Except the Black hoggett

 Over on MetaFilter, there is a section where ppl can and do Ask questions and the community offer solutions. The Asks [a technical term] can be practical or peculiar but the responses must be on message and in good faith or they are likely to get deleted. There was a recent Ask about the experience and embrace of The Night. It has a bit of a "internet please do my home-work for me" vibe. But there were a number of nice responses from crepuscular and noctambulant MeFites. Like Paul Simon I'm a "hello darkness my old friend" sorta guy and have done dumbass things in tunnels and in bunkers [same link]. Spelunking is another, lesser, level of hazard; and it's no picnic at Sleat's Gill. The other example of finding comfort in the dark for me was when I barfed up a half kilo of undercooked cabbage in Sandymount 25 years ago.

But falsedmitri wasn't getting any of that from me. Rather I shared a part of my normal experience working as The Outdoor Man on our farmlet. I have found to my cost that, if sheep die [and they do!], it's Much better to find, and handle, them "fresh" rather than bloated buzzing and in bits.  Earlier this year The Beloved bought 4 lambs from a neighbour to keep flock numbers up to quota.  It seemed like a good idea at the time to include a pure black ewelet and three reg'lar Cheviots. They grew up together and are still quite stand-offish from the other older sheep in their new home.

My AskMefi answer: I "look the hill" on the regular counting the sheep, incl last thing at night. Sheep are just the perfick thing to count in the dark . . . except the black hoggett. She's often hard to locate in full daylight. Finding her (alert, on four good legs) in the shadows is a Win and a comfort. The very next morning I was out super early because a big front of rain was incommming - and who likes to BoPeep while soaking wet if it can be avoided? And I came up One short in the count. Dang!  But I heartened in twigging that BlackOne was the AWOL and it was more likely a hidden in plain sight than a expired in the bushes problem. And sure enough . . . there are two [2] sheep in this view:

Crap pixellated photo is only part of the perception problem.  Here's the clue:

It's like Antonioni's Blow-Up [1966] in which a professional photographer in London's swinging sixties may have found evidence of a murder in the background of one of his fashion pictures. If you haven't seen Blow-Up, you're missing something whoa weird.