Lambs & Lilacs | Foxfire Fiber & Designs

On the downhill side of the dairy the pasture slopes toward the dell. There is a brook fed by several springs. Grasses and multi-flora roses nearly obscure the view of the brook now, but you can hear the rushing water, especially where it tumbles through the rocks. The sheep don't go there, since we have yet to run secure fence around the perimeter of the dell. The slope pasture is where the lambs and ewes spend much of their time now, at least until I move them across the road to the upper pasture.

There are several pastures adjacent to the birthing barn. To keep the flock healthy and the grass under control, I rotate them from field to field every few days. They enjoy a change of scenery.

When the lawn needs attention, I bring them around the yard. Inspecting the shrubbery is part of the fun.

The recent heat and humidity has significantly dampened the flock energy. While the sheep eagerly head out the pasture gate each morning, they dog it back to the barn within an hour. I pile the mangers full, so there's always plently of good food indoors, out of the sun, and I keep several fans running which create a cooling breeze down the aisle of the barn. The lambs adore the fans, which keep the vexing flies away. When not near a fan, a llama can serve the same purpose. . .

My time is split in these early summer days. The rest of the flock – fifty-something sheep- also need attention. Before setting them out in the far pastures, they get a spring tune up. Today that included administering wormer, trimming hooves and uncoating the yearlings who live in the barn on the west side of the road.

The girls were wet from morning grazing in a drizzly fog. Penning them together to trim their feet and pulling off their smelly wet coats was not much fun, trust me. I have no pictures to show you. The only way to tackle this project is to just take it one sheep at a time – and to try not to think about how many sheep are yet to be done. The fleeces were quite damp from the recent rain and humidity, so the coats will stay off until the wool is dry. Each day, we'll tackle another group.

By Friday, I will have worked my way through the entire flock of 100. While I'm sure the sheep would prefer to avoid this type of attention, it feels quite good, knowing I have handled and inspected each sheep individually. It's easy to miss things needing attention when viewing them as a flock.

At evening feeding the wind kicked hard from the northwest, bringing a monster thunderstorm, complete with marble-sized hail stones. Holly and I were pulling bales from the hayloft when it struck. The sound was deafening. Fortunately, the sheep were all indoors. Unfortunately, my car was parked just outside the barn with the windows down. It was a soggy ride home, but at least the storm has broken the humid blanket that has been parked over western Massachusetts for the past week.

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