1 down, 7 to go...

Buttercup was back in the maternity ward this morning. About 1 this afternoon, I heard a loud baaaaing, so ran to check the sheep. It was her, in labor. The little white lamb came first. Once her head came out, she slid on out.  But it was rough for a little while. She's adorable!

I thought she might just have the one lamb, but about 45 minutes later, she acted like she was choking and out popped another one. The little black lamb that's standing was 2nd.

Then about 20 minutes later, I saw another water bubble. I was hoping it was afterbirth, but no, here came another lamb!

2 sweet little black lambs and a white with black spots. I think they are all ewe lambs too. And this is Buttercup's first babies!! She even let me get her teats clear for nursing and knock off some of the hay hanging under her belly. She was so good. I did go ahead and give the 2 black lambs some colostrum in a bottle, because the last one was pretty weak. But when I went back out later to give them another bottle, both black lambs were up and nursing!! I am SO proud of Buttercup!

I told the other sheep that they need to spread the lambs out to about every 4 days or so. I hope they listen to me. If this is any indication of lambing, then we could end up with a whole lotta lambs If they all have 3 lambs, that's 24 flippin' lambs! I hope the rest are ram lambs.

Maternity ward...

Can you see Buttercup, in the maternity ward? I noticed her this morning, in the middle stall, by herself. Usually when they are by their selves, they're either sick, or about ready to lamb. And she's ready to lamb!

I think I am ready for this now. I've got all the stalls cleaned and ready for mommas and babies. I have hay and feed. I need to get lots of bands for tails Monday. And to castrate ram lambs.

I feel better about lambing right now. I was pretty stressed out about it. Especially after hearing I won't be able to use the pasture next door. But I think they'll have enough grass to eat with the north pasture, back yard, goat pasture and big garden. I fertilized all but the garden, not thinking I would be having to keep sheep over there. Maybe I can do it anyway.

So bring it on ladies!! We can do this! I have a good feeling. Weather is supposed to be great too.

Next pictures will be of lambs...

They're back!

My birds are back! I'm so happy to see them! I've named them Samwise Gamghee and Rosie Cotton, from The Hobbit. They are so sweet. I love these birds.

Any day now...

there will be lambs galore, running, leaping, chasing each other, jumping on mommas! Oh how I wish it were all over and this was happening. But, it could drag on for a month, which really won't be too bad at all . That will give them all time to bond with their little ones. I just hope they all do.

 3 years ago, Adalaide had twin ewe lambs in early morning rain and cold. She just left them there, on the cold wet ground. Didn't do a  thing. One was already dead when I went out to check on the sheep. The other one, Cara, was barely alive. But she made it and is going to have babies of her own soon. I just hope Adalaide does better this time.

And Annabelle has only had 1 ewe lamb ever, and Buttercup is 4 years old and really really huge herself.

Then there's Amarillo, who had quads. We bottle fed the ewe lambs, Campbelle and Cameron. She kept the 2 boys and raised them just fine. The girls stayed with them after it got warmer and she was ok with that. But she is HUGE! It could be that her wool is making her look a lot bigger, I hope. She was the only one who did not get sheared back in September. Thank goodness the rest did, because this would be a mess.

So there are 4 ewes who have not had lambs. I hope they will all be good mothers and raise their lambs. I do have a friend who will take bottle babies if need be. And I have a freezer full of goat milk, just in case.

Speaking of shearing, we are waiting to hear from my guy. His dad always came to help him, but he has prostate cancer, really bad too. It's all over.  So don't know if he's past away or what. I may need to find someone else. And it will have to wait now anyway, til lambs are born.

So, that's what's happening here on the farm. Waiting, waiting, waiting...

Clematis...

blooming on the old fence.

Smelling VWs

This past Saturday, my husband and I went to Bug-a-Paluza at Camp Jordan. There were SO many VWs there, I know I didn't see them all. And it was sunny and hot.

But I LOVE VWs. Beetles, vans, campers, you name it, I love them. They have always been my favorite vehicle. I was practically raised in a VW. My dad was a teacher, so back then, they got a whole 3 months off. We'd take off in our VW camper and go on long road trips across the country. We'd pull over and camp by the side of the road, or a river bed. Such great memories for me.

