Two days old and doing well

You know you wanted to see more lambie photos:

Today the little boys discovered the joys of a shepherd's attentions. Bluster Brown was particularly appreciative of my scratches on his neck, where his curls are still stiff. But since I don't want to make pets of them in case they are sold as rams, I was thinking how nice it would be if Dinah and Valentine give me girls - that I can spoil rotten! I do want a wether for a companion for Braveheart (who can also safely be with the open/young girls when Braveheart is doing his job each fall), but I don't want to doom an otherwise good ram by making him too friendly before his destiny is clear.

If I were to be as objective as possible, I would say that Blizz has the more consistent fleece and better overall structure, but Bluster is softer to the touch. Bluster is going to fade fast, I think, as he is clearly Ag (the abbreviation for the fading agouti gene) from his nose to his scrotum. Isn't he a cute little bugger?

In knitting news, I have finished the first sleeve of the Sari silk Sonnet and have started on #2. I may be able to wear it this spring yet! Our temperatures are staying below average, that's for sure.

That's it for now at . . ,

"When what to my wondering eyes should appear...

...but Supermom Rechel with two ram lambs dear!"

Yes indeedy, when I went down to do chores this morning (later than usual, because Brian slept in) and looked in on the sheep, Rechel was in the back corner with two mostly dry lambs! I don't think they were very old from the looks of their navels, and Rechel still hasn't completely expelled her afterbirth. I got busy and put up a pallet to create a lambing jug, spread clean, dry straw over the old bedding, fed and watered everyone, and checked the lambs more closely to see what we had. Both boys have leathery patches and maybe slight bumps at their horn sites. Nothing like the giant horn buds Bobby was born with; I guess time will tell whether either one has inherited a poll gene from Braveheart. And of course, both boys are as cute as can be!
I didn't have names or a theme picked out ahead of time, except that I'm sticking with names that start with B. But this morning as I was heading to the barn, the predicted weather front had moved in with a vengeance, blowing rain mixed with snowflakes (followed within the hour with some bright sunshine!). So, for now at least, the black/grey ramling is Blizz, and the brown/musket is Bluster.

That's it for now at . . .

"Mouse Hunt"

How can I say this diplomatically? You could remake this movie with the title "Sky Rat Hunt," and cast my husband as the star. The photos in the previous post show the damage that errant birdshot can do to one's house. I do not understand what aggravates my DH so about the fact that pigeons are trying to set up housekeeping in the barn-shed (the three-sided structure attached to the barn where we store things), but I will admit that Becky enlightened me greatly on the downside of "sky rats" in our email exchange prompted by my last post. Still, I think that cleaning up pigeon poop is better (and cheaper!) than replacing windows!

Rick left yesterday with the hope that his use of deadly force (which DID result in the death of one of the sky rats) discourages any others from hanging around Boulderneigh. Bad news: Jackson repeatedly flushed three pigeons out of and off the shed while I was doing chores this morning. (He's figured out that they are "bad birds" and does his best to get them; if only he could fly!) Anyone know of someone with trained falcons for rent?

Instead of spinning last night, I stayed up late to watch Rechel. She was standing around with her tail out, but I never saw any contractions. Still no lambs this morning, although she slowly brought up the rear of the flock when I let them out to pasture.Valentine is developing quite the waddle now, too, even though she's three weeks from her due date. Her udder development so far is quite different from the other two; it's high and forward.

My favorites of our daffodils are finally opening up. The other varieties are pure and earnest heralds of spring; the Tahitis are the party girls!

That's it for now at . . .

No fooling; I'm preparing

Rick flies out tomorrow for a ISELP conference (The International Society of Equine Locomotor Pathology) and will return late Sunday night. I have asked him to provide me with everything I could possibly need for a lambing emergency in his absence. I don't think Rechel will deliver that soon, but figured I'd better be prepared. The general law of the universe seems to be that if you are prepared, you won't need to be, but if you're not, you'll be sorry. Let's hope that holds!

While the DH is gone I hope to successfully spin my "final exam" fibers as well as do some knitting. I'm back to work on the Sonnet's sleeves after swapping my too-fine sari silk yarn for some with the right bulk that Becky had in her stash. Hurray - chalk another one up to internet/blogging connections!

The fledging chicks are getting perilously close to being able to flutter out of their box, but they have to wait a while longer for Rick to finish the poultry palace. He needs to replace some rotten plywood on one side, then set up the yard. We've been noticing some activity just over the fence; Sunday we caught the neighbor out working on his project and learned he is building chicken digs, too. Apparently the neighbors plan to crawl in on their hands and knees to gather eggs....

Speaking of crawling, this morning Brian was on the floor playing with his dog when he crawled under Jackson's belly. Made me realize how much Jackson has grown in four short months! I asked Brian to do it again so you could see:

One last thing. This morning's bright sunshine revealed an "OOPS!" that made someone feel a bit the April Fool. Maybe I'll share that story tomorrow. Maybe not. Maybe I'll just include a couple photos and let you guess. Hint: it has something to do with pigeons trying to move into the barn-shed.

That's it for now at . . .