Well, that was unfair...

Echo the Sheep is not... at least... not... well, he is certainly not totally stupid. Using a long rope called a longe line I tied him to a tree, to graze. If not a disaster, I did expect to have to unravel the whole wholly mass of sheep from the cat claw acacia bushes every few minutes. Guess what: Not only does he walk nicely on a leash, but he also ties, using the "end of his rope" jerk as a signal to immediately lower his head to eat some more. He has already chewed a fire break between the barn and the house.  And not only that, but the goats are hanging out with him - strength in numbers, maybe?  Coyotes are plentiful here.

I know there are some real sheep and goat owners out there in the non-desert world, people with fences and guardian dogs and all.  But I'm just me, happily counting my one sheep.

.