Aliyah's Lambs 2014 "the year of 'e'"

Aliyah went into labor pretty early in the morning April 1, 2014. I sleep with a baby monitor(only during lambing season) in my room so that I can hear any sounds of labor during lambing season. Well, I heard Aliyah making quite a ruckus. She was pawing, getting up and circling, licking and nickering a lot. Poor darling. I bundled up and went out to the barn to be with my baby. I was in for a real surprise. I wasn't out there 5 minutes and out came the most beautiful black lamb! Little Eva. I immediately grabbed my lambing kit out of the corner and got out the nose-sucker-thingy to clear her nose and mouth of mucous so that she could breathe. I rubbed her little body to get her to wake up. Aliyah appreciated all my help, but she liked to do her own licking of her babies. I didn't fight her for that job.

I ran back into the house to wake up mom and dad who had made me promise to wake them up if any of the sheep started having their lambs. And then ran back to the barn and Little Ellie, our little white lamb, was starting to make her way into the world. "Wow!" I thought. "Two ewe lambs! Great job Aliyah!" But, she wasn't finished yet. About a half and hour or so later, Aliyah started pawing and nickering again. I thought she was just finishing her labor and out came Little Eustace, completely enclosed in his birthing sack. A handsome black ram lamb. We were so surprised! Three lambs!

Aliyah did a great job with her delivery this year. If you all remember, last year was pretty hard for her. And we lost both of her lambs. This year she had a super easy delivery, but she decided motherhood just wasn't her thing. She slammed poor little Ellie into the wall. Which is in some cases normal for a ewe to reject one of her triplets, especially one that's a different color. So, I went to work bottle feeding Little Ellie Bear.

But it soon became evident that though she wasn't hurting Eva and Eustace, she wasn't letting them nurse. My folks and I took shifts trying to get her to work with her babies for a good 48 hours, but it was no use. She didn't want them near her. She wanted to be with her buddies. She'd stare out into the pasture so pitifully. So, finally I opened the door of her lambing jug and let her out. She never looked back. And I got 3 bottle babies out of that deal, and a grumpy ewe to milk.

Eva wants to grow up to be just like her mama, Aliyah.

Ellie Bear

Eva

Eustace

A Day of Sunshine

I went 'wild plum' picking today. We have a bit of a ridge full of wild plum trees. In the past we have collected some plums and when a good harvest permits, we make jam. 

I had a better idea this year...

I brought home this not-quite-bushel-full home and got to work. 

Washing, boiling, mashing, cooking down, straining, 

and more straining.

I thought I'd try to dye some yarn with the beautiful reddish pink that these plums produce when sufficiently mashed.

3 words.

DID NOT WORK.

Silly me. When you splice open a plum, it's middle is a pale yellow.

So, I achieved a pale yellow yarn.
2 words.

Lesson learned.

I spent some time with the sheep.

They got a new water bucket. The past few afternoons when I've gone out to check on everyone, the water has been a wee bit low. or just not there.

Cora thinks she looks especially spiffy next to it.

Aliyah and Clara have water wars about who can drink the most when I fill it up. 

Annabelle and the boys, well, they couldn't care less.

So much for adding some excitement to a sheep's life.

"Oh, you're taking pretty pictures of the water? Well, let me help."

"A little more nose perhaps?"

"How 'bout some ear?"

Cora's beautiful curls!

Cora, trying to eat the camera, nuzzle into my hair, get some attention. 

Clara