Eight Ladies Waiting ~ Countdown Begins !

 The first lambs of 2016 were born yesterday.

 Twins ! Bide-a-wee Buttercup gave birth to twin lambs, a boy (ram) and a girl (ewe). Buttercup is 11 years old. The lambs' sire is Cedar Pond's Goth, also 11 years old.

 Have I mentioned before how much I love this time of the year ? Lambing time ?

Now there are only eight ladies waiting and just look at this bunch of plump ladies. I suspect there is at least one more set of twins to be born any day now. Sassafras is also 11 years old ,she is the ewe in the foreground and spent breeding season with Buttercup and Goth. Sassafras may very well be the next ewe to have lambs Oh I am sooooooooo excited !

Seasons

 Things change, seasons of life can surprise us, even with great joy.My youngest sister has returned home, to our state, after so many years away. My other 2 sisters and I are enjoying having her back home. In the photo above she is walking with 4 of my grandchildren out into the field to pick apples with them. God has worked all things out for us more perfectly than we could have ever planned, He is so good to us !

My sheep are thriving, and I am pleased with the spring lambs I have chosen to keep. Above is Bide-a-wee Buttercup with her lamb ( rt) Cedar Pond's Bluebonnet Vickie, named for Sand Flat Farm's Vickie and the state flower of Texas.Bluebonnet Vickie is almost as large as her mother, and has 4 horns fused, appearing as if they are 2 very large horns. 

 The weather in the Pacific Northwest has surpassed all previous records of days without rain. Fires are still burning in our state. I am having to water trees and plants I have never had to water this time of the year. Usually I can count on this being the time of year to get things done inside, but am still having as much outdoor work as the summer months without benefit of the long hours of sunlight.

I am still getting yarn spun up, wee little sheep made, wool dyed, carded, and put away for the winter days inside by the fire.However, by the time I get inside I am just plain tired out, and I am thinking the season of life for me has come where I must be more selective in my use of time. I think I will be praying about this and pondering the right choices this fall & winter as I spin up more wool yarn and craft more rugs, remembering to enjoy the company and blessing of those God has placed in my life, and I in theirs. ~ "I have seen the task which God has given the sons of men with which to occupy themselves.He has made everything appropriate in its time. He has also set eternity in their heart.." Ecclesiastes 3:10,11

TeaTime Tuesday Postponed for Lambs!

I just took this picture, you can tell the lamb is only hours old, not quite 2 hours to be more specific.You can see the wet umbilical cord on the baby and Buttercup, her mama has not yet finished expelling the afterbirth.

I rewarded Buttercup with fresh alfalfa hay sprinkled with calf-manna and while she ate the little lamb explored.This is a big lamb too. I have 3 other little lambs, but she is already bigger than them. I am so excited Buttercup had a ewe lamb ( girl). This means I will keep her, now I need to give her a good name.

It is hard work being born, time for baby to rest. Have you ever thought of what a miracle it is newborn lambs can stand within the first hours after birth? They can find their mother's udder to nurse, they can follow sounds with their ears, and sights with their eyes. When their mamas walk the lambs follow. No one taught them this, they are born knowing! ~"And God made the beasts of the earth after their kind, and the cattle after their kind,and everything that creeps on the ground after its kind; and God saw that it was good." Genesis 1:29

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 ~

Extra Help In The Garden

Buttercup and her son Basil were enlisted to help my husband tame his vegetable garden.

This has been a very cold and wet spring. Combined with my husband's work schedule and many weekend obligations away from home, time in the vegetable garden has been scarce.Which means the grass and weeds are thriving. My husband loves his vegetable garden though and has a lot more planting to do but the back half of the garden was thick with grass.

I reminded him we have grass eaters living here , lots of them. So he put temporary fencing between the planted vegetable beds and the out of control grass, then we put mother and son Jacob sheep (Buttercup & Basil ) in the back half of the garden where they filled up on the grass, and fertilized the garden too! I also put 2 little chicken tractors in the garden . Each chicken tractor has 1 rooster in it and I move them daily. The roosters scratch up the earth as they eat the bugs and grass under them. They also take a lot of time to crow at each other and fertilize the garden.

