They aren't very big....in fact, they are pretty small, they have tightly curled woolley coats that look for all the world like they spent too long in the hot tumble dryer, big ears and snubby noses, they aren't very big...but boy.....they are noisy !!! Baby Doll was the proud momma of a set of twins, two little cotton wool balls on two sets of unsteady, fuzzy legs. Two little mouths searching for a warm flowing milky bar, two new lives and a successful start to our 2015 breeding program (programme, Brit speak). Chance and Alice the two Katahdin ewes are beginning to look like over inflated balloons....udders stretched to bursting and tummies as broad as battleships, clearly, it wont be long...but we are familiar enough with this waiting game to know that mother nature can't be hurried and we watch and wait....impatiently.
It's a very long way up !!!....as the evening shadows lengthened, Greg dusted off Quest's saddle and bridle. It has been quite some time since our big guy had a saddle on his back and it wasn't without a few misgivings and a fervent prayer that I found myself heading out of the barnyard looking between two very attentive ears and hoping for an uneventful ride. Fortunately Erin, astride the older, "been there, done that" bay was there to share our adventure and as the geese splashed and squabbled, the sky turned red and the sun set behind the cedar trees, Quest and Ky wended their way through the forest. Just the sound of horses calling from the barn, leaves crunching under hooves and the creak of leather broke the silence as the two horses turned for home, two friends, two horses, a beautiful sunset and Nature in all her Winter glory. Thank you Erin, we had fun.
Greg and James have been busy doing "man stuff".....I guess, from a female point of view, that can be easily broken down into making, breaking and burning ! Together they have constructed bonding pens big enough to serve as nurseries for our ample sized ewes and their offspring, they have dismantled anything and everything that no longer served a purpose and wisps of grey smoke have curled over the barns as red and orange flames consumed branches logs and brush on cold Winter afternoons, watched over by an attentive Jim and mentor Greg.
With Spring just around the corner, lambs being born and the trees beginning to leaf and blossom, our thoughts have turned to weeding and planting. Matt, Greg's son and grandsons, Brennon and Cammeron came for the day and the sound of the rototiller and happy children's voices echoed around the farm as the old chicken coop was transformed into the new, deer proof (we hope) garden. The boys are rapidly growing from children into young men. We cherish the time we are able to spend with them before the speed of life take them into adulthood and hope that they will always remember their days down on the farm with us. We have had an exceptionally mild Winter and are anxious that the month of March will bring retribution in the form of snow ice and winds.....the daffodils are flowering, snowdrops line the hill side and purple crocus are scattered amongst the blue bells in the garden...the plum and cherry trees are blossoming but...it is all too early ! I for one have not discarded my Winter woolies and when Jack Frost once again calls on the Pacific North West...I'll be ready.
Time to call it a day. Take care, keep safe, M
It's a very long way up !!!....as the evening shadows lengthened, Greg dusted off Quest's saddle and bridle. It has been quite some time since our big guy had a saddle on his back and it wasn't without a few misgivings and a fervent prayer that I found myself heading out of the barnyard looking between two very attentive ears and hoping for an uneventful ride. Fortunately Erin, astride the older, "been there, done that" bay was there to share our adventure and as the geese splashed and squabbled, the sky turned red and the sun set behind the cedar trees, Quest and Ky wended their way through the forest. Just the sound of horses calling from the barn, leaves crunching under hooves and the creak of leather broke the silence as the two horses turned for home, two friends, two horses, a beautiful sunset and Nature in all her Winter glory. Thank you Erin, we had fun.
Greg and James have been busy doing "man stuff".....I guess, from a female point of view, that can be easily broken down into making, breaking and burning ! Together they have constructed bonding pens big enough to serve as nurseries for our ample sized ewes and their offspring, they have dismantled anything and everything that no longer served a purpose and wisps of grey smoke have curled over the barns as red and orange flames consumed branches logs and brush on cold Winter afternoons, watched over by an attentive Jim and mentor Greg.
With Spring just around the corner, lambs being born and the trees beginning to leaf and blossom, our thoughts have turned to weeding and planting. Matt, Greg's son and grandsons, Brennon and Cammeron came for the day and the sound of the rototiller and happy children's voices echoed around the farm as the old chicken coop was transformed into the new, deer proof (we hope) garden. The boys are rapidly growing from children into young men. We cherish the time we are able to spend with them before the speed of life take them into adulthood and hope that they will always remember their days down on the farm with us. We have had an exceptionally mild Winter and are anxious that the month of March will bring retribution in the form of snow ice and winds.....the daffodils are flowering, snowdrops line the hill side and purple crocus are scattered amongst the blue bells in the garden...the plum and cherry trees are blossoming but...it is all too early ! I for one have not discarded my Winter woolies and when Jack Frost once again calls on the Pacific North West...I'll be ready.
Time to call it a day. Take care, keep safe, M
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