Farm Shots

Most of these photos were taken with my phone during chore time in the last couple of days.

My chicks have outgrown their dog crate and needed to get out in the chicken house. I checked on them the first night and found them roosting on top of the crate. (This photo was taken by the light of my headlamp.)

We woke up Friday to another inch and  a half of rain (with another 3/4" the next day).

This one was taken after feeding the bottle babies.

This morning I noticed the wild eyebrow of one of them.

Speaking of bottle babies...this one followed me right through the 3-strand electric fence...

...while I was setting up fences so that I could move the ewes.

Seen in the pasture.

Also in the pasture.

We have had several field trips during the last couple of weeks. This was a group of home-schoolers. Can you tell that there is a sheep in there? Jade loves to be petted. What an amazing sheep.

And how about this amazing sheep? I think Mary is going to take her home.

Tonight a friend took this photo while I was feeding these two.

Nap Time

Moms are eating. Babies are napping.

More Lambs

I took these photos before it started raining again.

A cute blue-eyed lilac lamb. This is on the "keep" list.  Meridian Catalyst x Shadow Mountain Shelby.

Meridian Hot Lips with triplets also sired by Catalyst.

Meridian Sophia with BFL-x triplets.

Meridian Sonata with triplets sired by bide a wee Buster.

Ears and her crossbred lambs.

Meridian Estelle also with crossbred lambs.

Meridian Ruth. Lambs sired by Catalyst.

And while we're at it let's throw in another springtime photo.

The wisteria has started to bloom.

View from Above

Photos taken in the barn last night with my phone.

These are the pregnant ewes and a couple of wethers (including that very freckled one in the middle).

Photos over the lambing pens:

Mae's lambs born yesterday.

Marilla and her BFL-x lamb born yesterday...in motion...in the dark.

Skye and her twins also from yesterday.

Sonata's lambs, born yesterday.

Windy Acres Bronagh and lambs, born during the night, which is one reason I was taking photos...waiting for lambs.

Bide a wee Hallie and her lambs, a few days old.

This is the list so far except for Bronagh.

The Lucky Ones

As you must know when there are almost 80 lambs born in the spring I can't keep them all. How many sheep would I have in 5 years? Who can do the math? My sheep capacity is about 55-65 adults. That includes a few wethers, more rams than I probably need, and the ewe lambs that I choose to keep. Someone has to go and a handful get to stay. I just sent registration applications in for the lambs who are staying here. I was going to share their photos and then I thought that it would be fun to see their baby photos as well. For those of you who pay attention to who the sheep are I have included the (sire x dam).

This one is Sylvia and the photo below was taken last week. (Rotor x Sonata)

Here is Marilla (named in a contest for her mother, Marilyn, and because she was our Spinzilla ravatar) in March and below in September. This is a good pair of photos that show that even when a sheep is black and white, the wool may look brown due to sun bleaching. The markings on the face and legs will indicate the true color, at least in Jacob sheep.

This is Marilla's brother, Marv. He is one of only two ram lambs that I kept this year. He was champion Jacob ram at Black Sheep Gathering and his dad, Rotor, was Supreme Champion at the CA State Fair. The photo below shows the difference in rate of horn growth between ewes (Marilla) and rams (Marv). (Rotor x Marilyn)

This is Stacy as a newborn lamb and below at 7 months. (Crosby x Estelle)

More newborn photos. This is Jean with twins. I kept both of these lambs. The ewe lamb, trying to stand, is Cindy, below. The lamb nursing is the ram, Joker, in the photo below Cindy. (Nash x Jean)

Joker has a group of ewes and is wearing a marking harness with a red marker.

 This is Vanessa with her lambs. Vanna , on the right, was 5.2 pounds when she was born, but you wouldn't know that now. (Rotor x Vanessa)

Vixen is the only lilac lamb I kept. Her markings are a brown/gray instead of black. That shows up better in the photo above than below. (Nash x Foxglove)

This lamb is Virginia (Rotor x Ventura).

This is bide a wee Trista, the one lamb that I purchased, so I didn't take a baby photo. But I just looked and, yes there is one on the bide a wee farm website. Here is Trista as a little lamb.

Vixen, Virginia, Cindy, Vanna.