Minerva and Paddy

While we were dealing with Fiona, Bridie and Brendan, Minerva had quietly given birth to her ram lamb and had settled down with him. Where Fiona did not even lick her twins off (essential to bonding) Minerva had hers all taken care of. Last year she had twin rams, and I was really hoping for a ewe from her. She is part Cheviot and very athletic. When she was a lamb herself she would fly through the air in great bounds about the field. It was wonderful to watch. Minerva's fleece is long and beautiful. I sure hope I get a ewe out of her next year. While all the lambing drama was unfolding the phone rang. It was Nancy Myers - known around here as the "Shepherd's Shearer." I must have called her forty times last fall and never got her on the phone. She had a cancellation and was wondering if I could fill it in. Now, I have been terribly remiss in not booking a shearer, for various reasons, and to get one at this late date, and a popular one like Nancy, is a miracle. She is even bringing another female shearer to help out and get it done faster - always a plus for the sheep, who think they are about to be killed. Really, the sheep are pampered all year for the most part. They are fed, watered, grazed and left alone to grow wool and get pregnant. When they are sheared they get their vaccines and are wormed again, along with hoof trimming. It is important to get the wool off of them, as it degrades the longer it is left on. The lambs jumping on the mother's backs doesn't help, either. When the weather starts to get warm, the heat of the sheep's body, combined with any moisture from rain or the field, causes the wool to felt on her...not good! So I got three new lambs, and a shearer fell out of the sky on St. Patrick's Day. Fiona is muttering to Bridie and Brendan, a good sign, and she is not butting them away. Yesterday she wouldn't look at them. We'll see.