provide good food for hungry moths.

With vegetables added to
The Sheep, we get our mutton stew—
Experiments long since revealed
The Sheep should first be killed and peeled.

Thus, with our debt to them so deep,
All men should cry “Praise be for Sheep!”—
And, if we happen to be shepherds,
“Praise be they’re not as fierce as leopards!” 

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It was colder on Friday than Thursday but that didn't stop us from taking a walk in the afternoon after a quiet morning and a lunchtime Google Meet with our kids and my parents, visited by several pets. In between I got some work done, kept some cats warm, and ate leftover labneh which always makes for a good lunch. 

We had dinner with my parents (from CPK so I got Thai pizza, yay) and spent the evening afterward watching the national figure skating championships -- I always root for Starr Andrews and Gracie Gold but Isabeau Levito was mesmerizing. From Mount Vernon earlier in January, the sheep at the upper and lower enclosures: 

2023-01-02 14.15.53

2023-01-02 13.58.18

2023-01-02 13.58.58

2023-01-02 14.15.30

2023-01-02 13.58.34

2023-01-02 13.59.20

2023-01-02 14.15.02

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