...And more waiting...

We're still waiting for Sandy, Hazel, and Henrietta to lamb.  While Sandy's belly expands beyond what seems possible for a sheep,  I thought I'd give an update on our "big" lambs.

The girl lambs spend a lot of their time playing.  They especially like the straw bales and the wheelbarrow.

Lamb playground

Pecan, our only boy so far, prefers to eat.  Perhaps it's because he is so much bigger than the rest of lambs.  He's almost as big as Henrietta.

Pecan.  Yep, those are horns.

Pistachio looks a lot like her aunt Hazel.  She likes to live on the edge--we frequently catch her trying to bum some milk from Calico and Elvira.  She's even gotten between Calico and grain, which is extremely dangerous.

Pistachio.  Yep, she's brown.

Acorn and Cashew are pretty skittish, compared to the other lambs.  (It's difficult even to take a picture of Cashew!) Soon, though, they'll probably figure out what treats are.  Momma Calico is so fond of treats that it is sometimes annoying.

Acorn has something in her mouth; Cashew is hiding.

Peanut is the friendliest.  And she has a lovely, lovely fleece.  I don't know how many months I can wait for her to get sheared!

Peanut knows she's fabulous.

 I wonder what the lambs will think of the new babies?

The whole gang.

A Little Attention

It's about that time again: about time to watch for signs of impending lambing.  Henrietta, Sandy, and Hazel are all due in the next week. 

Hazel & Henrietta: Sandy's bigger than both of them together.

Barack O'Llama and Theresa feel a bit neglected.  Everyone else gets blog posts about their udders and their babies. They've been doing work, too: growing fiber, helping out. 

Theresa: Turning grass to wool

Theresa watches the lambs....

Pistachio, Theresa, & Pecan

Does he like the swinging or not?  We don't know.

...and Barack O'Llama watches my babies.  And he's really nice to the chickens.  It's not his fault that several of them are petrified of him.

Don't hold me near the llama!

For my mother....

...because she tried many times to catch Peanut last time she visited.

It's a shame he can't catch Pecan.

Learning from mama...

....and Elvira is such a good mama.

What a sweet little Peanut!

And just for fun, here's another picture of Sandy looking huge.

Looking forward to lambing, Sandy?

Recalcuation

Henrietta is still pregnant.  We think that she's due in about two weeks, around the same time Hazel and Sandy are due.  Three due around the same time will be convenient for us.

Pregnant sheep only:  Sandy, Henrietta, and Hazel.

Henrietta doesn't look very big in this picture, but from the front (and back) she looks enormous.  Sandy also is enormous.  In fact, "enormous" might not be a strong enough word for Sandy's hugeness.

Sandy on the left, with other sheep for scale.

Hazel looks dainty in comparison.

Hazel with Filbert (or Filberta) on board.

I could make guesses about numbers, but I won't.  (They've not had sheepie ultrasounds, so we have no way of knowing.)

Today, we had some unusual visitors in the neighborhood: pigeons.  I, of course, complained about urban sprawl and all that. 

Where's Bert?

 

Due Date

It's Henrietta's due date, but she still looks like this:

Compared to Elsie and Calico, she doesn't look huge.  Then again, it's pretty likely that she only has one in there.  She's not bagged up much, but we're trying not to worry too much about that until after the event.

While we're waiting, we ate,

planted some seeds,

were harassed by our children,

and spent some quality time together.

Ready for Summer

Barack O'Llama received his annual hair cut yesterday.  Llama shearing is a completely different event than sheep shearing. The shearer can't grab one and flop him on his butt.  Instead, Barack was haltered and tied. He had the dust blown out of his fleece (I wish we had a picture of this), and then....

"Is it over yet?"

Actually, the blindfolding came a little later.  He was fine with being handled on his right side but started kicking when she started to work on his left, so she blindfolded him.  (Our shearer did say he was very well-behaved.)

He had his hooves trimmed and a vaccination, then he was on his way.  He posed for a picture....

"I still am not happy about this!"

...then went off to warn the sheep. 

Without all of his fluff, he looks really skinny--but he's not.  Barack is going to be cutting back a bit on his treats and feed.

He won't be too happy about that either.

Oh, Calico Part Two

Calico stopped torturing us and lambed today.  She picked a good location--right in front of the dining room window--and the time and weather were nice, too.

Calico chose a spot in the middle of the pasture.  None of the other sheep bothered her much (other than Theresa) and right before she gave birth, Barack did an impressive show in case any predators (or cows)  were in the area.  

Lambing in the pasture

When we thought she was done, Scott went out to bring Calico and her lamb into the barn*.  As soon as she was settled, she popped out number two.

Cashew meets mamma.

 Both of Calico's lambs are girls.  The first born, Cashew, is black (or perhaps dark brown) with multiple white spots on her head.  It's hard to tell if she will lighten up or not.  She looks a lot like her half-siblings Pecan and Pistachio.  (They have the same daddy.)

Calico & her lambs

 The surprise is Acorn.  She's katmoget (same markings as Calico) and looks like she might be gray.

Acorn

Good job, Calico!

Proud mamma.

*I was not supposed to lift anything today.  Or get out of bed.  No big deal; just a recent medical procedure.  The pictures were taken by Scott and the boys.

Weekend in Pictures (Again)

I'm too exhausted for anything else.

Scott, the sheep, & I.  He's the one with the antlers.

Scott & Barack gave Pecan a pep talk before his imminent "procedure."

A bowl full of Peanut.

Pecan looking for his mama yet again.

Calico is still pregnant.

Henrietta's due date is less than a week away.

I've Made An Error

Pistachio is not black; she is definitely dark brown.  I blame it on the light in the barn.

Pistachio and Pecan

Today was the lambs' first day in the pasture with the rest of the gang.  I have minimal pictures, as there was much drama.  Barack was well-behaved, most of the other ewes were well-behaved, but Theresa went nuts.  Finally, Elsie rammed her in the side, and Theresa seems get it.
 

It's big out here!

Pecan thought he'd sample all of the milk while in the pasture.  Elvira did not take very kindly to it.

Pecan, that is not our mommy!

Calico still hasn't lambed.  She is going to choose the back corner of the back pasture, and she is going to do it at an inconvenient time.  In fact, she is in the back corner acting odd right now....

Oh, Calico

It appears to be Calico's turn to lamb.  At least is appears that way to me.  Scott thinks she might have another week or so to go.

Sunday, March 31

Thursday, March 28

Wednesday, March 27

Calico was acting odd this morning, and I (temporarily) won the argument.  We put Calico into a lambing jug.  She went crazy.  Even though I still think she will lamb in the near future, Calico has been set free.  She's been eying a spot in the far corner of the pasture, and I have a feeling that I will be dragging her lamb(s) to the barn from there.

In other news, I've finished a hat from Theresa's fleece.

Theresa and the hat.  And a llama, just because.

A close up.  And a llama ear, just because.

Barack, of course, has to smell everything.  He did not like the smell of whatever was on the bottom of Scott's shoe.

Sniff, sniff.

Yuck.