I put Bessie in her lamb stall last night as she didn't eat and I knew she'd lamb. I left the other three pregnant ewes free range in the three stall lambing suite. Arrived at barn this morning to see first time mom Little Lil licking a newly arrived lamb, and she had two feet sticking out of her. I checked on Bessie and she had two girls, all clean and dry so she probably delivered late night. I did my barn chores and kept an eye on Little Lil's progress, then watched as she went down and delivered her twin. All four are girls. Each mom had a brown, and a white. I think Edith will go tonight.
Sometimes things go so smoothly, like this time. Since I took a year off from lambing, I'm grateful our first girls did the job well and all appear healthy. I've found after 10 years of this that it is usually best to be observant, but to stand back and let Nature do most of it. I remember our first lambing season- I wish I had a voice over of it on film! I was a nervous Nellie, in and out, checking the poor ewes every 10 minutes.
We had about four seasons under our belt before we had any problems, so that was lucky too. So I don't take it for granted, and it was just so nice to have this all at my fingertips this morning. I even got my morning ride in without worry.
The light was so beautiful in the barn in the afternoon-it always is, like a cathedral. You're heard me say that before–that the barn is my cathedral. With mothers and their young about it makes it all the more sanctimonious. Life and death are so entwined in the barns. As a new life enters, an older goat is asleep in another stall, and the animals go about their day as usual-no big deal, all this lambing. Just as on a day of death, they do not get rattled-they notice, and record the fallen figure, but move on. Their day centers around food and safety.
