Wednesday, February 29, 2012

Waiting for Spring Break

I must need Spring Break.  I am dreaming of work - I wake up and astonished that I didn't teach the class already.  Well, last night's dream was a nightmare - I wasn't astonished this morning, I was relieved. 

It's been so rainy for the last couple of weeks, I almost forget what blue sky looks like.  It is often like this in February-March, so I am not surprised.  I think the nutrients are washing out of the topsoil; we've had to supplement the sheep a bit more with bought food.  The grazing gets like water, I think, when it rains this much. 

The orphan sheep are doing surprisingly well, growing and holding their own.  Audrey, Minnie's mom, is due soon.  I was thinking another 2-3 weeks, but she is just HUGE.  I was palpating her abdomen yesterday and I could feel what felt like quite a large hoof sliding by - I hope I am off on my dates and she delivers sooner, rather than later.  She is certainly bagging up, but she's had so many deliveries, that isn't as reliable.  It looks like my young ewe, Niele, has also caught, since it would be about the time someone would be chasing her around.  I keep my ram with my flock during the day, and these hair sheep have three births in two years, so sometimes it is not easy to know exact dates.  I keep an eye on behavior to get a clue on who's caught and count from there.  Thankfully, they do have fairly easy births.  The only one who had a uterine torsion and needed a C-section was a different breed. 

Audrey is an awesome mom, so I am hoping for a good easy birth and that she will do her usual excellent job at caring for the babies.  I am fairly sure there are two, because her girth is quite expansive.  I hope everything goes as well as I expect, because the worry over Buddy and then the loss of Minnie was fairly stressful. 

I am kind of blathering on here, so I guess I will stop.  

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