lamb watch

The cherry trees have exploded in a cloud of white petal blossoms…it’s beauty staggers me every morning when I look out our window. With the momentum of the season picking up speed, I know how fleeting it is to pause and savour these snapshots of spring.

We are on official lamb watch now as the sheep’s due date has arrived…and passed. My goodness, it is having me on my toes with the hourly runs down to the barn to check for progress. Yesterday, I found Sugaree lying in the fresh straw, surrounded by her three friends, making little grunting noises. I thought for sure this was it and ran up to the house to gather the Sheep Midwife Kit I’d prepared a few weeks ago…however, when I returned, she was on her feet outside, munching fresh spring grass. Sunshine and I did manage to watch a lamb do a big roll around in her belly, dropping into position, we assume. This is a first for all of us, both sheep and shepherds, so there is a slight tension that comes with not exactly knowing what to expect or how/when to intervene, if it comes to that. So our trips to the barn continue…on the hour.

We had our first picnic by the creek under the apple tree a few days ago. It is sort of a tradition to spend an afternoon when the blossoms unfold, reading books and playing on the creek banks…the sheep were grazing nearby, dogs were lazing in the shade, and the afternoon was unusually warm. We are reading Little House in the Big Woods (again!) as we are planning a homeschool adventure to a pioneer village next month with other families in our area. It is a lot to leave the farm, and I just hope all the lambs will come soon to give them a good head start before we leave for a few days.

We have been visited by a pair of mallards on our pond again this year. We think they are nesting in the brush and we watch the drake come and go, often sitting on the raft in the middle of the pond. Last year, our dogs eventually found her nest, just before hatching time. We are trying our best to keep them from the pond to help her out a little. It is very hard to get a picture of him as he startles easily…unlike the wild turkeys that gather in enormous crowds at my in-laws place down the road from us. I was able to walk up to this dandy Tom quite easily as he put on a show for the turkey ladies just out of the picture frame. Such an impressive spectacle they put on!

My littlest fella loves to pick a fist full of posies for me…and now our choices are increasing with all the cherry blossoms, tulips, pansies, daphne, and his favourite ~ dandelions. The house is filling up with colourful bouquets, bringing the spring cheer indoors.