Ewe Are My Sunshine

11:43 PM, 17 February 2010
Temperature: 23 F, clear and calm with some wind

The pregnant ewes have all been content to stay in their enclosure for a change; possibly the nice sunny weather we had today made them less filled with wanderlust. We got a picture which indicates that our ewes have reached a state of pregnancy where one has to wonder if they're not part watermelon. Suffice to say, the betting pool for the ewes' arrival stands at 'any day now', and every day where we aren't greeted with newborn lambs is a surprise.

The ewes weren't the only ones enjoying the sunny weather. We aired the rabbits a bit, in order to check on them and make sure that they are properly socialized. The lilac doe is still very shy and skittish, although it is possible to stroke her while putting feed or water in. The new water crocks (10 ounce plain white ramekins) have come but we have not yet made a full changeover.

The white buck is clearly bored and has been quite destructively chewing his habitat. We'll need to make provisions for that and possibly give him other things to chew.

Minnow's kits are still alive. One of the three kits now has eyes open but the other two are lagging a bit behind. They're pretty skittish and tend to hide but are gradually getting more and more active. Mama Minnow is likely to cut the milk bar off for good soon.

We allowed the barn cats through again for the first time since Tootles lost them the privilege of being in the rest of the workshop. He was nervous and skittish when we came in, hovering in the doorway there for fear of being shut out of there again. Training him out of that will take time, but some progress was made. As usual, they were all lured back in for the night through the simple precedent of picking up their food bowls when they were allowed out and putting them back down again when we wanted them back in.

We've begun putting together the shelving units for the seedlings. They may need to be tethered down in case of more high winds and we may want to put cardboard or plywood under them as there are a great number of mole and possibly gopher mounds in the area. One of the two units is thus assembled, however, leaving one to be done and the plastic tenting to be arranged.

One of the house cats enjoyed a bit of sun despite two ducks being at most four feet from him. They appeared to have a gentleman's agreement going on, and there were no hostilities for the duration. We kept the peace anyway by keeping a bit between cat and ducks just in case. All in all, a pleasant and productive day.