Letter to my Grandson Miles: Going to the sheep farm at Michigan State University with you was real fun

My eight-month old Grandson Miles goes eyeball-to-eyeball with a sheep at Michigan State University.

Dear Miles,

You had your first official visit to Michigan State University yesterday when we went to the MSU sheep farm.  As your dad held you, the sheep came right to you.  They stuck their head through the fence and said hello.  They made a lot of noise.

Your eyes really sparkled as they ran back and forth in their pens and let everybody know they were there by bleating.  Isn't that the noise sheep make?  You can look it up in Google.

Sheep are really an important animal.  We get wool from sheep.  Lots of clothes are made from it.  Ask your mom and she'll show you some.

Look in the Bible and you'll see the word sheep often.  It has special meaning for us.  One Bible verse says, "We are all like sheep and gone astray."  That reminds me of the time I saw a whole herd of sheep going down the road in the country of Mali in West Africa.  There was one shepherd and he was busy trying to keep each sheep from going off in a different direction.

Most sports teams have nicknames from animals like Tigers or Diamondbacks or Gophers.  But you don't see any called sheep.  It could be that sheep are not good team players.

Well, next time you come, we can go back to Michigan State and see more animals like the chickens, the horses and the cows.  Animals are great.  I never stop learning about them and I'm always amazed by their variety.

When I come to your house, we can read about some animals.

Thank-you for coming this weekend.

Love--

Grandpa Thorp

You were all smiles around the MSU sheep.

My grandson's eyes were wide-open at the MSU sheep farm.