One of my purebred ewes was acting a little funny at feeding time last night. Now, it is quite a noisy and chaotic time when Izzy is running the sheep and goats out of the barn and we are getting the bowls ready and bringing the grain down from the upstairs storage room. She was making funny noises and I thought she was seperated from her lambs and calling to them in that special language...She kept sniffing at one spot on the hay...but I went about my business. It was snowing, the wind was howling and it was bitter cold, so I didn't want to keep the moms and lambs outside for long. All of a sudden...there was a little slimy bundle on the hay! And another one just beyond the first one! Like two little spurts within minutes - the way twins are supposed to happen (but mine didn't as you know from a previous post). I couldn't believe it! I called Matt and we quickly got the pen ready. I usually let the mom do all the licking and bonding on the spot but a quick judgement call had me scooping them up and doing my bent-over sliding backward Michael Jackson act with the lambs in front of her nose...she followed beautifully. Once the newborns were placed on fresh hay in the jug we got the others fed and I got to work on the little ones. It is one of my favorite places in time...in the jug with a mom and newborns. I am seized with an overwhelming peace and faith in God and the future of the planet when I see the mystical magical bond between mother and child manifesting itself before my very eyes. The fact that I can have a minor role in this miracle is an honor indeed.
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