Springtime...

...on the farm.

Freckles enjoys getting to kick up his heels in the coral.
We're not sure exactly how old he is as he's not registered, but he's somewhere in his late 20s.
And still lookin' awesome!
:)

Dewey (my bro's horse) and Freckles are reluctant friends.
They enjoy biting and squealing at each other.

My mom was able to take a walk down to the barn to see Freckles today.
Once Freckles gets his hooves trimmed and all of the spring sillies out of his system, my mom is going to start riding him again.

Horseback riding is excellent for someone who has lost the use of their legs because the motion of the horse walking mimics the movement of our legs when we're walking, thus exercising our muscles as if we were walking.  Pretty cool, huh?

Dad and Mom

And now for some lambie pics...

The Nibblin' Lamb

Mitts

My plant starts caught a bit of sun on the deck, as did Bonnie.

Muffin

Happy Trails, y'all!

More lamb pictures...

More lamb pictures?!

Yes, more lamb pictures.

I'll say only this - right now, my sheep and lambs are my life.

They will continue to be a major part of my life for as long as I own them...which means all year.

Just thought I should warn you;)

Sherlock is an exceptionally cute lamb *grin*

That pic is actually from a few days ago when it snowed a bit.

No fresh snow today - we had sun!
And it was 60*F in town!!!  I didn't even need a jacket=D

I finally decided on names for Sweet Pea's triplets.
What could be better than the Misses Dashwood - Elinor, Marianne and Margaret.
Perfect, don't you think?

Poor Marianne came down with an ailment called "joint ill".  My sheep book had nothing whatsoever to say about it (maybe "joint ill" is a local name for some other disease??), but it's some kind of bacterial infection in the joints of the legs.  I noticed yesterday that Marianne's back legs seemed kind of stiff, and she was limping.  When it seemed worse today, I called the vet and described the symptoms.  1CC of penicillin for 5 days should fix her up.  I would appreciate your prayers though.

Thank goodness my bro isn't squeamish about giving shots - I've never been able to give my animals shots.  It's bad enough sticking a full grown horse in the neck, but giving a little lamb a shot under the skin??  No thanks...

"Um, why are you pointing that thing at me??"

All of the other lambs are doing wonderfully - running and leaping, climbing everything in sight.
It's a grand sight, indeed!
I'll try to get a video of them and post it:)

Here my friends, is my adorable pet sheep, Calvin.

Calvin is a Barbados Blackbelly sheep, and he's such a darling...to me, that is.

Mean as can be to the ewes and lambs and won't let anyone get close to him.

Except me.  I can say without hesitation that Calvin adores me.  He'll follow me anywhere, including around our property.   Without a halter and lead on.  Yep, Calvin is an exceptional boy and he is useful, too.

He eats a particularly vicious, invasive and noxious weed we have around here called Knapweed.

It's quite toxic and shouldn't be pulled unless you're wearing gloves, yet he can eat it without a problem.

God's creation never ceases to amaze me.

Okay, back to the lambs...

Just like human babies, lambs have to taste everything...including the fence.
They also enjoy tasting my clothes and my hair;)

Something I'm watching for during the lambs' first week of life are signs of starvation.
As you might image, it's critical that the lambs get enough to eat, but especially if the weather is cold and wet like it's been this spring.
Just a wee bit of momma's warm milk in their tummies, and they can stay warm in below freezing temperatures.  Once again, I am amazed by my Creator.  The instinct He's given even to a newborn lamb, the will to survive, is incredible.  Please don't tell me that all of this "just happened".  Evolved.  Look around you.  There's no way.
*climbs off soap-box*
;)

Margaret

 My bro nicknamed Margaret the "Piranha", because she likes chewing on our fingers and clothes.
I don't mind while all she has are gums, but when she finally gets real teeth...ouch!!

