I googled shepherdess -- apart from the obvious (a shepherd with boobs who goes a little slower on a quad) we also have this definition...
An idealized or romanticised rustic young woman in pastoral literature. So for the past few weeks I have been a rustic young woman. With dodgy knees. I thought I'd write down my feelings on how it has all gone. The lambing I mean. On the whole it has been fantastic - for my spirit, my soul and my weight. But there have been some lows:
I have learned to despise the crows and magpies. But they're not to blame for all losses. Some lambs just aren't viable. Or their mum spends too much time cleaning their bums when they're born and doesn't spot their face is covered. So they suffocate. What I find fascinating is the ewes know instinctively which lambs are the weakest too. They lamb twins...one has a slightly dodgy leg? Mum ewe pushes it away. She wants the stronger lamb to have a better chance. It's hard to see a tiny lamb trying to feed when its mum wants nothing to do with it. This, and other situations, are how I ended up with pet lambs. I've had a few now. Some have been successfully adopted (with other ewes) and two sadly died. I have two little ones left - who will stay with me until they're old enough to return to the flock (assuming they don't die before then - not being negative - but lambs have a knack for finding a million and one ways to kill themselves) There are still around 14 ewes left to lamb (correct at the time of writing) so there is always the chance (risk?) of more to come. I always wondered how farmers can shout so much at sheep. They're just animals. They don't know any better. Now that I've done a few weeks lambing I have caught myself calling a ewe a 'nasty cow' a couple of times. They sometimes just make you so mad. But on the whole - they're wonderful. And I have cried more than once over the past few weeks (though I am getting so much tougher...). My conclusion from the whole experience is that I don't want sheep. Not never. They are such hard work. Lambing is just a fraction of the work involved. And so many things can go wrong. I'll stick with my gorgeous pacas. And, while my knees allow, just help out with sheep every now and then. Final thought - for my records: wishing Arwel a speedy recovery after his quad bike accident (that'll teach you!) and Meryl...I'll pray for your sanity, and sleep. Today's photo: The tiniest pet lamb
0 Comments
|
DebbieMe, my life, my family and my travels Archives
November 2022
|