I saw the first oval only after the sheep and donkeys were already at the feeder eating. Darker than the frosted earth surrounding it. Then, as I slowly turned and looked at the ground around me, I saw the others. Like shadows left behind.
Some with a touch of still green grass coloring them, others textured with rocks varying in size and degrees of gray, most with the deep rich brown of hard soil trampled with years of manure.
I was delighted looking at these oddly shaped ovals where the sheep had been laying before I interrupted them. The frost melting under the warmth of their wool, I know the chill from the ground never reached their bodies. On many mornings ice frosts their wool as it does everything else on the farm.
Of course, I took pictures of these unintentional drawings created by the sheep and the weather. Soon these particular ones would be gone forever, but more will be created with the next frost.
