When COVID-19 restrictions prevented Australian farmer Ben Jackson from attending his beloved Aunt Deb’s funeral, he decided to honor her memory with a novel tribute: a heart made of sheep. A poignant drone video that captured the beautiful moment has struck a chord with many families separated during the pandemic.
Drone video of heart made with sheep is a farewell message
When Deb died after a two-year fight with cancer, Jackson was locked down at his farm in New South Wales, some 270 miles away. Feeling hopeless and helpless, for “there was no way I could get up there and see her, say cheerio, or go to the funeral,” Jackson decided to use his flock of sheep to form a massive heart, which, he insists, “in all earnest, pales in comparison to hers.”
The trick was to lay out the grain that sheep feed on in an outline and release the sheep into the paddock. But it took Jackson a few tries to nail the shape of the heart:
The first time I tried it looked like the shit emoji, I tell you, and whilst my Aunt Deb had a good sense of humor, that wasn’t exactly what I was going for.
After three or four attempts, Jackson was ready to get his “sheep art” filmed by a drone. He sent the video to relatives ahead of his aunt’s funeral on Monday, who then played a Simon and Garfunkel classic, Bridge Over Troubled Water, over the video and a picture gallery. Here’s Jackson:
I would be the first to admit that there was plenty of waterworks. It was very lovely to have it as part of a sendoff. It was certainly something that she would have loved and absolutely cherished.
Let’s watch the video:
‘Love is sensational’
On Thursday, Jackson’s sheep heart tribute video was being played on Australian TV stations and widely shared on social media across the world. His aunt would have cherished that too, Jackson says.
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. Love is sensational.
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