More cute lamb photos and sheep that love new grass

The best way to pass the time while waiting for the water trough to fill up is to watch the sheep, especially the lambs. Here are a few photos from this week.

Lambs at the water trough. They're waiting too. Waiting for the water to get high enough that they can reach it or waiting for it to warm up enough. It is funny to watch them stick their nose into cold water and then snort and shake their heads. It seems like they prefer it at "room temperature."

Lambs grazing along the fence while their mamas inhale corn.

Lambs waiting at the feed troughs for their mamas to finish eating.

Ewes waiting at the water trough.

More waiting (sensing a theme here?)

Peeking around mama.

The previous pictures were taken in the last paddock. Yesterday we moved the group to a new paddock full of grass. Check out this video to experience the thrill of new grass!

And some still photos just because it was a gorgeous day and the freshly washed sheep (2.5 inches of rain the night before) are such a nice contrast against the green, green grass.

They can't eat it fast enough!

 

Ah, what a pretty sight!

And while most of the sheep are out in the pasture, a few are still in the pen behind the barn because we are still waiting on that last ewe to drop her lamb(s).

This little one has a black stocking, how exotic!

Here's her twin, who has a black spot on the inside of her knee. I just love how they are all ears and legs at this age.

And speaking of ears!

The garden is finally started

Rain delayed us a bit, but we actually got peas, broccoli, cabbage, onions, and shallots in the ground over the last week. We still need to plant potatoes and garlic. I didn't get any lettuce, chard or spinach in the ground, and at this point I think I'm going to wait until fall to do that. There's no way to know when the hot weather will set in, and I would hate to plant lettuce only to have it bolt and become chicken feed. Maybe this will give me enough motivation to actually plant this stuff in the fall! I have good intentions of doing that and wintering greens in the cold frame, but I never seem to get it done.

The tomato seedlings are now in the cold frame and growing away. We have a couple of weeks until it is safe to set them out. The peppers and basil are not quite ready to be transplanted to pots, but they are getting close. I forgot to start them on time, so they are a bit behind, but still should be ready in time to plant. There is some thyme that is ready to transplant, and I'll hopefully get to that this weekend. But first I'll have to reorganize all my garden stuff on my new potting bench out in the new building (yay!). My little Rudbeckia seedlings are also coming right along. For about $4 of seed, I will have over 80 plants...not a bad deal!

Tomatoes -- last year I discovered that these plastic tubs work just as well as the standard seed trays, plus they are red, which is supposed to be good for tomatoes, and they have a lid, so if the cold frame is full, they can be set outside and still covered very easily at night.

The Rudbeckia seedlings - the shorter ones are the Cherry Brandy variety, they were a little slower, but are coming along very well. The taller ones are standard Black Eyed Susans, and I would have had even more, but they were so thick in the starting trays that I put several seedlings in each pot when I transplanted them. I am very excited to add these to my bank bed. I'll be tying in Luke's bench to the rest of the bed (yes, expanding the behemoth bed again...I just can't help my self!). I've already added two varieties of reblooming daylilies and I've ordered some red switchgrass. The Rudbeckia will fill in the gaps; it's going to be beautiful!

Speaking of chickens, I never mentioned that we got some more chicks to add to our flock. The hens are going into their third year, and we expect their egg laying to slack off. Their molt and winter slow down lasted quite a while, but they have returned to steady egg production this spring. Anyway, friends of ours wanted to start some chicks, so we split the batch with them and we have 12 new pullets of assorted breeds. There are 5 Barred Rocks, 4 White Rocks, one Buff Orpington and a couple of Rhode Island Reds. We have them in their own coop right now, but soon it will be time to introduce them to the older hens and get them out in the pasture. It is a pleasant sight to see hens dotting the field, pecking here and there, foraging for bugs and seemingly enjoying themselves immensely.

Most of the new pullets, apparently the White Rocks are shy. They were all pretty flighty when we first brought them home, but they seem to have adjusted to us walking through the pen now.

Lilacs and irises are blooming now

What a difference a week makes! These photos were taken April 27.

I wish you could smell the lilacs. The other day I was working outside and had an overwhelming moment of nostalgia brought on by the lilac perfume filling the air. I suddenly was thinking of my 'Grandma Great' and spring evenings when I was growing up. I'm not exactly sure why lilacs equal Grandma, but there was a huge purple lilac bush in the yard of her house. Last year was the first time since we've lived here that the lilacs survived to bloom without an early frost. Now we've had two years in a row. I'm soaking up as much of them as I can and storing the memories for future springs.

Beautiful spring blooms

I have been remiss in getting the photos posted, but I have managed to catch a few more shots of the flowers that have been blooming. Oldest first, here are some from April 21.

A close up of a gorgeous pink tulip.

The last of the daffodils.

A view of the bank.

Grape hyacinths.

Creeping phlox.

And more tulips!

Lamb number 59

Just finished assisting with the delivery of lamb number 59. A strapping ewe lamb that tipped the scales at 17 pounds 7 ounces. That is the biggest lamb we've ever had. Our average weight is around 10 pounds.

Now waiting on one last ewe before we can officially declare an end to the 2011 lambing season.

Still waiting

Lambing update: 58 live lambs, 44 ewes have lambed, 2 ewes still waiting; 37 ewe lambs (girls), 21 ram lambs (boys). More than 60% ewe lambs--I can see a flock expansion in our future...

Most of the ewes and their lambs are out on pasture now. We venture out there with a bucket of corn once a day. It is pandemonium. If you have never had the pleasure of feeding a mob of sheep, imagine being in the queue for the subway in New York City at the frenzied height of Christmas shopping season. Well, at least I imagine they are similar...I've never actually been on the subway in New York.

But I have fed sheep. They are pushy and loud, and can actually knock me off my feet, particularly if I trip over one while another one rushes me (they'd be good at football). Amazingly, in all of this chaos the few lambs that venture near the feed troughs are always safe. Most of the lambs retreat into a huddle, which is often the prelude to a frolicking game that resembles a conga line.

Brace yourself!

At the slightest sound of corn rattling in a bucket, they pour in from every corner of the field.

Morels!

We have a certain spot where we always find morels, but I have found three growing right under our noses on the bank this year. So far we've picked morels three times and enjoyed every last one of them! The first two batches were breaded in Italian bread crumbs and fried in butter and olive oil. The last batch was sauteed in butter and olive oil and seasoned with salt, pepper, oregano, and fennel. If I get around to searching for more, I'd like to try dehydrating some so we can enjoy them later in the year.

Ever notice once a spring has sprung, it can be unruly?

That's what I feel like some days this time of year. There's so much bursting forth, and no way it's all going to fit back in place. Hence, mostly photos this time!

The tulips have just lasted and lasted this year thanks to cool temperatures. I love these cheerful yellow blooms.

The bank in early spring.

The bed around the maple tree behind the house.

Daffodils have been blooming for more than a month now. Most of the varieties are finished, but a few of the later bloomers are just coming into their own.

Hyacinths that took a while to get established, but are now gorgeous. Brian loves their heady perfume.

It wouldn't be spring without the weird fungi on the cedar trees. At least I assume they are fungi. Creepy is what they are. After every rain the cedars are adorned with these balls of bright orange.

Severe weather Saturday brought tornadoes and flooding. We didn't have any tornadoes and never lost power, but Lehigh Road was flooded and the water was as high as we've seen it.

We could even see the raging Little Calfpasture River from our pasture. Often you can see the sun glinting off the water, but this is the first time we've been able to easily see the river from this spot.

Tony has helped me out by pruning an overgrown forsythia. I will still need to cut it back, but the part that hung into the field is no longer a problem.