I have been on lambwatch for what has seemed like months now, although in reality it has only been since the start of May. But it has meant that I couldn't leave the place for more than a few hours at a time, just in case, combined with regular patrols at all hours of the day and night to check for movements.My poor ewes have spent the recent mini-heatwave sitting under the conifer hedge looking like enormous woolly bowling balls. After several false alarms this week I was beginning to think that they had decided not to bother lambing after all. But then this afternoon I heard a loud sheepy racket coming from the field and got there just in time to see this little one come into the world.
It really upset me last year not having any lambs about the place. It felt as though - on top of losing R - everything we had worked for was falling apart as well. Moments like this help to show me that it is worth carrying on.
What a great moment! When Mum and I went to the UK in 2005 I was blown away by how clean the sheep were.
ReplyDeleteI hadn't heard about your mini heatwave but just read a similar report on a US blog.
Are Australian sheep particularly dirty then?
ReplyDeleteThere is a field opposite my house that once had a small flock of spectacularly GREEN sheep in it. They must have all wandered into a bog or something. It took weeks of being rained on for them to return to white.
(The heatwave was very short, so you probably blinked and missed it! Back to normal now)
Aaaawwwww...he, or she, is so cute! I've missed you and am glad to hear you were just on lamb watch (remember, your last post was about the pains of the marathon!). Here in the Willamette Valley we have sheep and it has been an education watching the changes through the seasons, even if only from a distance. Could you say more about what you and R had "worked for" regarding the sheep?
ReplyDeleteSo cute! I'm glad you are finding things that remind you that it is worth carrying on. I'm finding that the more I look for those things, the more I find them, especially in the small details. Enjoy your lambs!
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