His Sheep, His Lambs

Lambing time for my sheep should start the end of next month. These are pictures of 2009 lambs that are now grown. One of the twins from the picture above is a ram lamb that is still here with us and his very large horns are formidable. His half brother, shown below, is Barbarian, and he too still resides with us.Like his half-brother, his horns are very large.Look at how cute and tiny they started out. I have framed this picture and hung it on the wall, I love it. The tender love of this ewe for her little lamb. This little lamb grew so quickly that he was as big as her before he was 5 months old, his 4 horns were at least 6 inches long. He would head- butt her udder to let down milk and then when he nursed he would literally lift her off the ground. She was still protecting him when he was big enough to take on the whole flock by himself. That's a Mom's love, but for her own protection I had to remove her beloved ram lamb from her presence. Most parents would readily give their lives to protect their children, yet our protection and love is so imperfect and flawed. There is One only we can receive true love and protection from, the Maker of us all, the Shepherd of us, His sheep.Are you one of the flock of the Shepherd? The Bible says "My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me; and I give eternal life to them and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of My hand." John 10:27,28 ~ "Know that the Lord Himself is God; It is He who has made us and not we ourselves; We are His people and the sheep of His pasture." Psalm 100 : 3 ~"God is the shepherd who guides, the Lord who provides, the voice who brings peace in the storm, the physician who heals the sick, and the banner who guides the soldier." Max Lucado ~

Look, Listen, Rest, Enjoy ~ Be Happy!

Chicory &Her Lamb

Today the weather warmed to almost 60 degrees. This past week I have been unable to settle down indoors and get so many needful things done. The flowering plum tree outside the spare bedroom window is covered in pink blossoms, the snow white crocuses and fragrant hyacinths are blooming. My sheep have lambs, 15 thus far, and I am still bottle-feeding one of the lambs. I have been dashing about cleaning and re-organizing inside and out. As I sat down late last night to respond to e-mails, Facebook, and write a blog-post our internet and television service went out. ( where DO they go when they go out?) There was nothing to be done about it at that hour so I settled myself in the living room in front of the fireplace and read a good book. I could hear the rain pattering on the sun-room sky-lights, and over the sound of rain I could hear the very loud croaking of the frogs- a sure sign Spring has arrived. A moment to simply enjoy the pleasures of blessings at hand . Don't you forget to take some time to do that. Just stop, look around you, listen, enjoy~~"Happiness : The agreeable sensations which spring from the enjoyment of good ;" Amer. Dictionary Of English Language

New Arrivals to Cedar Pond

Introducing Bide-a-wee Buttercup's new lamb, a son ( ram) I have named Basil. I find this picture touching as she nuzzles him and he leans into her. This is a big ram lamb and he is very strong and sturdy. He is also the son of Goth, the dominant ram here at Cedar Pond. I am excited to see how his horns grow, will he have 4 or 6 horns? We'll see. Buttercup's half-sister Bide-a-wee Chicory gave birth to TWINS today. She had a ram lamb and a ewe lamb and I am overjoyed by this. Aren't they cute? In this picture they are still wet from birth and learning to nurse. She is proving to be a good mom. Goth is also the father of these lambs. The boy lamb is on the left and it is obvious he will have at least 4 horns, they are already popping up out of his head . ( YIKES, can you imagine giving birth to already horned babies? ) And then there are the warm, fuzzy, and ridiculously cute babies...chicks! Yes, more chicks arrived in the mail to replace those that did not fare well in the last package. All seem to be doing well now, but i took a picture of them as they will be grown up so very quickly. You can see I have a lot going on around here and later on today my shearer will be here to shear a few more sheep, then there will be the skirting and washing of the fleeces so I can begin anew the dyeing, carding, spinning and locker-hooking of the wool that starts as a lamb late in the winter at Cedar Pond.

Little Lamb...

(above: Bide-A-Wee Chicory with her ewe lamb,a daughter of Goth) The Lamb Little Lamb who made thee Dost thou know who made thee Gave thee life and bid thee feed, Gave thee clothing of delight, Softest clothing wooly bright; Gave thee such a tender voice, Making all the vales rejoice; Little Lamb who made thee Dost thou know who made thee Little Lamb I'll tell thee, Little Lamb I'll tell thee; He is called by thy name, For He calls himself a lamb; He is meek and mild, He became a little child; I a child and thou a lamb, We are called by his name. Little Lamb God bless thee. Little Lamb God bless thee. by William Blake 1757-1827

(Cedar Pond's Tiara with twin lambs; she is Goth's mother)

Spotted Lambs! O.K., Spotted Lamb....

~I was outside in my jammies around 2:00a.m. setting up my new mama and baby in their temporary pen. Fresh alfalfa, fresh water, clean bedding. Then I dipped the umbilical area of the new baby girl lamb ( ewe) with iodine and left her with her mom, Bide-a-Wee's Chicory.~

~Below is her brother, born late last spring, Cedar Pond's Vandal. He is a big boy, and he is only 9 months old. He is Goth's little brother, they have the same dad.~

~Here ( below ) is Goth, he is the father of this new little lamb.~

~"Keep the ewe and her lamb in a pen together until you have ear marked and docked the tail of the lamb. Three days is a good rule." Ingrid Painter JACOB SHEEP IN AMERICA Blessings: lambs, health enough to care for my sheep