Spring Has Sprung , New Lambs & Flowers !

 Spring has sprung ! I am holding the third Jacob sheep lamb born within the last 24 hours. If you're interested in seeing more about my sheep and their lambs check out my other blog ~ Red Dog Spotted Sheep * . I am expecting 5 more ewes to lamb in a very short time. I am so excited !

 Ella & Fella have decided to nest in the pen we put up for them in the veggie garden . They have settled in to life by the pond very well. Ella built her nest of straw and although I took her eggs and gave them to friends to incubate , I put duck eggs under her. I want to be sure she will incubate and tend them successfully. Since duck eggs require pretty much the same care and time it takes to hatch goose eggs, plus, raising and tending ducklings is very similar, I thought this would be a good test of Ella's mama instincts. If all goes well she can tend her own eggs next year. To read more about Ella & Fella check out my poultry site. *

 Miss Marple is our only outdoor cat. We have a routine, she & I. We let her outdoors around midnight so she can stalk and kill vermin, and she usually comes back indoors before 2:00 a.m. This week I think she hankered for some sunshine outdoors and she hid in the upper part of our woodshed over- night where the squirrels hang out. The only reason I knew she was there because of the angry squirrel hovering in branches over her head, swearing at her. She looked pretty content in spite of the squirrel's harassment. ( Probably thinking of how yummy that squirrel would taste. )

There are not too many flowers blooming for our honeybees, but the hellebores, primroses, daffodils , and some native blooming bushes are buzzing with bees . I even have honeybees in my chicken food , carrying bits of the feed that is powdered. Anyone else find honeybees in the chicken food ?

This is the time of year I have trouble focusing on my indoor stuff and blogging because I want to be outdoors until dark. I am also spending a lot of time cleaning out animal pens and simply watching my animals. It is so hard to tear myself away from such excitement , I might miss something ! Lambing comes only once a year and knowing there is probably a time in the near future when I'll not be able to keep so many sheep and poultry I intend to capture and put to memory as much as possible. In case of failing memory, my camera is put to good use too. I hope your spring is bursting with good and wondrous things . ~

Blossoms In the Snow

~The Primroses are blooming, spring is here.....I think.....~

~As I was preparing dinner late Monday afternoon the sky darkened and this is my view from the kitchen, out onto Cedar Pond~

~Tuesday, there is snow everywhere. The temperatures dropped to below 20 degrees early in the morning and are to be as low, record setting low temperatures, today. Still, I snapped these pictures of flowers blooming amidst the snow. Above are some crocuses that burst through the Ajuga, can you see the brave honeybee that ventured out into bee-killing temperatures to get nectar and pollen?

~Bright yellow Primroses. These Primroses bloom and reproduce every year.~

~And my Hubby's Hellebores, blooming in the snow. They are so hardy and such faithful bloomers. Food for the bees and flowers for the soul in the last days of winter and early days of spring when the weather is unpredictable and deadly to so many other plants that bloom.~

~"Courage is not the towering oak that sees storms come and go; it is the fragile blossom that opens in the snow." Alice M. Swain ~