Just minutes after I posted here last Friday I went out to the pasture to see if Nutmeg had lambed. We thought she might go soon, and Pete and I both felt a pull to go outside and see if Friday was the day.
The sun was coming up, the red winged blackbirds were calling, and spring was in the air. When we arrived in the pasture it was clear that Nutmeg was in labor.
Pete ran inside to wake the kids and bring them out to watch. While he was gone I sat down on the hay and watched in awe as a perfect black lamb slipped silently out of her mama and onto the ground.
It was amazing.
A few moments later Pete arrived with a sleepy-eyed child in his arms and we watched Nutmeg clean her baby. Soon after she deliver her second lamb. This one smaller, sleepier, and white.
As we watched each of us had our own layers of emotion. There was awe and gratitude, delight and relief, and even a bit of look-the-other-way-grossed-out-ness (depending on who you asked). Because yeah, it's messy. But oh, so magical.
Usually the kids name the lambs, but these two I named. Salt and Pepper (or "Salt-N-Peppa" as they were quickly nicknamed) because we agreed weeks ago that Nutmeg's babies would all have spice names. I mean seriously. How could I not?
This brings our total to six lambs so far this spring.
Three black, three white; five ewes lambs (girls) and one ramling (our boy).
Salt and Pepper, Butterfly and Buttercup, Polkadot and Poppyseed.
We each have our favorite but we're all pretty crazy about the whole six-pack.
My mom and dad spent the weekend with us, as they often do for Easter, and even they got to enjoy these babies.
We still have three ewes to go (assuming all are pregnant, something we're still not certain of) but none of the other girls seem eminent so I think we have a few days to get our feet beneath us before we start again.
Until then we're drinking up all of the sweetness and loving on these six wooly babies.
Two of the three mamas are doing great (as are their four lambs), but one ewe seems to have a milk supply issue so we are doing some interventions. Nothing major, just a little helping along for both mother and babies.
All this to say that I'm feeling much more like a confident sheep-mama/shepherd than I was last year.
And thank goodness for that.
Love,
Rachel
