The animals by the fence

I walk around the corner behind the shop and notice how the sound changes. Inside the farm shop, everything is colour, shelves, scanner and quiet order. Out here, the wind takes over. The grass. The fence. And the gaze of an animal that seems to have decided I am late for a meeting I did not know I had.

At Margaretelund there are goats and Gute sheep. The goats are called Britt-Marie, Isabella, Thunder and Getrud – four personalities with more self-confidence than most people you meet before lunch. They do have a pasture. But their relationship with fences is more philosophical than practical. They stay there because they want to. If they do not, they sometimes step out, mostly to show that they can.

When that happens, you can often talk sense into them. It is not certain they will obey, but it is clear that they appreciate the conversation. With a little luck they go home again, wearing the expression of someone who planned the whole thing from the beginning.

The sheep are Gute sheep: black, horned and much less interested in human small talk. Many visitors confuse them with the goats because of the horns. But the Gute sheep have a different kind of presence, ancient in expression, almost like small woollen spirits of the landscape.

And then there is Jerry. Jerry is a bottle-fed ram and is not entirely aware that he is a sheep. He is also a little afraid of sheep. During his first weeks of life he lived in Emelie and Alexander’s bedroom and was fed from a bottle. That leaves traces. Jerry still seems to suspect that his real flock is made up of the people who pass through Margaretelund.

The animals are not here as decoration. They keep the pastures open and beautiful, graze where machines would be clumsy, and help biodiversity. Goats and Gute sheep are efficient forest machines – but with eyes, horns, opinions and a certain tendency to negotiate working conditions.

There is also a serious side. The pasture is not a petting zoo. You are welcome to watch through the fence, but please do not enter. Rams are large and strong, and if they decide to butt, they can be dangerous. If an animal is outside the fence, please call the number by the shop, and Emelie or Alexander will come and have a serious word with them.

One more thing is worth saying: Margaretelund’s cheeses are not made from sheep’s or goat’s milk, even though many people assume they are. The animals belong to the place in another way. They make the landscape alive. They make the visit less polished and more true. And they remind you that a farm is not only something you visit. It is something that is happening.

“The goats stay in the pasture because they want to. If they do not, they leave.”