Ups and Downs | Foxfire Fiber & Designs

I'll start with the good news. Last night Comet delivered the adorable twins pictured above. "Euphemia"(left) and "Franklin" arrived after dinner. Their debut is special because they are the first offspring from our new moorit ram, Chai. And while I had been hoping for a brown lamb, I'm pleased with this healthy pair. The only wrinkle in their arrival was Comet's udder – almost no colostrum. So we borrowed from the ewes in neighboring pens until Comet's milk comes in. Holly (such a trooper) held hot compresses on Comet's udder for an hour last night, to help stimulate milk flow.

The barn was drafty so I tucked the lambs in with my sweater (even though they're wearing their own sweaters underneath). That's my favorite Brooks Brothers sweater they're using for a blanket. And remind me to bring it in from the barn, please (I think it's still out there).

We had our first losses of the season today. As I mentioned in my last post, I took Galveston to the vet clinic this afternoon. Doc Major did an exam to confirm what I had been suspecting, the lambs were not alive. So he pulled them. They were huge and look to have died within the last 48 hours. The official diagnosis: dystocia due to the disproportionate size of lambs to ewe and a failure of the cervix to dilate.

We're not sure why Galveston never went into labor. It looked like she was starting briefly on Sunday when she appeared to walk off breakfast and lie down in the center of the barn, but then nothing progressed. When Doc Debbie checked her on Tuesday she couldn't find anything. But I knew from how uncomfortable she looked all week that something wasn't right. This afternoon I lubed up and went in to check things out. Although I could get through to the lambs, I couldn't tell if they were alive and it was clear that she hadn't fully opened. That's when I knew I needed help.

Galveston is droopy, still off her food. It's a lot of stress. When growing those lambs were a huge drain on her. If we hadn't got them out, they would have made her very sick. I'm sure she's sore and will continue to be so for a few days. We've got her penned close to the others so she won't feel alone.

I am always so disappointed by the losses. It's easy to look back and say "if I'd only tried this or thought of that." But the reality of keeping sheep is that sometimes weirdness happens. Even under the best of circumstances, things are going to crash and burn once in a while. Even so, I can't help but feel sadness at the loss.Holly and I were piecing things together as we made Galveston comfortable and put the barn in order for the night. When something like this happens, we see what's to be learned and move on. It's the best we can do.