Our Torridon cottage is surrounded by sheep - grazing the rough pasture and sometimes insolently blocking the narrow road. They are the reason why I always have to wear my lead whenever I exit the garden gate.
On our visit this week, I noticed that the sheep had newly painted rumps, most being green but a few, kept in a separately fenced off area, a rather lurid yellow. I instructed Gail to make enquiries.
Well it seems this is the sheep mating season and the paint indicates the ewes who have recently enjoyed the 'services' of a ram. The colour indicates the breed, green ones being your bog standard Cheviots and the yellow ones a type known as Beltex (Belgian Texel).
The Beltexes are renowned for their heavily muscled hindquarters. One might call them the Kim Kardashians of the sheep world...
Although to be honest, under all that wool, they look pretty much the same to me.
