Mid-winter. The sheep are (hopefully) pregnant, and their wool has had nearly a year of growth. They are looking fluffy and round.
In a few weeks we will be shearing, and despite our struggles to keep hay out of the wool, I am very exited about the fleeces. Most of them look nice, despite the extra bits of hay. One ewe in particular has the potential for an utterly gorgeous fleece….Amelia. She is an odd-ball member of our flock – a Cormo/Teeswater. Since she is kind of special, I kept her coated all year, so her fleece has no hay or dirt in it at all! Oh, the anticipation!!
Early March is when the ewes are due to lamb, and we are starting to see bellies swell already. The babies, though they add stress and remove sleep, are so much fun! We are looking forward to that time with both nervousness and excitement!
The day I took these pictures was a warm sunny day, so we took a walk through our woods and pastures with our girls, the dog – and a sheep. Last year’s bottle lamb still thinks herself more human than sheep, and will enthusiastically follow the children wherever they go. In the picture below, she is hurrying over to the fence where we are standing. ‘Buttercup’ or ‘The Runt’ are what she is called. She is small, and her fleece is short, so I really don’t know if she will ever be productive, but she is cute, and the children love her, so that is enough.
Wandering in the woods with our Runt…
Running back home!
