A year in Wales and my Facebook feed is unrecognisable: from updates on the latest auction prices for sheep and cows to weekly tractor and farm machinery sales and a host of local issues (e.g. "who let their dog crap outside my front door?" and "does anyone have any sandbags"?) .
And my own timeline?..how we've moved on from the woes of the daily commute. My commute this week is:
Lambing is all-consuming. Well it is when it's your first experience. I am chief 'business-end' checker. Looking out for the tell-tale signs. I can spot a ewe who is likely to go into labour at 100 paces (Not entirely true... but I'm feeling slightly smug today as I suspected a ewe was getting ready because I thought she looked a bit 'pissed off'. I wasn't wrong though. She did start about half an hour later). I also have two bruises on my rear. From the quad bike. It appears when I ride pillion I sit so far back that I sit on two bolts. The quad on a farm track is not the smoothest of rides. Today's photo was going to be one of Joe and his first (junior school) prom date, Chelsea. But I might not get anything for Mother's day if I post that one. So here's a lamb.
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We've been in Wales for a year. A whole year of dust.
Looking back we've done so much and come so far:
And yesterday, for me, it got even better... Every day I pop down to Helen and Rick's to see how things are going down there. According to their maths - their lambs are due to start arriving this week. So yesterday I was even more hopeful that they'd have their first healthy babies. Some of their pregnant ewes are up near the house (the polytunnel field) - mainly ones who're expecting twins. And yesterday when I arrived one of those ewes had taken herself into a corner. As Rick says...she seems to have 'found a place'. After at least an hour of her pawing (hoofing?) the ground, lying down, getting up, and so on - she was definitely up to something and things were starting to look a little fraught. To be honest - at that moment I felt sick. I was worried for her. If she was human - she'd have been shouting abuse to the father. Rick decided we needed to step in. Things were stuck. So I donned my gloves (which ripped as I put them on), Rick laid the ewe down and (cutting out some of the process)...I pulled. That moment when the (big boy) lamb slid out, as I checked he was breathing, cleared his mouth and put him in front of his mum...I will never forget. The biggest grin on my face - and relief. Such a relief. His baby sister arrived some time after - with no intervention required. Biff(a) and Chip. We left them all alone to bond (and for mum to clean then up) before we took them into the polytunnel. By the time I left I had lamb wee down my front, something rather nasty up my sleeves, and baby lamb sloppy poo up the back of one leg. But it didn't end there... Much later, around Stu's bedtime, Helen messaged to say another ewe had just had her first and the second was expected soon. So I put on all my best wee and poo-proof clothing and went to join Helen on lamb-watch. But the time I got there the second lamb had arrived - mum had one girl (black) and one boy (white). Yin and Yang. And it didn't end there... Looking around the poly-tunnel one of the other ewes was looking restless - so we put her into a pen, just in case. Cutting the story short again (these things go on for a while)...two more boy lambs. One looking very like a baby goat. Billy (the Kid) and Pat (Garett). Six lambs in one day - all born before midnight. And all looking pretty healthy as we called it a night. I finally got to bed at 1am - to dreams of sheep in labour. Many thanks to Rick and Helen for putting up with me and my questions. And for letting me be part of something quite wonderful. I am on my way to getting my lamb midwife certificate*. * Not a real thing. Today's photos?...
Before we moved to Wales, Spring, for me, was buying a bunch of daffs from Sainsburys every couple of weeks (tulips if I was feeling flush).
Now it is the sound of tiny lambs when I wake in the morning - that we can just about hear through the howling winds we're having. It is proper windy up here on the hill. Surprised we don't see lambs flying past the house. So what's new?
Today's photo..a rather surprised looking lamb |
DebbieMe, my life, my family and my travels Archives
November 2022
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