Slowly but surely, I’ve been working on getting The Bluenosers more comfortable with me (and humans in general). There is such a long way to go before they are as comfortable and as socialized as sheep like Sid or Annie, but we’ll get there. 

We’ve been through this before; you might remember how shut down Merlin was, averting his eyes and standing statue still.  Or how Rosie was a danger to herself by slamming into and bouncing off the stall walls in terror when she arrived. If you’re new to us, that might be surprising, as they are two of the most social residents here now. 

Currently, we have a lot of new faces that we’re helping to feel comfortable here: 7 turkeys (Bo, Bernie, Daryl, Mickey, Stevie, Joey, Quinn), Millie (a lamb with a birth defect that resulted in a sort of stump for a foot), the Bluenosers (Charlie, Claire, Moose, and Rory), Elsa (a hen who was a stray running around in the snow not too long ago), as well as Ellie and Klaus (a bonded pair of goats who arrived before the holidays). 

Ellie, Klaus, Stevie, Joey, and Mickey are coming around the fastest. 

This morning, like many mornings, I sat on a bench in the barn after the animal care rounds were complete. Socializing animals here usually looks like just sitting around, ha! 

While it might not be “active” in the sense of outwardly looking like I’m doing something, in reality, I am. 

I purposely hang out in or near the residents’ living space, far outside their flight-or-freeze zone, quietly looking like I’m doing anything but being interested in them and what they’re up to. 

This helps them become curious about me without feeling like I’m up to anything. It takes some time, and occasionally a lot of time, but eventually I become “old news” to skittish residents. They stop being hypervigilant about where I am and what I’m up to, and determine I’m boring, haha! I’m definitely ok with that. Boring is nonthreatening. 

If you’ve received a quick email or message reply from me, the scene on the other side of that communication is likely me sitting on a bench or bale of straw, in the barn, pretending like I don’t notice the curious (and cautious) faces around me. 

Out of the Bluenosers, Charlie is coming around the fastest, followed by Rory. They are the older of the Bluenosers (Rory is on the far right of the picture, behind Claire). 

However, this morning, Moose (left) and Claire (right) showed a tiny shift in the right direction. While my phone was pointed towards them to take this picture, I was looking in the other direction, staring out at the blue sky, as if pondering the mysteries of life 😅.

When I looked calm and thoroughly distracted, Moose and Claire took the opportunity to consider approaching me. Perhaps to determine whether the neck scratches Gracie enjoys are worth the risk of investigating?

Ultimately, Moose and Claire took a few steps in the direction I was looking in to see what was so interesting. They didn’t see anything of interest to them, so they came back into the barn and made their way back to Charlie and Rory. 

A “boring” moment from the outside, but one of the first non-frantic moments Moose and Claire have had with a human in close proximity since they arrived. That’s a huge win in my books!