Australian farmer honors late aunt by arranging sheep into a heart

Aug. 26 (UPI) -- An Australian farmer arranged his sheep in the shape of a heart to pay tribute to his aunt when COVID-19 restrictions prevented him from attending her funeral.

Ben Jackson said he couldn't travel from New South Wales to Brisbane to visit his Aunt Debby during the final days of her battle with cancer or to attend her funeral, so he placed grain out in the shape of a heart and released thousands of sheep to form the heart, The Guardian reported.

"There was no way I could get up there and see her, say cheerio, or go to the funeral," he told BBC News.

"So, I felt hopeless, helpless -- I didn't really know what to do. But because I was doing a bit of feeding already, I just decided to do a massive heart in the ground, which in all earnest, pales in comparison to hers."

A video of the result was captured with a drone and shared with the family to display during the service.

Jackson started making shapes with his sheep during the early days of the pandemic, and his aunt was a fan of the creations. She last visited him in May before the latest lockdowns.