Things just got more farm-like at Clear Day Farm – Hannah’s sheep have arrived! And hopefully they’ll be having babies in the Spring!
When Mom and Dad sold the farm { which you can read about HERE } it meant we had to decide what was going to happen to Hannah’s little flock of sheep. Three years ago she bought a little bottle baby lamb from her Opa and named her Sweet Willow. Sweet Willow had Hot Chocolate the first lambing season, who went to market like the majority of ram lambs do. Then last lambing season, Sweet Willow had twin ewe lambs, Lily and Sweetie { you can see pictures of them as lambs HERE }
Of course, we couldn’t make her sell her sheep, she loves them so much. So that meant we needed to make room and take them to our place. Okay, one decision down, now, we needed them bred. Thankfully the couple who bought the farm were willing to keep them around for a bit so they could be bred and we could get a pen built. We talked about what ram they should be bred to and we are hoping for little Scottish Black Face lambs in the Spring!
Fast forward until this week, when Michael and the girls got a fabulous pen built-in the corner of the barn. With the way the pen was set up, they will also have access to the paddock where we strung more stands of electric fence to keep them in { chasing sheep is similar to herding cats…. } They will share some space with Ebony, too, so we’ll see how that goes!
Dad came up with his truck and trailer and we piled in and drove the familiar drive to the farm. It seems weird and the same, all at once. Tashia greeted us and Hannah’s flock was already separated out which meant we only had to load up the trailer! Dad and Michael had that job done in minutes while we patted the barn cat, Buddy, and chatted. We didn’t stick around too long, it is so bitter cold in these parts again!
The sheep unloading went well on our end, they went right in their pen and Hannah closed the door and they were home! Ebony was not thrilled, there will be some adjustment time but I have no doubt everyone will settle into life here at Clear Day Farm in no time!
Because Sweet Willow was a bottle baby, that meant she was used to human touch and attention. She’ll come to the fence for a scratch or if you’re lucky, a quick peck on her muzzle. And because she’s ok with us, her girls seem to be as well, they aren’t quite as friendly as their momma but I can see that now they’re here they’ll come around even more. Hmmmm, I wonder what sheep like as treats….we might need to bribe them a little! Dad always knew Sweet Willow was around at feeding time because she’d try to take him out at the knees with her head butts in her eagerness for grain!
Funny how all along we had animals here – bunnies, chickens, then a pony and cats, a stray dog but now with the sheep here, it seems way more official – Clear Day Farm!! Chores will take a little longer, there are more pens to muck out and more mouths to feed but it feels just right now. I just have to wait for the babies to arrive now…..how long until Spring?
To be continued,
Lori
