Friday, January 04, 2008

Four Below Zero

It is so cold out today. Everything has a blue cast to it. No wonder blue is considered a cool color. It just makes me shiver looking at this photo of the beautiful hill above my brother-in-law's barns.


On days like these, I feel quite apprehensive arriving at the barn. I never know what the cold has brought. I also feel great anticipation. The Farmer is the one who cares mostly for the sheep. I am the moral support and emergency help mostly. Lambing time is a very exciting time to be living on a farm. Okay, maybe not your kind of excitement, but it is exciting for us.


This morning there were five new lambs. One is small and it’s mother is in question. That is – we don’t know who it’s mother is because noone is claiming it. There are two suspects. Could be a problem. Hope not. By the end of the day, we hope it will be sorted out, one way or the other.

One ewe died last night. She was an old sheep and the weather mostly likely stressed her. Old sheep and brutally cold do not make a good combination.

Lamb Count at the Barn – 37
Lamb Count in the House - 0

19 comments:

Anonymous said...

Those lambs are just darling! Hope to drop by Northern Woolies tomorrow!

old lady said...

Thank you for the cute picture. Please keep sharing with the rest of us - I for one love hearing about your sheep. All of you keep warm!

Peg-woolinmysoup said...

Just think - those little faces have fleeces to come that may keep a small baby warm or a lady fashionable. That is a 'cool' looking landscape!

Dianne MacDonald said...

Congratulations on the zero lambs in the house,so far!! Good news for everyone concerned.

Mia said...

Such cute faces. And I hope you are able to find the missing mama. And the weather has been cold. Hopefully it will warm up a bit.

knititch said...

i think hearing about the farm is so wonderful and evocative. the posts about coyotes. so strange for me here in denmark and i had to look up what a coyote looks like since i only know joni mitchell's song, which is a favourite.
enjoy the beauty of the cold.

dawnbrocco said...

I can commiserate with that poor old ewe not being able to handle the cold well. Minus 3 here this morning.

The new babies, of course, are so sweet! Hope the mama-on-vacation claims her young one.

The Chatty Housewife said...

You must live in the prairies if you call that a "hill!" I grew up in Saskatchewan, Canada, and I miss the prairies now. Those lambs are adorable. Hopefully things get sorted out and you can continue to have a lamb free house!

Suzanne said...

Yes, lambing is exciting to me! I l love those little lamb faces with lips kind of puckered up. How cute.

knititch's gone and mentioned Joni Mitchell's "Coyote" and now I'm off to You Tube to listen. It's my favorite also.

Mama Urchin said...

My four year old wants to take a photo of my computer screen since those lambs are "so cute."

Anonymous said...

Those are dear little faces!

Kathleen said...

What an adorable photo! Silly me...you can tell I've not been near a farm...I thought lambs were born in the spring! Hope all continues well.

Willow said...

We just returned to SoCal from Detroit where the temperature was 7 degrees when we arrived. The cold hurt my bones! I'm just not used to it. I hope you and the lambs stay warm. They really are so cute!

Lynn said...

37 in the barn, none in the house - that's good! (so far, I'll keep my fingers crossed)

I'm sorry I missed you at Northern Woolies - I'm hoping I'll catch you at the Odyssey Bookstore, and I'm really hoping my poor hands will heal enough to have cast on something from your book by then!

tut-tut said...

Beautiful pictures; I hope they stay well. I was talking to someone who raises angora goats, and they had one in the house . . .

Anonymous said...

Hi, Kristin...
I just checked the weather in Long Beach, it'll be 70 degrees and sunny the whole time we're there!
Amy G.

Knitting Linguist said...

The lambs are darling! I hope the mama claims hers, so you don't have to fill in for the time being :) Sending warm thoughts you way...

Turtle said...

Lol, why weren't we friends when i lived out that way?? smile* I love the pics and must continue to live vicareously through you as hubby is so against a small farm. How was your book signing?

Anonymous said...

Alright. That does it. I don't think I'm ever going to eat lamb again!

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