Benjamin Jackson created a heart with his flock of sheep.
Final goodbyes are hard and the pandemic has only made things exponentially tougher. As families lost loved ones, many were even robbed of their chance to pay their final respects due to travel restrictions and other such curbs. A farmer in Australia was faced with such a predicament when he was unable to attend the funeral of his beloved aunt due to a COVID-induced lockdown in the country. Benjamin Jackson, who was stuck in New South Wales, was unable to make it to Brisbane in time as he lost his aunt to cancer after a two-year fight.
Mr Jackson came up with a tribute like no other for his aunt. What did he do? Well, Mr Jackson made a heart of sheep. The farmer used his flock of sheep to create a formation of a giant heart on the field as an ode to his aunt.
Sharing a video of the same, he wrote on Facebook, “I made this for my Aunty Deb. We said goodbye yesterday. I hope you had a peep down from up there and saw this sheep art for you.” The video featured the song Bridge Over Troubled Water by Simon and Garfunkel in the background as “it was one of her favourite tunes,” Mr Jackson said referring to his aunt.
So, how did he pull off this amazing feat? Well, it took a lot of grains and a fair bit of practice, Mr Jackson confessed. Speaking to The Guardian, the farmer said it actually took him “three or four” attempts as the initial results were far from what he wanted.
Mr Jackson created an outline of the heart and lined it with grains to get the sheep — who were in thousands — to flock together and created the shape. The result was then captured on video by a drone. The first time he tried it, it looked like a questionable emoticon, he said. "I tell you, and whilst my Aunty Deb had a good sense of humour, that wasn't exactly what I was going for,” he was quoted as saying.
He confessed that he broke down on seeing the final video and that it was “lovely to have it as part of a sendoff.” It also seemed like a fitting tribute to his aunt as she had been a fan of the sheep artworks he had created in the past, he told BBC.
Users on social media were floored by Mr Jackson's efforts and praised his work. Reacting to the video, one user named Jeannie Simpson said, “How moving.” Another user, Jenni Jackson said, “Thanks, Ben. Deb will so love it. Love you.”
Another user named, Brenda Gandolfo, who presumably was present at the funeral wrote, “It was lovely to end the funeral with this Ben, Deb would have been so happy and grateful.”
“Oh Ben, I didn't know your beautiful Aunty but I do know she would be so very proud and feel so very loved,” a comment by Sally McCook read.
Applauding Mr Jackson, a user named Suzanne Hopkinson wrote, “Ben, this was so beautiful... your beautiful Aunty Deb would be (she is) so proud of you..”
Wishes poured in from all over the country as the viral video was picked up by TV stations and news outlets. And this would have made his aunty happy, Mr Jackson said.
"She would be proud as punch to see so many people smiling and enjoying the heart I've made for her. It's just love,” the farmer explained. “Love's sensational.”
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