Foggy Farm | Foxfire Fiber & Designs

Nothing yanks me out of bed as fast as the sound of lamb in distress. That's what I thought I heard at 5:30 a.m. today. Patten Hill is socked in by mist this morning, making it hard to do a head count. But when I arrived in the pasture (above) all was well. But the farm looks like a different place in the fog.

Late yesterday afternoon Holly and I had moved the entire lamb flock with mothers and Crackerjack to the open barn pasture on the west side of the road – the lambs' first experience crossing the street. That alone is a nerve wracking moment, as we're never quite sure if the group will move in unison or will "freak and split". The timing of the UPS truck almost blew it, but we managed to close the gate before anyone had second thoughts. Wish I could have filmed it, but I was holding Crackerjack on lead, a beacon for the lambs.

So I suppose I had my ears open all night, knowing the lambs were in a new place. The fences are tight, but predation is always a possibility lurking in the back of my mind. I was more concerned about a lamb becoming ensnared in grapevine or the tentacles of multi-flora rose. If you look at the shot above on the right you'll see how they love to browse the lower branches of the wild roses and munch away the leaves. But I've had critters get "stuck" and when they do, they panic which only gets them more stuck. I was afraid I might find that when I got here today. But thankfully, no. So I just got to spend a few lovely moments with the lambs in the fog with my camera.

I've split this post into two posts, since it's photo-heavy – and also since I've missed posting this week (having my hands full with scads of new yarn – both the summer and fall shares arriving here at once, egads!). And I'm teaching handspinning for newbies at Webs this weekend which is great fun but intense. I might not have a moment to post again till next week. So enjoy.