So far so good...

Well lambing has come to a stand still it seems for a few days. It's been since Monday and no sign of anything imminent to come, so the score is 4 down, 8 to go. The first five lambs are doing pretty well. Well, four of them are anyway. They run and jump and go crazy like normal lambs do. My first little runty guy is not so active. I think he's too busy trying to survive. I discovered that his mother has mastitis in one half of her udder, so I don't think he's getting enough to eat. Today I noticed him trying to start stealing from the other moms when they're eating, which is a great sign. I'd like to avoid starting him on any kind of supplement (ie. bottle feeding), mostly because bottle fed lambs are a hassle and usually not very growthy, but also because I don't think I have any options organically, so he would not be able to be sold for the organic premium (and require so much more work!). Anyway, waiting and seeing. He's really pretty good (always up and looking around), but while the other lambs are jumping and running, he's sort of bumming around various udders trying to get his fill. So we'll see. I've got a can of evaporated milk on hand should he start heading down hill in a hurry, but it's a last resort.

Am heading to Truro tomorrow for the ACORN conference, since there are a couple sessions on organic livestock stuff and one on organic sheep specifically. Mark has been there now for a couple days and after talking to him tonite, it sounds like it's going well, so I'm kind of looking forward to a day 'away'. A little nervous because I feel like as soon as I leave, the sheep are all going to go into labour, but I've left my friends Patty Jo and Bobby Jo in charge, along with Wendell, Mark's dad on guard. He takes his job pretty seriously and likes to 'keep an eye on things' as it is, so I'm sure things will be fine. It's only for the day right?

So Lucy is staying with her grandma Bernard for the day, which could be a bit...er 'trying' for both of them by the end of it, but again, I'm sure will be fine.

Since this entry is starting to sound more like me trying to convince myself rather than informing anyone, I'll sign off before it gets ridiculous.

There's a prize, care of Barnyard Organics, for the first person to comment on this blog, just so I know that there is at least SOMEONE out there, reading this. Seriously, we'll send you something. Leave your address.

Later,
Sally