Sheep Ecards: Spending Time Under A Tree

Sheep Scratching
Sheep Scratching

We have just added these photographs of this lamb to our ecard collection.

We came across this young sheep – still practically a lamb – scratching its fleece against an gnarled old hawthorn tree.

It was so preoccupied with this that we were able to walk quite close to it. We knew it would make a good subject for our ecards, so we took our time and walked slowly towards it.

From there I was able to circle around to get the rise of the ground behind the sheep so that I could keep the background plain and uncluttered.

In fact the sheep was so preoccupied that I was able to walk right around it and watch it as it scratched.

As I walked around and got nearer, my height meant that I could look down and take advantage of a plain background (the grass) and keep the sheep and tree in the frame.

I expected the sheep to run away at any moment. I didn’t want to scare it but things were unpredictable. It’s important in these kind of situations, therefore, to be completely familiar with your camera and know just what knobs and dials to twist in order to get the shot.

The sheep eventually took notice of me and moved a yard or two away from the tree. It still didn’t look bothered on account of me being so close.

I was shooting with my Nikon D700 and a 50mm lens, so the angle of view was quite wide. That was great for capturing the whole of the tree but not so good for homing in on the sheep.

So I walked a bit closer still and even then it didn’t panic or skedaddle as I expected. I was able to take several shots and then back off and leave it to get back to its scratching.

Did You Know That Farmers Mark Their Sheep?
You might just be able to see a mark on the back of the sheep in the photograph above. It is red dye or paint that farmers use to mark their flocks.

Sometimes farmers paint individual numbers on their sheep to identify mother ewes and their particular lambs.

It is fun to stand watching a flock of sheep and see a couple of lambs with a number, for example ’34’, written on their backs running across the field to their mother – which also has number 34 marked on its fleece.

Sheep Under Tree - A Quillcards Ecard
Sheep Under Tree - A Quillcards Ecard
Sheep Under Tree - A Quillcards Ecard
Sheep Under Tree - A Quillcards Ecard
Sheep Looking - A Quillcards Ecard
Sheep Looking - A Quillcards Ecard