Our springtime lambs are doing well, racing about the pastures and learning all the things there are to see and do on the farm. Sometimes they meet other of our farmyard residents as well, with mixed results: the geese are having none of it, especially with the goslings around. The chickens, on the other hand, are fairly unconcerned - at least about the lambs - and while there is not that much direct fraternization, there are no hard feelings, either.

 We did have a skunk visiting the farm, which explains the loss of many of our ducklings, goslings, and eggs. A well-placed shot in time took care of that, and vinegar took care of much of the smell; the return of the rain handled the rest, leaving the farm much more peaceful, particularly at night. While there are still the occasional goose and chicken alarms and dramatic storms, these have diminished for the time being. No period remains peaceful forever, of course, and we remain vigilant for new interlopers.

 In the meantime, our young arrivals are enjoying showing off for the camera, and show every sign of growing up to be obstreperous yet productive members of our little farm society. As spring rolls on, we will be keeping an eye on how big and how fast they grow. For now they remain adorably pint-sized, with a side order of fluff!

Little Lambs in the Wood

 Two new lambs have joined the cast here at Silver Cat Farm, courtesy of the ewe we know colloquially as Harriet (due to her lightning-bolt mark on her forehead). Harriet has been large enough of late for us to think she wasn't just smuggling watermelons but might somehow have consumed an entire other full-sized sheep; with our little boy and girl twins here, we now know why.

(For the record, the darker one on the left is our little ram lamb, while the cunning lighter-haired girl to the right is our little ewe lamb.)

While the first 48 hours is always crucial, we have hope that our lambs here will make it; they are alert and fairly sprightly, having struggled to their feet with reasonable speed, and are following mama around the pasture as she crops at grass. We have given them quick check-ups and made sure there is plenty of alfalfa around for mama, if she gets around to it before all the other sheep finish it all; if not, there's still hay and mineral, water and grass. Welcome, little lambs, to spring!

Winter's last gifts

Winter did not leave us without a last blast of rain, making up much of the deficit resulting from the otherwise rather dry and calm season.  Local flooding and icy roads made travel difficult, but the farm survived and now that the sun is warming the earth, the grass is responding to the heat and moisture.

We have combined our flocks again, with the pure british soay nibbling the grass around the house while the north americans eat the first flush of a paddock kept untouched during Winter.

The poultry are determined to get an early start on nesting, and with fresh straw bale shelters defending them from the elements, the geese and ducks are promising us many clutches.  Whether or not they keep this promise remains to be seen.

We have received hides back from the tanner, and he did beautiful work for us.  Soft, perfectly tanned hides with the fleece still on them.  As it happens, he is one of very few tanners who developed processes which satisfy the EPA, and this means that he should be in business for a long time.  The value of the meat and hides means that we may be somewhat more aggressive about our breeding projects than would otherwise have been justified.

There is a lot of work to be done.  We shall be collecting and planting trees from the nursery soon, as well as repairing some fences which are showing signs of wear. 

The tail end of Winter

This season has been mild, as climatologists predicted.  The one exception was a brief arctic blast which turned the rain into ice, and then several inches of snow.  With the return of the rain, the thaw was rapid.

Winter has also been rather dry, which suits the sheep well.  As ever, the waterfowl hardly care.  We have obtained fresh straw bales with which we make nesting shelters, and already there are eggs hidden here and there.  The ducks in particular show signs of feeling broody, as do some of the bantam hens.  This bodes well for the coming breeding season.

Since we have bred so few of our ewes, we do not expect very many lambs this season, but that was by design.  Mercifully the mild weather has also meant that we only had one lamb lost - a sickly, late ewe lamb.

This coming springtime should be a time of development for us.  We shall be obtaining a powered press for our wine, to help speed the production of large quantities, and we shall also be planting more trees and taking delivery of a couple of dozen hides from the tanner.  What we shall do with them remains to be seen, but lambswool jackets sound like a good idea.