Feeling Sheepish

I'm very sorry if you're tired of hearing about sheep; I can't say that I blame you. I'm with you. If you simply can't handle another sheep post - I suggest you stop now - because we're still feeling pretty sheepish around here.

For those of you who are still reading...
Yesterday was a truly classical mayhem day. We haven't had many of those lately. It has been pretty quiet these past few months. Disturbingly quiet. Things were going pretty well, until 4:00 when it was time to go out and give the sheep their mid-afternoon snack. The first hint that all was not well was the sheep half-buried in a snow drift. (No, I didn't take a picture.) Evidently she had been trying to crawl under the bottom rung of the wooden fence. Well, she was 'great with lamb' and only managed to make it half-way before she got stuck. That's when the wind came along and dumped a whole snowdrift on the poor thing, and there she had been for a great long while - judging by the icicles on her chin and eyelashes.

After about ten minutes of shoveling, I had her free - but she wouldn't stand up. Eventually, (with the help of my brother) we were able to get her up and in the barn. (Where she proceeded to eat non-stop for the rest of the evening.)

I really felt like I had done enough to deserve a mug of hot chocolate at that point; but in the process of excavating Meredith, I had noticed a lamb I didn't recognize, wobbling around one of the sheds. After convincing myself that we wouldn't be amputating any frozen sheep feet - I went looking for that lamb...

I found her in a little shed, all snuggled up against one of our older ewes - Amelia. I could immediately see that Amelia was right in the middle of having a lamb - so I assumed this baby was hers also. Something was strange though... The baby looked like it was a couple of hours old - so either Amelia was having trouble or this wasn't her baby... (Lambs usually aren't that far apart.) Strangely enough; she kept on talking to it and licking it like it was hers... Meanwhile, Amelia's three year old daughter, Alice, was running in circles around the shed baaa-ing in that certain voice that they only use when they are looking for their babies. That's when I found another little lamb in the corner, all covered with snow, that hadn't made it. Probably Alice's. Putting two and two together - I knew that the other baby was Alice's too - despite what Amelia was saying about it.

I decided to pick the little shivering thing up and take it to the barn - within five seconds - I had two bellowing mommas chasing after me. One of which was getting ready to drop a lamb any minute. I postponed offering to cut the lamb in two - figuring that if I just waited a few seconds - we would have another lamb to bargain with. Sure enough, the moment Mom and I had some straw on the floor, Amelia had her lamb. As soon as she saw her own little boy, she was sufficiently distracted. As crazy as the last half-hour had been, everyone quieted down at that moment. It doesn't matter how many lambs I catch - I still panic those first few seconds. His little lips were purple. But then he sputtered - and then he cried - and all was well.

Within five minutes, he had a little brother. A teeny tiny little brother. Amelia was happy. My hands and feet were frozen, but I couldn't resist taking a moment to soak up the peacefulness - and examine the tiny little ears and noses in the soft red glow of the heat lamp.

By that time it was dark, and I was numb, and a cup of tea was sounding like a really good idea. More than enough mayhem for one day.

We had yet another lamb this evening... The snowdrift lady (Meredith) made a speedy recovery - and was well enough to have her little boy. (And she still has all of her feet - by some miracle.) We are now at the point where I have officially lost count of how many sheep we have. I'll get back with you on that.