“All We Like Sheep” is the title to one of Handel’s magnificent choral works, a small piece embedded in the Messiah. Its title is amusing. While we’re waiting for the birdies and the flowers in the spring, tra-la, since it is pouring rain and too cool to dance with the woodland faeries, let’s watch sheep. Just down the hill from us our neighbor shares his little flock of adorable spring lambs and their moms. Someone should set up a rent-aflock business so everyone could have an opportunity to share sheep. These little critters are very engaging, and may even bring a smile to your face on a cloudy day. We do like sheep. Sheep have many endearing qualities. First, they stick together. You’ve heard of a lone wolf, but you never see a “lone sheep”. When the little flock of 19 comes out to its grazing pasture, the sheep come running out all together. If one lags behind, a friend turns back and encourages with a gentle “Mmaaa, mmmaaa.” No lost tempers, no badgering, just a sweet soft sound, until all are accounted for. Second, because they stay together they never go astray. Sheep have family values, and when mom hears a plaintive call, she’s attentive in a hurry. Sheep stay in the meadow while the naughty cow’s in the corn. You can always count on sheep, and that’s handy if you’re having a tough night sleeping. Sheep are very helpful that way. Third, sheep never miss a meal, and they eat with total commitment and gusto whatever is on the plate, no fuss, no muss. Whether the lambs give their mom’s milk carton a head-butt, or whether they all are grazing together in a picturesque flock, one small, lush area of pasture is reduced to bristly green stubble in a heartbeat. That includes everything that grows, including apple trees. Sheep are agreeable diners and make a farmer’s plate every time. Fourth, cares are far away. Sheep are frugal: they don’t spend their money on therapists because, whatever their problem, they just lie down and chew on it. One by one, each sheep will drop to the ground, and close its dreamy eyes. Its ears will get soft and droopy, and it will quietly ruminate on whatever is on its mind. Sheep keep life simple: when they’re finished mulling it over, they get up and eat some more. And the cycle repeats. Fifth, sheep never hide their feelings. They share them. A little kick and a bounce from one lamb bring all nine into the romp. They all feel good together, and because they work in these little exercise moments throughout the day, they don’t have to go to the gym later on. Those endorphins are always high. On the other hand, sheep are clear about their suspicions: a ewe will move between you and her lamb if she is unsure of your intent. Sixth, sheep are generous creatures. They share their clothes with us, agreeing to be sheared now so we can wear wool sweaters in the fall. Never mind that it’s snowing again today, they each gave us three bags full, maybe more. We like sheep because they make personal sacrifices for us (not to mention the ultimate sacrifice on the dinner table). Finally, sheep are decorative. On Madison Avenue in New York, people are horribly deprived, but they don’t know it. When they look out their window, they see another building, and maybe the sky, if they’re lucky. These people smell taxi cabs and commuter traffic fumes. We look out our windows and see puffy white clouds, green and flowering trees, rolling hills and fields, babbling brooks, and sheep. A room with a view: how can it get any better?

Shepherd James Perry, of the Perry Family Farm in Northfield, leads his flock up the hill to the fresh spring grass. Photo by Christine Barnes, The Northfield News Although it might look bad for us when we say that sheep set the standard for good behavior and endearing qualities, don’t you think we should take a lesson from them? We should practice in our own lives some of the qualities that make sheep