Counting sheep

Firstly, I'd like to say a big thank you to everyone who viewed and commented on yesterday's blip (and especially those who added it to their favourites). I was overwhelmed by the response and even more so when my moth appeared on the spotlight page. I think those antennae really grabbed people's attention!

Today's blip is of more familiar creatures - a herd of sheep. But these aren't just any old sheep - they're Manx Loghtans. This is a rare breed, with only about 1500 breeding ewes in the UK, descended from primitive sheep on the Isle of Man. Loghtan means mouse-brown, which perfectly describes the colour of their wool. They can have up to six horns, and if you look closely you'll see that one has four, and another three.

Not only are these sheep beautiful, they're also doing a really important job, maintaining flower-rich limestone grassland on a local nature reserve. Sheep graze the sward very closely, and help remove the coarse grasses and scrub that would soon take over if the site wasn't managed. Theyare usually put on the site in the autumn and winter, and taken off in the summer so that the flowers can bloom.

Primitive breeds such as the Manx Loghtan are often used on nature reserves because they can cope with poor quality grazing (from an agricultural point of view), will often eat scrub as well as grass, and are hardy and intrepid, tackling steep slopes as well as the easier flat areas. By contrast, many commercial breeds are fussy eaters, quite lazy and generally more trouble.

It was so nice to have a leisurely walk in the sunshine - we picked sloes (which will be later turned into sloe gin), listened to the roaring of a fallow deer stag engaged in the autumn rut and generally pottered about enjoying all the beautiful autumn colours. A perfect day....