ANTHROPOMORPHIZE

Anthropomorphize. What an interesting word and what an even more interesting concept. Fun to say too. I'm no Latin expert but the two key roots of the word as I understand it are anthro and morph (human and form). The dictionary defines anthropomorphize as "to ascribe human characteristics to things not human". I've been accused of being anthropomorphic and I'll admit right here and now that I'm guilty! Not only guilty but a bit proud of it. I do have a philosophical problem with the term itself. It seems more than a bit egocentric on the part of the specie Homo sapien. More accurately, speciecentric. I bet my sheep often ascribe sheep characteristics and behavior to me. And that's my point. It seems pretty logical that I would see similarities between my sheep and myself, and other two-legged residents of Drumcliffe Farm. We certainly share a lot of the same genetic code and we evolved from a common ancestor. (I'm still waiting for an invitation to that family reunion.) Spend some time on a sheep farm during this season of pregnancy, lambing, young lambs, and weaning and I guarantee that you'll be ascribing all kinds of human characteristics to the sheep.

And here's another one: "Sheep are stupid." I can't think of anything further from the truth. They know exactly what is going on and they certainly have enough intelligence to outsmart me. I have one ewe that will pretend to be eating hay from a manger that I built right next to the gate I open and close regularly as I go about my chores. She knows that a bit of grain and the fresh stack of hay are stored on the other side of that gate. If I'm looking at her she'll be standing at the manger pretending to eat hay and will be completely ignoring me. She's not really eating anything -just goes through the motions. As soon as I turn my back she focuses right in on me and the gate latch. If I turn around she goes right back to her act. If I give her any space at all, and she thinks I'm not watching, she makes her move and slips through the gate. Of course she never makes it to the grain or haystack before I catch her. I'm beginning to think her objective is not the grain or the hay but is the game itself.

I love to watch the lambs this time of year, before they're weaned. They have so much to learn. Most of their first days are all instinct and their behaviors are hard-wired: standing, nursing, jumping, responding to mother's call, etc. But after a couple of days they venture away from their mothers to learn for themselves and to explore their world and capabilities. I get the biggest kick when I first perceive their recognition of me and how they try to make sense of who I am and why I am important in their world. Am I someone to be avoided, someone they could trust, or a bit of both? Of course it all depends on how their mother perceives of me, but once I see that they are beginning to figure the whole thing out for themselves, I try to respond in a positive non-threatening way. I figure that will pay dividends in the long run.