One bum udder, two bottle lambs, and a special surprise

Sometimes bottle lambs are the result of a ewe who, for whatever reason, just isn't cut out for motherhood. Take Helena, my polka-dotted ewe who's been shirking her maternal duties since the day her twins were born last week. No longer confined to a stanchion or a lambing pen, Helena and her twins are out and about in the common space. The black ram can nurse whenever he chooses. But poor Blaze, the little white ewe-ling, has to be watchful and jump in whenever her mom isn't looking. She's quite cunning and is getting good at nursing from behind. And I am seeing that she is never hungry, offering a bottle to top her off several times a day. I'm feeding two other bottle lambs, so one more is really not a problem at this point.

(Sorry folks, I can't get this image to remain rotated in Typepad; this is actually the way I shot it while the lambs sucked on my fingers.Tilt your head to the right.)

Through no fault of her own, Mystic is unable to supply enough milk to feed her twins born last week. And I'm to blame for this situation. On shearing day back in March we noticed there was something funky about her udder. It was lopsided, one half semi-inflated with milk the the other flaccid with some hardened tissue inside. We're guessing she had somehow injured her udder while out in the pasture last season. I really should have picked up on it last fall when I changed her coat and trimmed her hooves before placing her in the breeding group.

Bum udder aside, Mystic is a sweet, attentive mom. She encourages them to nurse, with little success. You should see their eyes light up when I approach their pen. Wouldn't it be slick if I could combine Mystic's maternal instincts with Helena's productive bag? Or if I could get the two ewes to parent cooperatively, Helena serving as wet nurse and Mystic the loving nanny?

In the meantime, Zuni is still holding out on me. Perhaps she's had a change of mind and has decided motherhood isn't her gig. I don't see how she can possibly hang on another day. I'm watching for the sign of the first contraction.

This morning had its own wonderful surprise. Not the hoped for Zuni-lambs, but something equally wonderful. Yarn whisperer and champion for indie fiber producers everywhere, Clara Parkes' review of my yarn, Upland Wool & Alpaca was my first email read of the day. Clara's comments are especially meaningful. Not only does she know her yarn, but this gal knows more than a thing or two about wool, as we'll all see in her new book – The Knitters Book of Wool coming out this fall. Thank you Clara! Your review brightened my week, making up for the bad luck of a bum udder.

On other fronts:

My brain is toast. I'll gladly take suggestions for naming Mystic's twins. The ram lamb has
droopy puppy-dog-style ears and the ewe has Yoda-style ears that stand
out to the side. Such an adorable pair. Remember, this year's theme is
"colors".

Speaking of colors – I just received an email from Amazon that my pre-ordered copy of my very own book, Teach Yourself Visually Hand-Dyeing has
been shipped. I should have it in my hands by tomorrow. It will be my
first glimpse of the book in print and trust me, I'll be stalking the
mailman until it arrives. Maybe Zuni's lambs will time arrive at the
same time as my book. That would be a truly exciting day.

Stay tuned.

Feel free to share a link to this website. Please do not take images or content from this site without explicit permission. Thank you.