1/29/2007

JANUARY 2007

I have to at least write a little something about January 2007. It started out very mild and unlike any winter I’ve experienced to date. Ah, but now, there is reason to believe that Old Man Winter does still live here in the hills. He took a long time to awaken, but he’s actively blowing freezing winds and causing the little whiskers around the sheep’s mouths to catch mositure and freeze like little silver threads. I’ve shut the ewes in at night to help them stay closer and warmer. Having sheared them on Solstice, December 21st, they don’t have a lot of wool on. They have coats on, but they don’t warm them as much as you might think. The coats are good for keeping the fleece clean and free of VM.

I may be adopting an ornory doe goat to  be a companion to my ornory old ram Paragon. I will move the two up to Cranberry Cove for the rest of the winter to make more room for my ewes and later for the lambs too. I did have my first kick from Chenille the llama last week. I, by mistake and not thinking, put both my hands on her rump as I was just about to loose my balance. She did not appreciate such contact and swiftly kicked my left chin. Luckily my boot protected most of the blows impact. I wouldn’t want to be on the recieving end of a llama attack, that’s for sure. I reassured her it wasn’t her fault and we carried on.

I’m so glad I’m lambing in April again this year. With the cold temperatures now, I feel confident I made a good choice to put lambing into the warmer side of Spring.