Just Call Me The 'Midwife'

 Look at this sweet little newborn lamb leaning into her mama  under the lamp in their stall. If I hadn't played midwife this morning she would most likely not be alive, and her mama would be in sore distress.

I went out this morning to discover TWO ewes licking one newborn lamb clean of afterbirth. Before I could get close enough to check things out the lamb wobbled  from one ewe ( female sheep) to the other, trying to nurse. Both ewes seemed confused , but when Tovah, the sheep in the picture, turned around to lick the lamb some more, things became very clear to me. Tovah had two tiny lamb's feet sticking out of her rear parts  . The other sheep ( Gudrid) had after-birth coming out of hers. Clearly the lamb being so carefully cleaned and tended by both ewes belonged to Gudrid who is a first time mama. Poor Tovah, probably thinking after so much labor and straining must have felt she had certainly already given birth and why was Gudrid helping out with her lamb ?

Now I had a problem. I was by myself, no near-by neighbors to help , and that lamb HAD to be pulled out of Tovah. Desperate times called for this desperate shepherdess to act quickly. How do you restrain an unwilling ewe and at the same time pull out a lamb from her nether parts by yourself ? The only way I could. I grabbed her by the horns and held on with my left hand, pushed her up against the stall wall, leaned against her to hold her there and reached inside her with my right hand to feel out the situation. Aha, the lamb's head and shoulders were pretty big and the lamb was in the right position for a normal birth but too big to come out without assistance. I slipped the lamb's head back a bit inside, then pulled the legs out further, maneuvered the head back out and with my right hand holding tightly to the legs I pulled some more. After gently maneuvering further I got a better grip on the lamb's head & legs and pulled hard. You have no idea how hard it can be pulling a lamb out of a tight spot inside it's mama, sometimes it seems the womb is trying to suck the baby back in, and this was one of those times. But I pulled even harder ( it is always a wonder to me the head doesn't pop off when I have to pull so hard ) and with a loud BWAAAAAAAAAA from the mama her little lamb slid out making a big sucking sound as I plopped her on the straw. A healthy ewe lamb with head still intact !

The minute Tovah turned and saw the lamb all confusion was gone. She went right to work cleaning her lamb. I checked Tovah , Gudrid, and their lambs a little while ago and am happy to say both mamas and their lambs are fine & dandy. Just call me the midwife !

Join me and many others on The Home Acre Blog Hop*. There are so many interesting home-steading topics shared there every Thursday, you won't be bored, and might find yourself surprisingly educated and entertained.

A Cup For Memories

 "I myself have a coffee memory. It works best when fed large quantities of freshly roasted and ground caffeine. Early in the morning it's the only way it works at all. " A.J.Orde

Can you tell I prefer my coffee black ?

 Thank-you Nibs* for this coffee cup ! I call it my coffee cup because I set it aside as my special cup and saucer for sipping coffee while I read, think, and watch birds from my porch. Coffee is my hot beverage of choice and you have gifted me with my now-favorite coffee cup. How do you do that, choose so well a gift (s) the receiver will love ?

 Look at this saucer. As a lover of blue & white china, all things concerning wild birds, and most definitely coffee, what's not to love about this cup and saucer ?

I love everything about this cup and saucer my sis-in-law sent me in a gift-wrapped box that almost made me not want to unwrap it because the gift-wrapping was in itself so beautiful it was gift enough by itself. ( Ponder that, a gift wrapped so beautifully the gift wrapping rates as a gift ! ) I immediately declared this is my coffee cup. The deep bowl of the cup, the deep saucer able to hold the spills of coffee as I walk around in the morning, the blue and white, and best of all , the love in the sending , the love in the gifting. Yes, you gifted me with a cup and saucer to fill with my coffee memories. Again I say," thank-you Nibs! ".

Coffee, blue and white china, wild birds, loving family ~ God is so good to me. Praise Him !

