At last, Nancy has given birth. So far just a tiny little girl, and she is still trailing what looks like part of the bloody sac but still may have another lamb or 2 inside, she's still large. The little brown girl slipped through the fence and was lying outside the sheep pen, so I picked her up and dropped her back inside. Nancy is nuzzling her and I've seen her drink, so all is well with this little one. Remains to be seen if she has more.
Have 4 girls still to lamb. We have 3 boys and 4 girls so far, 2 of the boys already bespoke, although I have no idea on how we are going to catch them next week for sale, they are fast little buggers.
Took Sockeye to butcher yesterday. Jim and Jenny will be collecting the meat in about 2 weeks, he will be really good eating.
The tunnel has over 2 inches of water, I slosh to and from milking. Had to squeegee the milking parlour this morning before milking, as the earth floor room is flooded with sandy water pouring into the milking area. The silt is very slippery, so moved some of the water from the feed room to wash the muck away. Dolly was very suspicious coming in to milk this morning, and then wouldn't leave, her feet kept slipping. I took her collar and "clicked" her out, the sound I make which soothes them and lets our animals know it is all right (Herbie thinks I'm nuts).
The rain has washed the red barn paint off the doghouse that Herbie made, which we placed under the tree in the split of the driveway. Weird. One would think that barn paint would stick better than that.
Picking up our fruit and nut trees from the Ionia Conservation District tomorrow, they moved collection to their offices as the Ionia Fair Grounds are under water. Can't plant them as I cannot dig any holes there is so much water. It's supposed to get up to 70 degrees today, but tomorrows' max temp is slated for 43 degrees. Michigan weather, oh well. I'll be happy with some sun, please. Herbie checked the new hayfield this morning, which he says looks sparse but is greening. I was washing eggs in the kitchen and saw the cows take off running to the back, so could follow Herbies' progress when he was out of sight. Herbie thinks we should get Dolly a training bra, when she runs her udder bobbles all over the place :).
The grass is greening, the willow tree has buds, also our cherry trees, but the others still look dormant. The garlic has started to come up, but the leaves are all shredded from the chickens, ducks and geese. Had to replant 1 clove as it was pulled completely out of the ground - damn poultry. Our daffodils are up, with some yellow showing. Remains to be seen whether the chickens will destroy them before or after opening. I've come to the realisation that one can't have free-range poultry and a garden. Always thought it was dogs or a garden, but I'm wiser now.
Have the next lot of yoghurt draining in the kitchen, which will please my husband. He hasn't had any to eat for a while now. He'd actually prefer yoghurt to ice-cream. Suits me, I'll take the ice-cream, thank you very much !
The other day I helped Herbie spread cow manure over the garden. Once again he drove the big tractor, tipping the scooped black gold over the fence into the shit spreader attached to the little tractor which I then drove around and dispersed. The first loads he did both jobs himself, climbing through the fence each time.
Amy and Marty gave us the rest of their hay, the sheep are enjoying it and say thank you. Sheep are funny, very verbal when they want food, otherwise you don't know they are there. They just have to see me with a bucket and they all run to the fence, making a lot of baa-ing noise. Herbie no like sheep noise.
Yep, just gone and checked on Nancy. She's lying down with her lamb up against her front, having contractions. I walked around the pasture to view her back end, something dark is trying to come out. I've not witnessed an ewe birth before, she actually stands on her front legs and then drops back down at the end of the contraction. Looking at her bulging sides, I'd say there could be another 2 in there. Checked for more eggs, found one in the basement window well, then went into the chicken house. A chicken jumped up and pecked at the egg in my hand and I dropped it. It broke so I threw it outside. Cheeky chicken. I know we have some that break the eggs to eat them, but had never experienced it like that before.