I’ve never had a sheep like Zelda, the self-appointed guardian sheep of our small flock. It took nearly a year to train and calm here, at Bedlam Farm there was so much room for her to run that herding was more like a chase around a race track. She butted Red and repeatedly ran right over him, and she knocked me down, along with water buckets, fences and gates. She led Red and I on two merry chases after she led the sheep in breakouts at the new farm, knocking both of us down in her escape. At the first Bedlam Farm, we tried to separate her from the old sheep. She wanted to be with them and jumped three fences, breaking down one, to get to them. We finally relented, before she took the farm apart. A sheep with such an individualistic mind is not that common.

She and Red have reached a peaceful accommodation, and she is beginning to settle down. She lets Maria and I approach and Red has worked long and patiently to get her to respond to his movements. Mostly, she does. She refused to wear a coat to keep her wool clean and Maria gave up trying. Zelda is somewhat broken but unbowed. She is very vigilant on behalf of the other sheep but she has settled into life her. Red doesn’t panic her anymore, and neither do we. Zelda is admirable, a strong women in a species known for passivity.