One of the things I love best about a VW is the way they smell. It might sound strange, but they do have a very distinctive smell. Some have a slight gassy smell, which is fine. Mine always did. But I loved it. And most of the bugs I owned I could see the road as I was driving, through the floorboards.

So I had to stick my head in all the opened windows, just to smell them. And of course I had to touch each one. And I also talk to them. Because each one has it's own personality.

What makes me sad is seeing the ones that have been made into dune buggies. Or some other thing. A lot of the ones there were SO low to the ground. Back wheels turned in. Just all kinds of wonky things being done to them. And most had air fresheners hanging from the rear view mirrors. Why??

I really like the older models better. Like '69 or older. Something about the windows, lights, fenders, luggage racks. I saw a '58 too. Born the same year as me.

But this one brought back some memories too. Way back when I was 16, my brother who was 17 at the time and my sister who was 12, were living in California with our dad.  We all wanted to go back to Ga. to live with our mom. My brother had a VW van. And I had a dog named Ziggy. We loaded that van up with all our belongings and took off. We headed up to Yosemite National Park first, with a friend of my brothers.

We spent a few days there. Got the van loaded up and took off again and the van broke down. Got it going again but it wasn't going to make the trip. We headed back to LA and traded the van in for a little souped up black VW bug. Looked a little like this little guy here.

So we got him all loaded up. It was so full, my sister was sitting on all kinds of things in the back seat, plus my dog back there too. Took us 3 long days and nights to get to Metter. But we made it! Been in Ga. ever since.

And I've had a few VW bugs since too. A brown one that kept shutting off, at crazy places and times. Like once, right in rush hour in Atlanta in the fast lane on 75. Just quit, right there. My kids were little too.

And another one that did the same thing. Then I got the yellow bug. Got him from a neighbor for $800. She let me pay $50 every other week. Had him for 15 years. Probably spent a million dollars on him too. 2 engines, 2 paint jobs, lots of other work, plus new floor boards and carpet, seatbelts... SO much money. Gave him to our youngest daughter and she had it about 5 years. Then sold it to the guy that did lots of work on it for $500. I almost died when she told me. I was driving down St. Elmo Ave one day going to Chatt. when I looked over to my left and saw a tire going past me. It was mine. Whole thing just came right off. Fun times!!

I know someone understands how I feel about these cars and has fun memories of them too.

Soaking up the sun

It's a glorious day here today. After so much gloomy rainy wet weather, this is amazing! I've already washed towels and rugs and hung them out to dry. It's windy and cold, but the sun is out! We do have a fire going in the wood stove since yesterday morning. It's cold! And will be cold til next Monday. April is such a wonky month really. Doesn't quite know what to do. Hot one day, cold the next. Sunny, then rainy. It actually rained yesterday while the sun was shining. So crazy!

I started digging a trench over in front of the sheep-chicken barn yesterday. It's nothing but a stinking mud pit. Poor sheep can't even get inside without wading trough knee deep wet cold mucky mud. It's horrible. So I decided to dig a trench and route the rain water away from there. So far it's working and water is draining out to the field.

I am expecting lambs from all 8 of the sheep starting the 15th. I see udders on all of them now. I am crazy for doing this. I'm stressing out, thinking of all that could go wrong. I'm dreaming that they all have 4 lambs each. UGH... And Adalaide, who had twins 3 years ago, is huge. One of the lambs was already dead, laying out in the cold wet mud. Cara was barely breathing when I found them. I got her inside and warmed up and got her a bottle of colostrum. She joined the other 2 bottle babies on the side porch. Amarillo had quads earlier that month and didn't really want the 2 ewe lambs. And she is huge now.

And I found out earlier this week that I will not be able to use my neighbors pasture next door. I am so glad I didn't fertilize over there when I did all the rest of my pastures. So we will not have a garden this year. Sheep will be in it. We put up a fence Monday to keep them out of the apple and pear trees and will use that little plot between the trees for a small garden. My husband will plant it. I just do not want to mess with a garden this year anyway, after the drought last year.

The kids are growing like weeds. They turned 4 weeks old Tuesday. I am giving Freya's kids a bottle a few times a day. Seems like she won't let them nurse. I have a friend who wants all 4 doe kids. And my friend who disbuds for me wants Thorin the buck. I am so glad to find good homes for my kids.

S now just waiting on lambs and for the ground to dry out here.