1-31-11

Eunice lambed Monday night, and we are done lambing for the year. Eunice positioned herself just inside one of the lamb jugs, and delivered her first lamb, a mostly white ram lamb, probably 20 minutes before I arrived at about 7PM. I moved her further into the jug, and she delivered a much larger, black ewe lamb about a minute later. It’s interesting that we’ve had multiple sheep go unprompted into the jugs to lamb; usually we have to bully them inside. Eunice’s smaller ram lamb is doing better than surviving, but not thriving like his fat sister. He’s slow to learn to suckle, just wants to chew on the teat, it’s frustrating. I’ve been locking Eunice and her lambs in a jug each night, leaving the heat lamp on. Normally, it’s two nights in the jug and that’s it, no matter the weather.

Winter’s night sky seems dark and endless as I trek out to check the lambs; even the bright Milky Way seems cold and unusually distant, very different from summer. I don’t need a flashlight at night around the farm; my eyes adjust pretty well, even with a new moon. The cows pretend not to notice me as I walk past to visit the sheep, but I’m sure they see me. Lying in the dark pasture the white lambs are easy to spot, but the black lambs are almost invisible; I’ll grab Eunice’s white lamb to lure her into the jug. Leaving the sheep barn the woods seem quiet and still, but suddenly the dogs bolt across the pasture barking at something I can’t detect. It’s a different world at night, a world I’m not a part of, and I think the animals know I’m out of place. It’s good the dogs can be depended on to do their job.

Photo update 9/20/11