Sunday, March 12, 2023

Spring towards St. Patty's Day!



Blaise

Bree in front, her daughter Bette behind

Bernadette

Bridget
Yesterday was a beautiful day, so the horses got arena turn-out and the sheep got pasture time. I walked around and took 'belly drop' photos of all the pregnant ewes and wished for a week of likewise weather so I could start shearing. It's grey, damp and cool today, but I may get my wish later this week; so hurray – and pass the Aleve. 😉

All those bellies, and slowly filling udders, mean it's time, folks; this is the official lambing contest post! You have from now through midnight Friday (St. Patrick's Day) to enter by putting your answers to the questions below in the comments to this post, or emailing them to me at mmcmillen AT macnet DOT com. (I understand the link at the right that says "Email me!" may be broken.) NOTE: QUESTIONS HAVE BEEN UPDATED as of Monday afternoon!

Yes, I've buried the lede in order to add a little weight in favor of faithful readers. And in appreciation to faithful commenters, bonus entry points will be added based on the number of prior 2023 posts commented on. At the end of lambing, the person with the most correct/closest-to-correct answers + points can choose between a handknit headband,  a Fair Isle hat, or a set of sheep photo notecards as a prize. Here goes:
  1. Who will lamb first?
  2. What will be the date of that first lambing?
  3. When the dust settles, how many lambs will I have?
  4. Will there be more boys or girls?
  5. What percentage of the lambs will be black-based?
I did finish my second Da Crofter's Kep, the one I plan to keep. As a palette cleanser, I'm spinning up the last of this black merino/alpaca/Tussah; then I'm going to cast on a new Fair Isle hat that I'm not going to keep. 😉


Let the lambing countdown begin at . . .

15 comments:

Retired Knitter said...

Who will lamb first? Bernadette
When the dust settles, how many will I have? 5
Will there be more boys or girls? Girls
What percentage of the lambs will be black-based? 20%
How many times have you commented on this blog this year before this post (the more the better)? Wow, this one is hard. I will guess 25 ??

I love that picture of the sky and your sheep - second picture. Just beautiful.

If I win - I would be happiest with just a ball of your spun yarn - easy peasy! I have always always admired your spindle spinning. So perfect. Your knitting is really lovely - especially since you do Fair Isle and I am absolutely terrible at that, but your spun yarn is breathtaking.

Michelle said...

You're on, Elaine! If you win, I'll send you spindle-spun yarn. I have a few for you to choose from. 😉 I'll check your number of comments but I KNOW it can't be 25 – I haven't posted that many times since the calendar changed over to 2023!

Michelle said...

Addendum to all: Elaine's prize request for spindle-spun yarn is available to anyone who wins – and reads comments to see this. 😉

A :-) said...

emailed my answers, but didn't read well :-D :-D So my answer to #5 is below. Also, the link didn't work for me - So I'm going to post them here, too :-)

1. Who will lamb first? Bernadette
2. When the dust settles, how many will I have? Seven
3. Will there be more boys or girls? Girls
4. What percentage of the lambs will be black-based? 30%
5. How many times have you commented on this blog this year before this post (the more the better)? 11! :-)

Marlane said...

Who will lamb first? Bree
When the dust settles, how many will I have? Seven lambs
Will there be more boys or girls? Girls
What percentage of the lambs will be black-based 20 %
How many times have you commented on this blog in 2023 before this post (the more the better)? not sure about 8 times or more how do I count ?

Michelle said...

Elaine, A, and Marlane: your responses have helped me see the need update this post with refinements to the contest questions. I'm adding one and taking out one, so invite all three of you to re-submit your answers. (If I don't see new comments from you, I'll revert to the original format so as not to disadvantage any of you.) Thanks for your help!

Mokihana said...

1. Who will lamb first? Bridget

2. What will be the date of that first lambing? March 21st

3. When the dust settles, how many lambs will I have? 6

4. Will there be more boys or girls? Girls

5. What percentage of the lambs will be black-based? 3

And I love all your sheepie photos!!

A :-) said...

Here are my updated responses!

1. Who will lamb first? Bernadette
2. What will be the date of that first lambing? March 27, 2023
3. When the dust settles, how many lambs will I have? Seven
4. Will there be more boys or girls? Girls
5. What percentage of the lambs will be black-based? 30%

Michelle said...

Got it, A!

Mokihana, should I interpret your answer answer to #5 as 44% (three of seven lambs)?

Marlane said...

What will be the date of that first lambing? March 26th

Retired Knitter said...

Who will lamb first? Bernadette
What will be the date of that first lambing? March 23rd (the date of my colonoscopy - something good has to happen on that day. haha)
When the dust settles, how many lambs will I have? 5
Will there be more boys or girls? girls
What percentage of the lambs will be black-based? 20%

Debbie said...

Who will lamb first? Bette
What will be the date of that first lambing? March 19th
When the dust settles, how many lambs will I have? 9
Will there be more boys or girls? girls
What percentage of the lambs will be black-based? 35%

May all good luck be with you this lambing season.

Michelle said...

I got your updates, Marlane and Elaine, and your entry Debbie. Good luck to all!

Fat Dormouse said...


i HAVE NO IDEA BUT GOOD LUCK TO ALL YOUR LADIES WHO WILL BE PRODUCING§ (Just looked up from typing to see Lucky Jim put the caps lock on!!) :-)

Michelle said...

What would you do without Lucky Jim's help, Alison? 🤣🤣🤣