Using our Pond as launching pad

Wild Geese gather first

They fly in every morning. 

I don't know where they spend the night.  

All day long they go back and forth...to the plowed field, and then again to the Pond. 

This happens every year.

One day, they all fly away. 

And then come the wild ducks.
Hundreds of them.  They will stay all winter.  

Sheep don't have a choice.

  These yearlings don't know that they are supposed to mind the dogs. 

And that confuses the dogs AND the sheep. 

I know that you know where you are going 

Gina 

Rain, lots of it, finally.

No snow this time. Hallelujah 

Calves are becoming independent.

The Pond is overflowing, the extra water is irrigating our dry pastures.  

Daffodils are still going strong. 

Will you join me for a little quiz at the end of this post?

My greenhouse is holding little seedlings waiting for the weather to improve.  

My Oleander tree is making a comeback. It's been in the greenhouse all winter.  I have given it copious amounts of water this year.  What a difference that made.  

Little lambs don't mind the rain, their woolly mothers keep them close.  




Now, here is the Quiz.

You might think that you know this familiar flower.  

It's the growth habit that might confuse most gardeners.  

I purchased this particular plant more than forty years ago. 
I started with one plant and now I have only one plant left.

I was successful in propagating it before and I will do it again.  

Have a great weekend my dear friends. 

Gina 

When the Barometer falls

So do the Lambs.

Sheep have been sheared.

Our Farmer friend watches each Yew carefully.

Most of his sheep will give birth in the next 2 weeks.

Some have come early.  Mostly triplets. 

Yews and their Lambs all wear the same red numbers for a little while.  Yews sometimes have to be convinced that they can take care of  twins and even triplets. 

A few years ago Mr G and I were asked to do the lambing for only one day.  It was hard work.  We're  not standing in line to sign up for the job.

This little fellow is very happy receiving a little extra care.  Our Farmer friend knows how to hold them just so.  They are perfectly comfortable being tucked under his arm with their little feet dangling in the air.

Soon they will all go up to the mountains where they will spend the summer 
in the high alpine meadows. 

Have a wonderful weekend my dear 
Blogging Friends,

Gina 

George, my little Toughie

I named him George, he needed a tough name.

I found George next to his dead mother. George had not been by his mother the day before.  No doubt he had tried to get nourishment from other yews. They had all rejected him, as it is in nature.

Now he was in trouble. On my morning walks I noticed his mother a few days earlier. She didn't look right. I made a mental note that she did not have a lamb, thankfully. BUT I WAS WRONG.

I recognized the brand but could not locate the Rancher. When I came home I asked Gene to get a ladder and a shovel. We were either going over or under the tall wire fence enclosure.  He was very dehydrated. I rubbed him down with water and forced him to drink a little. He did not move.

I have raised several bummers. Bummers are newly born lambs who have been rejected by their mothers or who have lost their mother during the birthing process. I know of a special formula. It consists mainly of molasses, salt, baking soda and warm water.

It had worked well in the past. However, little George was not improving. He is probably the only lamb that has been chauffeured to the Vet in a Mercedes. The Vet gave me lots of encouragement but that was all.

George smelling poppies, he must be getting better.

All Bummers go back into the barn for the night. 

George slowly improved.  Now I could feed him a special lamb formula, rich in nutrients. He spent his days at his beach house and his nights in the barn.  As soon as my Bummers get healthy and strong I give them back to the Farmers.  This one was hard to let go.

Have a great weekend my dear Blogging Friends.

Gina

Helping your Neighbor and good Friend

Living in a very small Farming Community

Internet

You have many opportunities to help your neighbor

Soon it will be the time of year when little lambs are being born. Last Spring, a good friend and Sheep Rancher asked us if we could lend a helping hand. His son was getting married in the big city and his yews were giving birth. Our assignment was to make sure that every yew, who showed signs of birthing, would be brought into the large shed where fresh straw and fresh water for drinking (yews drink more than a gallon of water after giving birth) was waiting for them.

baalands.blogspot.com

There were hundreds of yews. We watched carefully but sometimes they would give birth so quickly that the little lamb would end up outside, in the cold. We would hurry and  pick up the little one and, naturally, the yew would follow, often giving birth to another lamb, once inside. After a little while we would put mother and offspring into a separate holding pen where they were warm and happy.

Internet, "Royal White Sheep"

Some yews needed help birthing. Some yews did not like their offspring. One yew tried to kill her second lamb by forcing it against the cement wall. We had to take all three and put them into a holding pen. We tied the yew by her neck and one foot to only allow limited movement. This way the little lambs could nurse. As soon as their mother's milk is digested and leaves their little bodies, yews will readily accept those lambs they initially rejected.

Now and then some lambs will never be accepted and some mothers will die in the birthing process. These little lambs become "Bummers". I have raised quite a few. There was one quite special Bummer, his name was George and I will tell you his story another time.

George recuperating in his beach house.

It feels great to help your neighbor.  Wouldn't want to make a career out of it.  Raising sheep is hard work.

Have a great week my dear Blogging Friends.

Gina

I'm not jealous

Why should I be?

We woke up to fluffy, pure white snow this morning.

So go ahead and show me your beautiful Spring flowers.  I do have an Icelandic Poppy blooming in my greenhouse!

Was it only yesterday that the sun was shining brightly.  By noon today the snow will have melted and the little lambs will again frolic in the sun.

Have a lovely weekend my dear blogging friends

Gina