Philosophie du Jour (Part un of a series)

I used to work at the Tilden Little Farm (my boss balked at the phrase "petting zoo"). We had cows (milking shorthorns), sheep (black Welsh mountain), goats (alpine and nubian), pigs, ducks, geese, and chickens. Of our flock of 15 sheep, we had two rams, each confined to his own pen adjoined to the main pasture.

One morning, a coworker and I were opening up the farm. I was pretty new, so she was teaching me the rhythms and routines of getting the farm ready for the public. We brought our wheelbarrow over to the ram pens, and we tossed a compressed mat of alfalfa (a "flake") into each of the pens.

"And now for the most important part," she said, and stuck an arm through the horizontal wood slats of the fence. She put her outstretched hand on the kinky black wool of the feeding ram's head. "You gotta show these guys some love," she said, giving him a pat.

Take the time to show you care.