Multi-Purpose Sheep

The farm allows for a certain amount of escape from the current social climate (my life is vastly improved with the absence of Santorum and Romney infiltrating my psyche), but we cannot run from this global climate change!  This lazy Sunday marks day two of my Spring Training sunburn recovery; so imagine my surprise when we awoke to a fresh snow cover.  And it's still snowing, but not really sticking. Skip spring showers and go straight to frozen ground – fingers crossed our hearty transplants survive.

Babies!

Speaking of springtime, we have so many baby sheep.  Jude, our dashing resident ram, is doing some serious work.  He has a good dozen little ones baa-ing up a storm.  Nature is not always kind, however.  There have been at least two complicated births.  In both instances, the baby was twisted the wrong way inside the mother and its shoulder was caught.  Whoever was around and had the smallest hands – with the right experience – did their best to pull out the lamb, sometimes using a hay tie for leverage.  The first time, we thought the lamb was a stillborn, but the little guy – who was actually huge for a baby - pulled through and the momma took to it right away.  That bond that occurred after the birth made all the difference.

Momma still has a hard time standing, but two days later they are doing well.

Baaaaa

The second momma sheep was much smaller than the first making the birthing process more traumatic.  Because of this and whatever other processes of nature, she didn’t care for the lamb after it was born and, if not for her domesticators, wouldn’t have let it nurse.  In any case, the momma didn’t make it.  There was a slight chance the other new momma sheep would adopt the babe, but she had her hooves full with a growing boy.  Unable to nurse and unprotected from the harsh elements, the baby soon followed its momma.

Olive isn't pleased but Jasper enjoys kisses.

“And so it goes” - Kurt Vonnegut (and personal mantra of the Whipstone interns).  The new baby will start to vie for territory in six to eight months, just in time for the end of the year party where there will be numerous hungry mouths craving rack o’ knobbly-knees.

Knobble Knees - cute and delicious