April 28, 2007 by Elaine.

It is quiet, except for a few brave and hopeful peepers at the pond’s edge.  The air is soft after the rain, a fog has rolled down the hill into the valley, leaving a wisp behind here and there.  The sounds and smell of spring… it is good. The moon is high over mother Maple, and the clouds have parted for a while.  The sheep are thoughtful, ruminating, their lambs fed and tucked in for the night.  Our beloved Juniemoon has her babe nestled on her back, Annie has a brand new baby girl she is getting to know and Stella is nesting out on the back hillside paddock…waiting.  No one is laboring.  They know the routine now and don’t feel the need to get up as I pass by with a flashlight.  My own nest here in the grain room is cozy and warm, my favorite music of David Darling’s Eight String Religion, soothing my mind.  It is in these quiet peaceful nights of lambs that I miss my shepherd friends the most…Jimmie and now Stef.  How they loved lambing, the joy they felt overflowed into the lives of so many. Of all the wonders these sheep have brought to my life, it is the people I treasure the most.

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April 24, 2007 by Elaine.

The lambs are coming, at last…and the spots are everywhere.  Moorit spotted, black grey spotted, black mouflon spotted, black spotted. So much fun, especially after the avalanche of white lambs last season.

It was over 80 degrees here yesterday, everyone was stunned: the sheep,the dogs, and most of all, the humans…wading through the day in slow motion, as if the air were honey.  The daffodils opened all at once, heads held high and mouths open in a chorus of “oh what a beautiful morning”.

Pruning to be done in the orchard today.  The grapevines are tangled on the trellis and need a good hacking back to prepare for the surge of new growth next month.  There are herds of robins, pulling half drowned worms from the tractor tire ruts in the field, where rain water is still seeking a way back to from whence it came. No hope of tilling the garden yet. Yesterday, several sleepy garter snakes ventured out into the sun, blinking in surprise at the sudden heat.  I pray that the Blackflies succumbed to the rapid change in the weather, but they are most likely gathering forces  for a coordinated attack on any eyes and ears in their path. Every year I hope that they fail to appear..is there a good reason for Blackflies?

Off to check the ewes…it is like Christmas!

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April 20, 2007 by Elaine.

Thursday dawned bright and sunny, a glorious day. Winter made a grand leap into Spring.  You could hear the daffodils cheering each other on. Coffee, hang out the laundry, halleluia, and on to the task of the day…cleaning out the winter’s worth of manure in the barn.  New lambs due any time. 

Everyone out of the barn…a perfect day, and no blackflies ,,yet. Slogging back and forth on tractor, the  field soon full of  muddy ruts trying to swallow the tractor tires whole. By evening, the barn was empty of equipment and half the floor was bare and dry. An early to bed : early to rise night

In my usual 3:30 insomniac state I stepped out into a calm night , the sky brilliant with stars, to make the first lamb check of the season..Felicity was due in 2 days and she like to go two days early. And, true to form, there she was! mom and twins, a white and a black, washed and fed.  All is well in the world here tonight.

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April 17, 2007 by Elaine.

The storm was fierce, raging all of Patriot’s Day.  Trying to drive home from work Monday night in the dark, from Portland, was an adventure. Several flooded areas on the roads so skirt around, and, then, there on the bridge over the Saco River in Limington, was a moose. He trotted along going east and I just kept going west.   A large group of hemlock trees are blocking the driveway, about a quarter mile from the house. I was grateful for the muddy little side driveway that David had plowed free of the snowbanks so I could scoot around the fallen trees and didn’t have to walk through the mud and blowing rain. The generator was running and the lights were on in the little house, a welcome sight.
Those weather resistant Icelandic sheep are hanging out in the barn, contentedly chewing cud and ruminating on the similarity of the climate to Iceland this time of year. Heavy bellies on many of the girls, lambs due in a few days. The rag tag bands of rams, old fleece hanging in tatters, are looking rather damp, and are muttering about the unfairness of the barn being for the girls. The Icelandic sheep dogs, all 9 of them, are thoroughly enjoying the mud and puddles.  This weather is just good fun for them.  The Icelandic chickens, on the other hand, are soggy and as mad as, well…. wet hens. They insist on roosting in the trees, regardless of the weather, even though a cozy dry coop is available….independent creatures.

Another band of rain is approaching…hope you are all safe,dry and well. Elaine

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April 16, 2007 by Elaine.

Snow, wind, rain… and very pregnant sheep. We’d like to get the barn cleaned out for lambing but mother nature is not cooperating. We’re on lamb watch and expect this season’s crop to start arriving in another week. Hopefully to better weather!

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