More seeds have gone into pots today; the barn cats are enjoying the marginally nicer weather and have been bouncing about quite happily. Peter spent a bit of time out of doors with them today and there was great friendliness and happiness on display.

Peter and Omaha have been a bit competitive and territorial for lap and cuddle time, but both seem to have found a compromise of pinning a farmer down at night, two on one. No further health issues have been found.

Today's seeds which have been planted are as follows:

Italian sweet basil
Black Krim tomatoes
Hungarian yellow wax sweet peppers
Peppermint
Cilantro
Summer savory
Dwarf Greek basil
Sweet marjoram
Green sage
Italian oregano
Garlic chives
Curly parsley
Market Miracle tomatoes
Blue curled kale
Cushaw green striped winter squash
Mortgage Lifter tomatoes
Moon & Stars watermelon
Cherokee Purple tomatoes
Amish paste tomatoes
White Wonder tomatoes
Green Zebra tomatoes
Yellow Pear tomatoes
Red Pear tomatoes
Green Grape tomatoes
Piri piri peppers
Brandywine tomatoes

One way or another we will have plenty of vegetables! The already planted stuff is already at the point where it's going to need to be thinned for the health of the plants. Once thinned we'll give it a week or two and then consider transplanting to larger pots and eventually begin the hardening off.

It has been a wet and windy turn to the season for a while now. Omaha has the right idea about how to cope with it.

Peter is taking very well to being a house cat. He is amazingly affectionate, and he and Omaha have settled down fairly peacefully into a truce. They are not quite friends, but not really suspicious of each other either.

The lamb, number 12, died. We lost track of him one night, and the next day found him in a rather dazed state. We took him inside again so that he wouldn't spend another night outside, giving him hay, sweet feed and water, but it didn't help. The next morning he was glassy-eyed, breathing heavily, and after a little time died. We couldn't slaughter him for his meat because of the medication he'd received, so we buried him in the orchards where the trees could benefit.

Spring is well under way. The wild irises in the pastures are poking up their heads. The sparrows are multiplying despite the best efforts of the barn cats. The ewes are definitely showing signs of their pregnancy, and so we have switched from grass hay to alfalfa. It is more expensive, but has a higher protein content. This should help them through the final stages of pregnancy.

We bought fifty t-posts for fencing, but have yet to place them. While one has to work through rain in this climate, the combination of heavy rain and high wind has limited the amount of outdoor labour we have done. As soon as we have breathing space, we shall purchase more trees to plant, and then the lambing should be well under way.

It's been a very busy weekend, complete with vet consultations, trips out of the area to visit friends, friends coming to visit us, the purchase of a new firearm suitable for dealing with black bear and elk, the return of a critter and the loss of another. We've also been having lovely spring weather, which has been absolutely delighting the barn kitties; here Slightly rolls around demanding attention and apparently giving a thumbs up to the purported end of wintry weather.

The sick lamb was put outside so that the downstairs bathroom would be usable by company; Tink found him absolutely irresistable as he clearly registered as prey. He's made of meat, isn't he? And she wasn't the only one to find him so irresistable. Beyond the cuteness of those big brown eyes and that woolly coat, those curling ram's horns, there's just something about the grass eaters, isn't there? Not to be denied, she began to stalk him across the lawn, the fence no real deterrent.

Nibs joined in on the fun. He stalked the lamb clear up to the fence, then made his way over the fence and into the enclosure! He charged at his prey! He leaped, ready to give the coup de grace and sink his claws and fangs into quivering, helpless flesh -

Oh wait. This prey's still three or four times his size! Abort mission! Abort mission! We repeat, abort the mission, they're bigger than we were told!

So, what're YOU looking at? He attempted to be very nonchalant about his oh so abortive attempt at bringing down his target. The lamb, meanwhile, ignored the cats completely and got on with the business of nomming grass. Grass is much more important than lame non-threats like barn kitties.

The vet checked him out and we had given him (at her advice) a dose of Ivermectin to help clear up any parasite loads he might be

carrying. She gave him a shot of vitamin supplement and we left him to clearing out and eating. The lamb went missing later in the night; despite searching, we could not locate him at all, until he more or less located himself, arriving on the porch doorstep and more or less making a beeline with assistance for the bathroom. He spent the night in there and was reluctant to leave but we put him outside again for the day, but he refused to stay confined. He went missing again in the late afternoon and we have no idea where he's gotten to. Tomorrow we will be checking the paddock if he has not showed up.

In other news, the vet brought Peter home with her when she came! He is still on medication but is settling in well, albeit being ridiculously clingy, loving and purry. He has begun to get less and less cooperative about pill time, though, so he must be feeling better.

It's also been seed-starting time, and we've got many seeds started under a grow lamp. Three kinds of tomatoes, two kinds of cucumbers, bean, squash, artichokes, charentais melon, shelling peas, jalapeno and sweet peppers all went under Friday, and today beets and cabbage went under. There's still radishes, carrots and mustard greens to be done, and some more seeds going to be arriving. As of today, some of Friday's seeds were observed to have begun unfolding from their cases. All in all, it's been busy and productive.