22 Jan THe beauty of lambing season!
The story of our first lambing season goes back a ways, back to Lopez Island and Donny and Leanne Burt. We were brand new at animals. In fact, at that point, all we had ever owned as a family was a dog. So, like we always did, we jumped in with both feet. We bought pigs, adopted goats, built a chicken coop from scrap lumber, and filled it with chickens, and then we met the Burts. They showed us their sheep, talked to us about bottle lambs, and told us we could buy one super cheap if they had any more come available. So we said we would take 2. A few days later, we got the call and so started our love affair with sheep.
There is something magical about sheep. They seem to smile and their bleat is peaceful and lovely. Sheep should be on everyones list of animals to add to the farm. Plus, they taste DELICIOUS!!!
We hadn’t even closed on the ranch yet when we met as a family in the living room to discuss what animals we were going to add. The purpose was to try to figure out what everyone wanted and when. The scene could have been out of some reality TV show. You can imagine all six of us sitting in a fully furnished executive leased home. The view out the back panorama windows overlooking the pool, the kids recently back from tennis and golf lessons sitting around talking about chickens, goats, sheep, and pigs. It was a sight for sure. Needless to say, sheep were at the top of the list, only after chickens.
Now fast forward a couple of months and picture those same six people living out of suitcases in adjoining motel rooms with four beds, two giant dogs, two parakeets, and a hedgehog for two weeks when moving out and moving in didn’t line up as we had hoped. But, true to form, the conversation still held, and sheep were on the list. We looked and looked but finding sheep in November in East Texas was a tall order. But our memories and friends sustained us, and we did indeed see what we were after.
Two bottle baby Dorper rams and four pregnant royal white females were ready for the ranch. But like everything in life, there was a laundry list of things that needed to be done before we could bring them home. The first of which was to plan the pasture with winter ryegrass.
A few weeks later, and finally, we were able to bring home the heard, and now, just about two months later, we have made it through our very first lambing season!
There is beauty in the process, and there is blood. There is majesty tempered with tragedy. We are thrilled to have welcomed five new lambs into the flock, and yet we also experienced the sadness of the loss of one of the twins during the third birth. We are thrilled that the moms could deliver unassisted and that the lambs are quickly becoming the hoppy, happy, playful lambs we had hoped for.
We love God’s plan of creation. That two becomes four, and our little flock of 6 is now 11. Come on down to the ranch and meet the little ones. No names yet, but I am sure that they will be getting them soon!
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