Gentle Giant Meadows Ranch
  • Home
  • "Almost" Daily Diary
  • Maureen's 60th Birthday Trip to England
  • Gertie and Quest: A True Story - The Book
  • Foresaken Love
  • The Gentle Giants
  • Photo Gallery
  • WWOOFER Program
  • John & Jean Hudson Wedding Nov 2013
  • Lambs
  • Poo Time
  • Memories of a New Cattle Rancher

Break out from Jurassic Park

3/21/2012

1 Comment

 
It’s Wednesday morning and the sun is shining over Gentle Giant Meadows Ranch. Since I’m pretty sure we don’t have a celestial pardon, I guess it’s probably shining all over the Pacific North West, either way, we don’t mind sharing and it feels pretty good to have the sun on our backs, it has been a really long Winter !

We never know what we are going to find each day when we open the barn doors. Yesterday, unexpectedly, two tiny lambs were born to number 20. Apparently it was a surprise to her too. Number twenty a big white first timer had none of the normally very obvious signals of impending birth,... the most conspicuous indication generally being a very engorged milky bar. The two little ewe lambs and learner mom were quickly and safely tucked away in a bonding pen to ensure mom accepted responsibility for her offspring and the lambs learnt where the sadly inadequate milky bar was located. Unfortunately for mom ewe and us, number 2o is unable to meet supply and demand which means that mother nature needs a little help and two little lambs are being supplemented with an artificial rubber teat, a recycled plastic Coke bottle and some formula. The infants are slow to accept the imitation mom and mom ewe is clearly unimpressed at the intrusion in the nursery. Over the next vital few days every little drop will help to keep her babies alive and it maybe that the ewe will belatedly stock up her milky bar in response to her babies searching and the formula will not be necessary.   

I was passing the window in the bathroom ( as you do) and out of the corner of my eye I had a fleeting glance of the formation eating team and their lambs. Distractedly I noted the flock was REALLY enjoying grazing the lush Spring grass that is growing around the base of the flagpole…..THE FLAGPOLE !! The sheep had staged a Jurassic Park style breakout, the sedate moms and their exuberant offspring were in the barnyard munching everything they saw, cleaning up like a swarm of locusts…and they were heading intently towards the open gate and the road. A frantic call to Greg who seemed to take a lifetime to answer and Greg and Camille simultaneously appeared from the depths of the barn accompanied by Bran the Border Collie. Bran was ecstatic, all his Christmas’s had come at once…something to chase, unfortunately (a) the ladies were far too busy eating to worry about a dog and b) who worries about a dog anyway, particularly a Bran dog? Once the road gate was closed, Greg set about trying to return the reluctant escapees to their pen... and Bran the dog concentrated on causing anarchy and chaos. Greg pushed Chance (my bottle baby lamb) by the butt in the direction of the gate then turned his attention to Alice our rescue lamb. By the time Alice was pointing in the right direction, Chance had wandered back to visit with Greg and defy the frenzied dog. By this time I confess to having seen the funny side of the confusion and all alone up in the bathroom, horror had quickly turned to uncontrolled and very guilty hysterical laughter . Camille was hanging grimly on to Lamb Chop who only wanted a morsel of carrot and wasn’t sure what all the fuss was about. Greg was pushing and shoving lumpy sheep butts, ewes followed closely by skipping lambs wandering back and forth into the barn and Bran the enthusiastic (but out of control) sheep dog was ineffectually charging up and down, totally ignored by the satiated eating team. When all the sheep had eventually returned to the sheep pen, Greg’s blood pressure had settled, Camille had bribed lamb Chop and Bran had hyperventilated, Camille innocently risked life and limb….”can we do it all again for a photograph ?” Sadly ( but, in retrospect understandably) I think Greg had, somewhere in the time he was wrestling sheep, temporarily lost his sense of humour.

Well, time to go the starving team has returned for their lunch break and need feeding Bran is trying to pretend he didn't get a treat and the sun is still shining . Take care, keep safe. M          
1 Comment
MomS
3/21/2012 09:12:16 am

Well Maureen I guess there never is a dull moment ranch. I hope to visit sometime this summer. There are thoughts that I might be making a trip with the pastor or our church to the Holy Land. I think it is is October. He is going to lead it. If I get the okay from my primary I am going to go. I will be in Chicago for Easter by Florence. Hopefully she will be feeling okay. She is home but doing a lot of coughing. I asked if she had a cold, all she said to me is that that put her on an atibiotic. Talk to you later Mom

Reply



Leave a Reply.

    Author

    Its me, Maureen, (the Boss)

    Archives

    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    July 2017
    April 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012
    January 2012
    December 2011
    November 2011
    October 2011
    September 2011
    August 2011
    July 2011
    June 2011
    May 2011
    April 2011
    March 2011
    February 2011
    January 2011
    December 2010
    November 2010
    October 2010
    September 2010
    August 2010
    July 2010
    June 2010
    May 2010
    April 2010

    Categories

    All

    RSS Feed

Proudly powered by Weebly