Another view of the bi-sected garden with sheep and chickens at work.The area behind the vegetable garden is a wetland that divides our property from my husband's youngest sister and her husband's home and property. The duck pen is the red-roofed structure. The ducks pen themselves up in the evening where I usually remember to close the door to protect them from night predators. So far this year we have not lost any of our ducks to coyotes, raccoons, dogs, etc. A first for us. I recommend penning your ducks and other poultry around here if you intend to keep them alive.

My husband's Hosta bed. This bed is the temporary home for the Hostas until we find new places to plant them.Kind of a Hosta foster home.The Hosta Fosta home is in the vegetable garden too, all the little Hostas waiting for a home. Maybe with better weather and a bit more time, plus the enlisted help around here, we can get on with a more successful and productive garden before our winter/spring and winter/summer turn into winter/fall~

Silly ( Stupid?) Sheep

This is Chicory and yes, her head IS stuck in the fence. For the umpteenth time!

Not to worry though, in between baaing and bawling loudly, she takes time to snack on the grass on the other side of the fence. She won't starve while waiting yet again for us to dis-entangle her from the fence.

SEE?

This is Chicory's half sister, Buttercup with her ram lamb Basil by her side. She too is stuck in the fence for the umpteenth time, in one day! Lest you think she is lacking grass on her side of the fence, look again...lots of lush green grass is growing on her side of the fence, but you know the old saying, "the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence". I only have two 2-horned sheep and they are the only sheep constantly getting stuck in the fences. The 4 to 6 horned sheep don't fit through the fences and the polled ( hornless) sheep don't get stuck. I know, I know, I need to fix the fences so the sheep can't get their horns through but have had no spare time this week.As I reflect on how many times my husband and I have had to go and release the silly sheep I think if we could have consolidated a chunk of that much time we could have done a very fine job of fence adjustment for these sheep. Today we will. But don't you think they would have learned already that this is bad, bad, BAD for them? Above is Basil , standing by his Mom, Buttercup, STUCK AGAIN! There is a reason we are called sheep in the Bible, and why we need a shepherd, THE Shepherd. My sheep inevitably return time after time to the very things that get them in trouble and don't seem to learn their lesson. Then they run away from me or struggle with me when I am only trying to help them. Silly, foolish, needy, wonderful, and beloved sheep. I love them, but nowhere near as much as our Shepherd, Jesus , loves and cares for us, His sheep. "All we like sheep have gone astray, we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on Him the iniquity of us all." Isaiah 53:6 Below is a video of a man talking about the very verse quoted above. It is longer than I like to post, because I know you are all busy people and over 5 minutes is a big chunk of time. However, I was enchanted by his accent, the scenic background, and could have listened to him even longer ( so I listened to him twice). May all you sheep of His pasture rejoice in the safety and security of the Shepherd's care and love. May those of you without the Shepherd seek Him~ Happy Sunday

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.

More Spotted Lambs! ( Jacob Sheep )

~This little guy was born yesterday . Isn't he cute? He looks like a little bandit.~

~Here he is with his mother, Bide-A-Wee Buttercup.

~This is what was going on in the sheep shelter this morning, another lamb!" Jacob ewes will generally deliver lambs unassisted - and in secret if they have their way..." JACOB SHEEP IN AMERICA by Ingrid Painter

~Cedar Pond's Leah, with 4 horns, is her mother.~

~After lambing and cleaning, it is time for a bit of warm milk!~

~I get so excited about lambs. With Jacob Sheep you never know what the spot design will be, or how many horns the little lamb will have. Jacob sheep have from 2 to 6 horns, males AND females. ~" The Jacob is a dainty breed, having skinny legs, small frames, tiny ears and very small, rock hard hooves that are black or black and white striped. Possibly the largest and most outstanding feature on a Jacob ram are his horns. There can be any number but an even spread is by far the prettiest and most esthetically pleasing.The horns can be black, or black and white striped and are fairly smooth. " JACOB SHEEP IN AMERICA by Ingrid Painter Blessings : healthy lambs