Popcorn

Well, we made it home and jumped straight into lambing. Fortunately we made it back before things went really wild, but it's been four straight days in the barn without a break, not even time to eat. We've had shepherds from England tell us how much weight they lose during lambing, and now I get it. There are sheep in every corner of the barn, temporary claiming pens, nurseries, infirmaries...you name it.
Back in January we had someone come in to ultrasound the sheep so we would know approximately when and how many lambs each ewe would have. We were very organized and had brought in all the sheep that were supposed to lamb first. Well, apparently it's a very inexact science because the lambs arrival and count has had very little to do with what the ultrasound predicted and we have had more lambs born outside than inside!
I have two favorite times during lambing.
One is when the lambs start to bounce like pogo sticks, jumping straight up into the air off four legs with the joy of being alive and then do "puppy burns", chasing each other up and down the pens.
My other favorite moment is when there is this lull in the barn, and everyone is resting. I can hear the quiet breathing of the sheep as they chew their cuds, and the quiet nickering of the mama ewes, almost as if they are singing their babies to sleep.
To really understand herding, you must understand it is three species in harmony, not in conflict. Moments like these are reminders of that.

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