Sometimes it is easy to view sheep as objects of the landscape. About four years ago we were in Kilpatrick hills, at the top, it was very quiet, low visibility, and windy. We saw a sheep screaming laying on its back with a bloated belly. We knew it was in pain but didn’t know what was happening. We thought we should turn it over but didn’t know if that would shock it too much and make it worse. The experience deeply affected all of us, after it we walked in silence for what felt like much longer than it must have been. At least two of us were profoundly affected by the experience, a deep sense of something. Something inexplicable, something hard to put into words.

I mentioned this to someone recently at the pub and we had both had separate but similar experiences. Seeing sheep, objects of the landscape, in disturbing pain and being unable to do anything about it.