web1_web1_1.6-Books-Generic.jpg

Pennsylvania schools rated 16th in nation in new study

web1_Photo-1-1-.jpg

Exeter’s Villa Foglia closes after long run

<p>WELLINGTON, New Zealand &#8212; It was a woolly ride, but three wild rabbits managed to escape rising floodwaters in New Zealand by clambering aboard sheep and surfing to safety on their backs.</p><p>Ferg Horne, 64, says he&#8217;s been farming since he left school at age 15 and has never seen anything quite like it.</p><p>He was trudging through pelting rain to rescue a neighbor&#8217;s 40 sheep from the floodwaters Saturday at their <ins>South Island</ins> farm when he spotted some dark shapes from a distance.</p><p>He was puzzled because he knew his neighbor, who was away in Russia attending a <ins>nephew&#8217;s</ins> wedding, didn&#8217;t have any black-faced sheep<ins>. As he got closer, he thought it might be debris from the storm, which had drenched the area and forced Horne to evacuate his home</ins>.</p><p>Then he saw the bedraggled rabbits hitching a ride &#8212; two on one sheep and a third on another sheep.</p><p>&#8220;I couldn&#8217;t believe it for a start,&#8221; he said.</p><p><ins>Nobody else would believe him either without proof, he thought, so he got out his phone to take a photo, an image he figured his grandchildren would enjoy. In fact, he inadvertently shot a short video.</ins></p><p><ins>&#8220;It&#8217;s a Samsung or a smartphone or whatever you call it. I swear at it every day,&#8221; he said. &#8220;I&#8217;m absolutely useless with technology.&#8221;</ins></p><p><ins>Nevertheless, Horne managed to capture the moment.</ins> He said the sheep were huddled together on a high spot on the farm, standing in about 3 inches of water.</p><p>He said the rabbits looked like they&#8217;d gotten wet but seemed quite comfortable and relaxed atop their mounts.</p><p>Rabbits are considered a pest to farmers in New Zealand, and Horne said that typically when he sees one, he shoots it.</p><p>&#8220;But they&#8217;d showed so much initiative, I thought they deserved to live, those rabbits,&#8221; he said.</p><p>Horne herded the sheep to a patch of dry ground on the farm about 160 feet away<ins>. The sheep didn&#8217;t like it.</ins></p><p><ins>&#8220;As they jumped through the water, the rabbits had a jolly good try at staying on,&#8221; Horne said</ins>.</p><p style="text-align: right;"><em> &#8212; The Associated Press</em></p><style>
.neFileBlock {
	margin-bottom: 20px;
}
.neFileBlock p {
	margin: 0px 0px 0px 0px;
}
.neFileBlock .neFile {
	border-bottom: 1px dotted #aaa;
	padding-bottom: 5px;
	padding-top: 10px;
}
.neFileBlock .neCaption {
	font-size: 85%;
}
</style>
<div class='neFileBlock'>
<div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/web1_SheepSurfingBunnies.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Three rabbits sit on the back of sheep as they avoid rising flood waters on a farm near Dunedin, New Zealand.<ins> Three wild rabbits managed to escape rising floodwaters in New Zealand by clambering aboard a flock of sheep and surfing to safety on their woolly backs. (Ferg Horne via AP)</ins> </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/web1_SheepSurfingBunnies.jpg</photo0><caption0>Three rabbits sit on the back of sheep as they avoid rising flood waters on a farm near Dunedin, New Zealand.<ins> Three wild rabbits managed to escape rising floodwaters in New Zealand by clambering aboard a flock of sheep and surfing to safety on their woolly backs. (Ferg Horne via AP)</ins> </caption0><photoCredit0></photoCredit0></div></div>

Hop on! Wild rabbits surf on sheep to flee New Zealand flood