Calm before the storm



Omena and Oneida hanging out in the feeder

Not exactly half way... but getting there.  There hasn't been a birth on the farm in almost a week.  This is like a vacation after the start we had. Three ewes that all gave birth to twins within a 20 hour period, followed by a brief two day stint, than one ewe delivered one lamb.  Followed by silence.  Of course a barn full of 21 sheep is never truly silent.  There have been quite a few barn checks that prove to be quiet in that there wasn't much action.  Frankly, there's been none.  Other than the big melt down underway, in which I have to carve valleys to drain the water away from the barns and coop, this simply hasn't been the "lambing season" excitement I was expecting.  Has it been nice to sleep through the night and not have to worry about lambs at 2am?  Sure.  But I know it's coming, and with every day that Artemesia, Ella and Alaina waddle around the paddock, I know its one more day closer to Lady Bird, Martha and Rosalyn bringing udder chaos when all 6 remaining ewes deliver right about the same time.  I thought three was crazy?  Look out.

I guess its alot like watching the pot boil.   I wait and wait, and time seems to go by slow and it's just a matter of time.  Meanwhile, I get to enjoy the fun of having these week old lambs running around.  Still seeming like half cartilage at this point, the lambs buck and bronk around the barn often running into each other if not walls and feeders.  They play hard for mere minutes before grabbing a quick drink from Mom and settling in for a nap.  The lambs climb on top of eachother and huddle into a ball of perfect innocent baby wool; fifeteen minutes later...repeat.  It's peaceful to watch, even the playing can leave me quiet with a simple smirk on my face, watching it all go on around me. I hop up on the stall wall and sit quietly, trying to fall into the scenery around me as to not disturb the protective mothers watching over their lambs.  It's a little after Seven O'clock, the sun is still shining, the snow is melting and for the first time I feel like Spring is truly coming.  There's a lot that goes into running this farm, but these sure are the moments that I treasure the most.  There is something pure, something so natural, watching a completely dependent lamb nurse from it's mother.  The patience displayed, the vulnerability, the dependency all witnessed, it is truly something.   

Mary Jo and her little one.