Fast-forward to August 2022. After 30 months of mask-wearing, after three injections of the Moderna vaccine, after not having been sick - at all - in that time, I have COVID. I took my first in-home COVID test about a week ago - it was negative (as was the next test I took). However, I came home from building sheep fence last Sunday with a scratchy throat and a developing cough. On Monday morning, the test card showed two stripes.
My positive test had a variety of ramifications for me professionally. I had to notify my boss at UC Cooperative Extension. I had to notify my staff. I had to develop a new COVID plan for the office. I was required to "isolate" for at least 5 days (if I had a negative test) or for as many as 10 days (without a negative test). I had to cancel plans to help lead a workshop at the California Wool Growers Association this weekend. Tomorrow night, I'll miss dinner at one of my very favorite restaurants - JT Basque in Minden, Nevada.
I count myself very lucky, though - my symptoms, while unpleasant and inconvenient, have been relatively mild. And I know that by isolating at home, I'm protecting folks in my community who are more vulnerable. I have friends who have been very sick, and who have family members who have died. COVID is no joke. A mandatory 5-10 day absence from my work is probably good for everyone - I'm not indispensable, for sure! Sometimes, I need a reminder!
But despite all of this, the sheep don't care.
Last Sunday, still thinking I'd be gone tomorrow through this Sunday, I spent half of my day building fence for ewes and lambs. I was planning to wrap up some fuel-reduction grazing this week, which meant combining our feeder and replacement lambs with our ewe flock on irrigated pasture. Having all the sheep in one place would make it easier for my stand-in shepherd to care for the sheep while I was gone - and it would give us a jump on preparing the ewes for breeding season (only 6 weeks away). About halfway through my Sunday fencing project, though, I knew I was getting sick.
While my positive test on Monday morning precluded my working at the office, it didn't eliminate the need for me to check on sheep and feed the livestock guardian dogs. Amazingly enough, the same chores needed to get done on Tuesday and Wednesday mornings. On Wednesday, I also needed to walk the lambs back through a neighboring property to the paddock I'd built on Sunday. All along, I had planned to move the ewes to a holding field on Wednesday evening and haul them to the irrigated pasture where the lambs were grazing on Thursday morning. And guess what? That's exactly what I did last night and this morning.
I don't relate any of this in a search for sympathy. We all get the things that have to be done accomplished if we can, regardless of how we're feeling. Rather, I've reflected this week on the need to isolate myself while I've been sick and the nature of tending for livestock. Lots of folks operate at a scale (as do we) where we're it - we're the only ones available to do the work. Tending rangeland livestock - sheep, cattle, goats, etc. - is typically solitary work. I suppose this is why we enjoy the communal work of shearing and branding so much.
Tomorrow morning, I'll feed the dogs, check the ewes, and move the irrigation water - by myself. And I'll do it again on Saturday and Sunday. On Monday morning, I'll take another COVID test - 2 negative tests will mean I can go back to work before the full 10-day isolation period. But the sheep will still be there - and I'll still be taking care of them
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