Another Week Flies By

The lambs get bigger. 

Pasture greeting committee.

 (Peanut usually is out in front.  She'd probably already reached me and jumped on me by the time this picture was taken.)

Peanuts help me grow bigger and more awesome.

Macadamia still is quite tiny.

Oddly, Filly's face gets whiter.  Compare these to a few days after she was born and less than a week ago.

Playing on the wheelbarrow is a rite of passage

Is there any food left for me?

 Barack gets more attached to his friends...whether he wants to or not.

Convenient: an alarm clock on one's own body...

...and pals that eat pests while you bathe.

Little Boys

Our ram lambs are both sweet...

Pecan loves the love.

 ...But Almond puts the "ram" in "rambunctious."

Is it playtime?

...or is it snuggle time?

Let's stop and smell the daisies.

 He often leads Filberta (aka Filly) astray.  Wherever he goes, she zooms along behind him.  Unless he gets too close to people.  Filly is a bit shy (like her mama) and it's nearly impossible to get a picture of her (also like her mama).  We did the almost impossible this morning.

The elusive Filly.

 Sandy does try to keep Almond in line.  It's a good thing she has years of experience with this kind of thing. 

I know how she feels.

Lamb Love

 Henrietta and Macadamia have been set free.  Barack O'Llama has morphed from guardian llama to bodyguard llama.  It's further proof that Henrietta is his favorite sheep.

Enjoying a personal escort to the back pasture.

He loves Macadamia, too.

Llama kisses for Macadamia

Almond has been practicing his attack lamb skills.

Eating dresses...

...and small children.

He's also been trying out a new camouflage called "Mud."

When not chewing on people, he apparently rolls in the mud.

But he is sweet.

It might not be so cute when his horns are full grown.

Regular Maintenance

Sheep require a bit of upkeep: shearing, hoof trimming, vaccinations....  With the exception of shearing, we worked on those types of things today.

The "big" lambs-- Pecan, Pistachio, Peanut, Cashew, and Acorn--had their first shot. The tetanus vaccine was right on time for Acorn, who cut her foot on Thursday night. She, as usual, was somewhere she should not have been. (We've upped the lambproofing since then.)  Her bandage came off today, and I feel (slightly) less worried about her.

Ouch.

While Scott did the injecting, I held the lambs.  It gave me an opportunity to really get my hands on their fleeces, and I'm happy to learn that we have a lot of really nice fleeces.  Most of the lambs hopped down immediately after their shot, but Pecan hung out with me for awhile.  He's huge (people who have non-tiny sheep can laugh at this statement).  I think this picture might have been taken after he accidentally bumped my neck with his horn...

My big cuddly boy

...which was nothing.  Almond nibbled on my neck with his sharp little herbivore teeth.  He had been climbing on Scott's legs while he trimmed hooves, so I held him.   He is a really, really friendly little guy, but sometimes he takes it a bit too far.  Just yesterday, he stuck his head up my dress while I was checking on baby Macadamia. The boys find the excessive friendliness charming.  Scott and I have mixed feelings about it.

Almond: wee, cute, & annoying

Macadamia and Henrietta are doing well.  Macadamia such a little sweetie (and of course, Henrietta is a sweetie, too.  A slightly larger sweetie.).

Macadamia

All the older ewes had their hooves trimmed.  Scott is ecstatic to think that we'll be doing this about every eight weeks or so.  Especially Sandy and Calico. 

Elsie getting her mani and pedi.

Finally

Henrietta finally lambed today.  At lunchtime, I could tell that today was the day.  At one o'clock, she was in active labor, and I could see wee little hooves.

Henrietta had a rough time, and even though the lamb was presented normally, we still had to give it a little pull.  No wonder--her lamb is big, especially considering how small Henrietta is.

Henrietta's lamb is a girl.  She is all black, just like her momma.  A small person here has insisted that her name should be Macadamia, so Macadamia it is. 

Henrietta was such a trooper.  She appears to be doing a great job at mothering so far, too.

For someone who hates the rain...

...Barack O'Llama really loves the water hose!

Week in Pictures

Henrietta keeps expanding rather than lambing. 

Under all that belly, she's a petite sheep.

Almond has had his struggles, but is doing a lot better.

Almond's ears get cuter and cuter.

He's the sweetest little guy.

Filly is growing.  She's almost ready to venture into the pasture.

Filly is getting over her shyness.

Relaxing while Mom eats lunch

The "big girls" are getting more independent....

Cashew, Acorn, & Peanut on their own.

...But Peanut still spends lots of time with her mom.

Elvira & Peanut

Cashew and Acorn are beginning to act like their mother...in that they are wee little grain piggies.

Cashew & Acorn, keeping the food away from Henrietta

I'm Sensing a Theme

A few minutes before midnight on her due date, Hazel gave birth to a single lamb.  Hazel's lamb is a girl, and we've named her Filberta (Filly). 

Filly is dark brown, and she has a lot of markings.  She has white spots on her head, spotty ears, and a light colored belly.  I love it, but I am very confused by it all.

Almond is very excited to have a neighbor in the lambing jug next door.  I think Filly and Almond will probably be buddies.

Only one pregnant ewe left to go: Henrietta.  It doesn't look like it will be long before she lambs, but I've been thinking that for awhile.

Sandy: On Schedule

Sandy lambed a few minutes before midnight last night.  She gave birth to one tiny ram lamb.

Lick, lick, lick.

It is quite shocking considering she looked like this yesterday:

Wide load.

We've named Sandy's lamb Almond.  He is all white (which is no surprise at all), and he has the cutest ears I've ever seen. Sandy's doing a great job as a momma, and Almond likely will grow fast as Sandy has ample milk.

Those ears!

Now...off to see what Hazel is up to.

Another due date comes....

Today is Sandy's due date.  We never thought she'd keep her bun(s) in the oven this long...But she has.  We might (hopefully) have a busy weekend in store for us: Hazel is due tomorrow, and although we don't know Henrietta's exact date, we think it might be soon.

Hazel

Henrietta

There's not a lot going on other than watching and waiting.

"I'm watching and waiting for some HAY."

While I watch and wait, I'm working on transforming some of Sandy's fleece into yarn.  It helps me be not as annoyed with her.

Sandy, about half done

It's official: We do have roosters!  Meet Oklahoma...

Too pretty to be dinner.

...and Colonel Brandon.  He's the Specked Sussex (brown and white polka dotted chicken) in the picture below.

Hanging out with some ladies.