A dream realized...

It’s been a busy couple of weeks of lamb prep (mostly on the part of Nora and Jim; thanks guys!), but walking out to the barn at 5:15am on Saturday and being greeted by three inquisitive faces as I opened the barn doors made it well worth the stress, exertion and cost.  Although still a bit stand-offish, they are allowing us to get closer to them with each passing day.  Nora was able to touch a bum and an ear without too much fuss last evening, and Delilah has eaten a small amount of hay from my hand.  We’re making progress. 

Second day in their new home.

We’ve kept them confined to the barn and run-in since their arrival.  In part because the weather hasn’t been the great – either hot and humid, or storming – but also because we have to gradually get them used to eating pasture grasses.  Like most animals, any rapid changes to their diet can result in an unsettled digestive tract.  They were weaned about 2-3 weeks ago and have since been on a diet of sweet feed and hay.  They will continue on sweet feed for most of their first year for the extra nutrients, but over the course of the next couple of weeks we’ll move them from hay to pasture grasses. 

This morning was the first time we let them out into the pasture for any period of time (about 40 minutes).  They were a loving it!  At first they were sticking fairly close to the shelter, but about 20 minutes in they suddenly had an energy burst and they began running from one pasture fence to the other.  It was so wonderful to watch the exuberance, and quite funny to watch those little, pudgy legs moving at such a clip!  They eventually found their own way back to the run-in, so we didn’t even need to round them up.  We’ll let them out again this evening for about an hour as well.

Magnolia has already been out to the barn to visit on a couple of occasions.  She was a little put off when she first saw the lambs, but they grew up with 2 chocolate labs, so were fairly nonchalant about her presence.  By the second day, Mags was begging us for a trip out to visit the lambs.  We let her in the run-in with us and she sits there whining and wagging her tail, hoping one of them will walk up to her.  Wilma and Rubes just discovered them last evening for the first time (from the safety of their dog area).  Wilma whined a little and Rubes, in typical fashion, started barking and didn’t stop until we headed back to the house.  I suspect Mags will eventually be allowed to hang in the pasture with the little ones.  The other two, not so much.

In addition to all of the lamb excitement this weekend, we finally have the vegetable garden planted, except for the tomato transplants.  With storms predicted for Sunday, I didn’t want to risk putting them in.  We'll do so this week.  The seeds that were planted a couple of weeks ago have germinated and look healthy so far, as do the onion and potatoes.  We also have small strawberries and blueberries forming; they should be ready for the first harvest within a couple of weeks.  I can't wait to make the first batch of "to die for" blueberry muffins!  I found the recipe last summer and they really are that good.

Oh, and did I mention that the mama rabbit that’s been hanging around has developed a taste for my lilies?  She’s stripped the leaves and topped at least half of them.  She’s lucky she’s so cute.