Pink Fluffy Clouds of Wool !

Pink, fluffy clouds of wool to spin up into yarn.

The morning I took this picture the sun was streaming into our living room belying the very cold temperatures outside. It was not a hard decision to make about what I would do on this morning.

I am going to sip coffee , spin the pink fluffy clouds of wool into yarn, and enjoy the quiet. ( With my cat Blizzard keeping me company.)

Ella's First Egg of the Season~ Spring Has Sprung !

The weather here is unseasonably as warm as late spring. The bees are buzzing about looking for pollen and nectar not to be found and they have taken over our poultry feeders eating what ? Not sure about why the bees are abuzz in all my chicken feeders but the chickens are having trouble eating with so many bees in their feed. My Sebastopol goose Ella laid her first egg of the season and this year I am hoping her eggs will successfully hatch. Last year she and Fella were diligent parents , but all they hatched were the duck eggs I placed in her nest along with her own eggs. Several eggs  seemed to have been successfully incubated by Ella only to end with fully developed goslings trapped in their eggs, appearing to be unable to extricate them selves. ( Anyone with any helpful info regarding this , please comment  !)

The first goose eggs, the bees abuzz, and new lambs due any day. Spring is here on Cedar Pond and it has sprung !

Boys' Snowman Tea-Party !

 Who says tea-parties are only for girls ? My husband's sister Jean hosted a Snowman Tea-Party in her home recently and the invited guests were the boys in her Sunday School class. I love the creativity that went into this party that BOYS would love to attend ! ( Jean graciously allowed me to use her pictures, thank-you Jean . )

 The boys assembled their own snowman pizzas from dough & ingredients Jean had prepared ahead of time. Jean got the idea for the pizzas off Pinterest so if you want more instructions on making the pizzas you'll find them there.

 The look on his face tells me he is pretty happy about his pizza.

 Everything about this picture makes me happy and I wasn't even at the tea-party ! Don't the boys look like they're having fun ?

I love the way the table was set for a tea party boys would enjoy.  I know my sis-in-law has a lot of experience in all things young boys enjoy since she raised three sons who have grown into amazing men with families of their own. I am going to use most of these ideas sometime soon and host a tea-party for my grandsons. ( Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. ) Who says tea-parties are only for girls , not us !

Although I haven't displayed a special tea-cup this Tuesday I hope you'll forgive me. I couldn't pass up the opportunity to share a happy tea-party for boys. Please join the ladies listed below for a spot of tea-time celebration ...
Sandi at Rose Chintz Cottage *
Bernideen at Bernideen's Teatime Blog *
Martha at Marthas Favorites *
Ruth at Antiques & Teacups *

The Rest Of The Story ?

 Oh glorious spot in the sunshine , perfect place on the bed for a cat nap.

 What you don't see is how Blizzard woke Miss Marple out of a sound sleep and bullied her out of her spot.

I am pretty sure "the rest of the story" is coming.

Sunday Sunshine Therapy

 There were a few moments of sunshine between down-pourings of rain . I took a walk along our little road  with my pack of 4 dogs . We watched my geese and ducks swimming in sunshine reflections.

 Me, my puppy ( she might be large but is still in her youth ) and our 3 old dogs who have all been with us for more than a decade, took our time. I allowed the dogs to examine every log , stick,stone and puddle. The Labs just had to take a splash and a swim in the pond. Therapy ~ that is what you should call a walk in sunshine with dogs you love & enjoy.

The very old Labrador Retriever ,Willow ( dog with collar ), is always limping and in some pain , but she is one of the happiest dogs I spend time with. She gets along with all the dogs and cats and is easy company. She was born in my kitchen many years ago, 4th and last generation of Labs born here at Cedar Pond . She has been such an easy dog to train and have around I have taken her for granted. As I watch her in her old age I am appreciating more and more what a treasure she is.

Just a simple walk with my dogs, some Sunday sunshine therapy.