 The triplets:)

Beautiful Fawn.
Llama ears are so cool looking and their eyes are so sweet and soft.
Proud and supercilious as can be, but beautiful creatures.

Happy Trails y'all!

And now there are six...

Anyone want to see more lamb pictures?

You do?!?!  Oh goody!! =)

Yesterday was an extremely busy day as both Sweet Pea and Ingrid decided to lamb in the morning.

To my great surprise and delight, Sweet Pea had triplets!

Triplets aren't exactly rare for sheep, but twins are the norm.

Three little girls=)

My name ideas so far have been...

Arwen, Eowyn and Galadriel

or

Naomi, Orpah and Ruth

or

Marguerite (The Scarlet Pimpernel), Eliza (Elizabeth Bennet) and Arabella (Captain Blood)

or

Victoria (as in Queen), Mary (as in Queen of Scots), and...another historical character. 

I like the first three best, but I'm totally open to name suggestions!

All names must be from literature, the Bible or history.

Sometimes I name them after silver screen stars, like Ingrid.
So, ideas anyone??

I'm still working on recognizing which triplet is which, but I think the above and below pics are of Triplet #1.

This is Triplet #3 for sure - she's smaller than the other two and twice as spunky and curious;)

One of our guard llamas, Fawn.

The other two, Kimmy and Picabo (peek-a-boo), are in the other pen with my pet sheep Calvin.  Calvin is rather rough with the newborn lambs, so he has to stay separate until they're old enough to take it.

All three of the triplets - it was quite difficult getting a good pic with all of them in it.

And now Ingrid's beautiful first-born...

A lovely, big ram lamb!

This being her first time, poor Ingrid wasn't sure what she was supposed to do while she was in labor.   I let her work at it on her own for a while, but after about three hours without getting anywhere it was time to step in and help out.

Thankfully, the lamb was in perfect birth position - both front legs and the head coming out together - and I just needed to pull him gently out.

I am so proud of Ingrid.  She's been an excellent first time mother, taking such wonderful, careful care of her baby.  I didn't even need to hold her still for her lamb to nurse for the first time.  She's a natural:)

I love it when my animals make my job easier.

*grin*

I'm still considering names for him, but I've pretty much decided on Mycroft, "Mi" for short.

For those who don't know, Mycroft is Sherlock Holmes' older brother.

And last but not least, here are a few more pics of Emma's lambs...

Watson

It's been raining cats and dogs for the last few days, but everyone is nice and cozy under the shelter.

I'm so blessed to have such wonderful sheep and six beautiful healthy lambs!!

Happy Trails, y'all!

More Sherlock & Dr. Watson

Warning: viewing these photos may result in overexposure to cuteness.

Watson & Sherlock

Not even a full day old yet, these little boys are as active as Mexican jumping beans!

Which makes it hard to get decent pics of them because of the constant movement;)

Watson

Watson

Watson again - he was being more cooperative for the camera than Sherlock:)

Two completely healthy ram lambs.  Praise the Lord!

time for a nap

I had a short video of the lambs I wanted to share, but Blogger was taking forever to upload it.

Oh well.

 

Happy Trails, y'all!

Sherlock & Dr. Watson

The first of my babies arrived this evening!

These pictures aren't the best as it was getting dark, but here they are anyway.

I'll get better ones tomorrow:)

Allow me to introduce you to Emma's lambs...

Sherlock

Watson

Named after Sherlock Homes and Dr. John Watson, naturally.

That's what I've been reading lately, so there you are:)

Sherlock again

Their cozy home:)

The Bonnie dog was miffed because I wouldn't let her in the sheep pen with me.  Wouldn't even look at the camera for her picture;)  Bonnie loves the lambs and sheep, and as a general rule they don't mind her.   The mommas do not appreciate her presence around their newborn lambs though, so I have to keep her away from them for the first few days.

Ok, I've got to run - the family is yelling at me to come watch a movie with them.
The Lost World, to be specific.

Bye:)