With a few more lambs filling up our barn, we have been spending the better part of our days down in the sheep pasture…watching…and waiting.  It seemed Flora, our other merino, was momentarily ready to birth and I was hoping the kids would get to see the marvel of it all.  We set up our camping chairs, read a book, shared stories…and waited.  Eventually, Huckley found a good water hose to make rivers and streams and Sunshine got busy doing her “vet work” of mucking out the lambing pens.  Waiting.

Eventually, Flora had her baby while we were getting ready for be and I came down to check on progress at 10pm to find a big ram lamb wobbling about.  I tucked Flora and Aspen into a lambing jug and checked on the new twins, Samson and Delilah with their mom, Sugaree.  She needed some encouragement to stand for their suckling as she had problems with her milk coming in, but after a few days, everything is falling into place.

Samson and Delilah

After such an easy first birth with Posey, I was a little surprised at the work involved in helping Sugaree bond with her twins.  I found myself in the barn at all hours of the night, supplementing with bottles of colostrum to encourage the weak lambs to keep suckling.  Soon enough, they had the strength to keep trying, and all worked out.  Phewf!

birthday pillow made for cousin Franny

We are having such an early spring, it is both delightful and disconcerting.  The grass is already seeding and peonies are budding out!  Fooled by the warmth, the kids insisted they go for a dip in the pond…and while I could have talked them out of it and explained how cold spring melt run off is, I thought there was no learning ~ or fun ~ in that, and we tromped up to the pond.  There was a lot of giggling but no one dared go in above their waists!

For all their great plans of swimming and rafting and floating about the pond, a few little toes in the water proved that May snow melt is still rather chilly for swimming.

Wishing you a lovely Mother’s Day weekend!

xo Jules