Amidst yet another winter storm, I pulled up to the barn this morning to find Cilantro with his snout buried in the snow right up to his eyeballs. For reasons I do not completely understand, sheep like to eat snow. Sometimes they do it because they're thirsty, but the boys had a 40 gallon bucket of clean water in the barn. Maybe they're thinking, "hey,there's grass down there somewhere. If I can just get rid of this cold white stuff . . ." Maybe its a sign of boredom. It's their little secret.

While snowy, today feels balmy compared to the end of last week. Funny how four days of negative digits can make 26F seem nearly subtropical. The deep freeze was really hard on my granny ewes, Cocoa and Charlotte. Both have been moving about rather stiffly all week. Charlotte could barely stand one morning. I suspect she had folded her legs beneath herself and nestled down into the straw for warmth, not moving from her cozy spot all night until I arrived for breakfast. It was painful to watch her stiffly hobble to the feeder. On Thursday Dr. Steff from Green Mountain Bovine Clinic was in the neighborhood for a dairy herd check. I asked her to swing by for a look at the old timers and to also take a peek at Gypsy, who has had her own recent issues (more about that in a minute).

Charlotte is 12 this year. She has deep and soulful eyes and the wisest expression and she is a smart old gal. For the past week I've been sneaking her a little grain while the others eat hay outdoors. When I give her the secret sign, she shuffles right over to the corner of the barn where a little cache is hers. After a few savvy youngsters caught on, I decided to pen Charlotte and Cocoa in their own private corner for some extra t.l.c.

In addition to gimping, Charlotte's developed a deep cough on cold days, another good reason to have Dr Steff pay a visit. As with any animal, it's pretty hard to figure out the problem when they can't say exactly where it hurts. Charlotte stood stoically as Dr Steff looked her over. An examination of hooves and limbs revealed no issues. She was not running a temp. Her nose and lungs sounded clear, despite her raspy bark on cold mornings. Doc suspected it could be due the cold air or perhaps some residual damage from a cough for which I treated her last winter. Arthritis is the likely cause of her gimp. She put up very little fuss when I caught and held her for the vet, yet another sign of discomfort. Poor gal.

Cocoa is nearly the same age as Charlotte, but a bit bit more rugged. While she can still shoulder her way through a mob of teenagers and stands her ground against bigger ewes, she has shown undeniable signs of aging this winter, which makes me sad. Cocoa is one of our first pair of ewes and is dear to us for that reason. Unlike Charlotte, she put up quite a fight, careening into the water bucket and sending it sideways when I tried catching her. A good sign. I was relieved that that the examination revealed no obvious red flags. Doc suggested giving aspirin to both of them for their aches. I slipped a couple of orange chewables into their evening grain. There's really not much more you can do for old sheep, except keep them as comfortable as possible.

In this morning's milder temperatures, both girls seemed brighter and more limber than they've been in days. After breakfast, I sent them out to mill about the yard with the others. They'll be happier to stay in the common pen tonight.

Gypsy gave us worries last week, beginning with the soiling of her hind quarters followed by an odd arching of her back. She was not her usual chipper self at all.  An Angora goat's glorious mohair gown can mask deteriorating body condition. I was surprised to feel how bony she was under her pretty ringlets. We gave her a separate pen, right beside her pal, Butch, and supplemented her with grain during the cold snap. Suspecting internal parasites, I wormed her. I  also gave a dose of Kaopectate to stop the runs (which meant a trip to CVS in Greenfield; I never realized Kaopectate comes in so many flavors and studied them until I found the one I thought she'd like best: vanilla). She thought this was an extra special treat.

Gyspy was looking better before the vet's arrival. Doc pronounced her a bit thin but otherwise healthy. A fecal sample confirmed a small parasite load, which should be addressed by the paste wormer I gave last Monday (we'll test again in 10 days to be sure). Winter isn't usually a time for internal cootie issues, but she's still new here and perhaps the move and adjusting to a new setting weakened her resistance. She's enjoying the special treatment, the bonus grain, and not having to compete with Butch for hay. Butch is thoroughly annoyed!