![]() ![]() ![]() He must be seeing things! The shape gradually took on the form of a reindeer, which Nicholas had only seen in books. Nicholas stepped closer, then shook his head. Who could be here, 50 miles from the nearest town? Nicholas saw a dark shape in the diminishing light, and an odd red glow. It was there he stored his extra horse hay, oats, water barrel and dog food. He walked to the back of the supply wagon, attached to his camp. The guardian dogs appeared one by one out of the flock of sheep, looking in the direction of the noise. Suddenly, Nicholas heard a thumping sound and Laddie and Sadie started barking. The scent wafted into his nostrils, adding to the clean smell of sagebrush and the lingering smoky smell from his wood-burning stove. He settled onto the step in front of his wagon and sipped a cup of strong coffee. He had kept his sheep safe and fed for another day. They also ate sweet kernels of golden corn, fed to them daily by Nicholas and Pepe, the camptender, who delivered it by pickup truck every morning.įor now, though, Nicholas was content. The sheep grazed on this dried grass during the winter months. The near constant winds had blown some of the sage-covered land bare, leaving grasses grown the previous summer exposed and waving yellow stems. He watched the sunset glowing pink and red, lighting up the drifted snow. “It’s Christmas Eve,” he told Laddie and Sadie. Nicholas looked at the calendar pinned to the wall inside his sheep wagon. They would sleep through the long winter’s night, snug in their warm wool fleeces. These big, white fluffy dogs were on patrol around the sheep as the herd bedded on top of a nearby hill. He had already carried dog food tied in a spare oat bag out to the livestock guardian dogs. “Here Laddie!” and “Come Sadie,” he called to his Border Collie sheep dogs as he poured extra dog food into their bowls. He knew a cozy camp was important for a sheepherder on Wyoming’s Red Desert. He grabbed a few sticks of wood and a chunk of coal to add to the fire already burning in the stove. Nicholas unsaddled his horse and tossed the mare a flake of hay. ![]()
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