This spring is a wonderful example of why we live in Arizona. The weather has been beautiful. I will have to come back to this post in the heat of the summer to remind myself of this. The leaves are spring green on the Mulberry. The grapes leaves are miracuously emerging from the dead twisted branches. The mice are prolific and the snakes have not yet come out to eat them.
As a result of this time delay, I adopted a cat for the barn. He has different names depending on which family member you ask, but I figured it didn't matter really because he comes to any thing, and everybody is happy that way. He has become a quick convert from his pampered condo living, to an adept barn cat, catching mice and sparrows. I am very happy to have him. The dogs have been resistant to the temptation to impede on his territory. He has a horse stall that is currently storing everything from feed to washing machines. The door is now left slightly open so he can swiftly escape into and out of his lair. I am hoping the dogs continue to be polite, keeping their distance. I would really like to have another mouse catcher to live in the poultry yard. I am seeing little mice at night and their deposits in the feed bowls the next morning. I know they're eating a lot of chicken feed.
Emma has decided to become more active in 4-H and her animal interests this next year. She purchased a darling Nubian goat doe, born January 25, 2012. She is named Lily. Emma has been bottle feeding her, and Lily has quickly bonded with Emma. We met a wonderful woman that sold Lily to Emma. I think she is someone I would be a great friend with if she didn't live so far away. She had a terrific garden, and raises goats for milk, pigs for meat and chickens for eggs. The goat milk sample she gave us was delicious and I can hardly wait for next spring when Lily will have milk. I even day-dreamed about getting a doe in milk now, but reality hit when I realized the labor of pen construction would stop that endeavor for now.
Eweness, our Jacob ewe had been together with Frank the ram since October. We had the two sheared (that was a lot of wool), and was surprised to see how small they really are. Anticipating that Eweness would look pregnant, we were all scratching our heads wondering if she really was. She had some signs, and her belly was a bit round, but not overly so. Her teats still resembled a fairly young sheep. One morning recently, Emma and I were watching her as she was resting, when suddenly her side was quivering with sharp punches. She walked a bit and stood staring back at us. That's when it happened, a nose or foot drew a long line from front to back along her side. It stuck out at least 3 inches, and we both gasped. She is definitely pregnant, but as to when she is due, we are still not sure. The very earliest due date calculated is April 4th.
I have been reading and watching youtube videos about Jacob sheep lambing. They all look much larger than Eweness, but they are not shorn or sheared (still have to look up the proper tense of that one). Their udders are much larger, but they had lambed before. So I really don't have a good reference to figure out how far a long she is.
Emma and I did move Frank next door to Eweness. I think it is good to have them close, but separate so that I can supplement her a bit and he can't push her out of the way to eat it all. She seems less stressed with him close by, now that they are accustomed to each other.
I am rather excited about a little lamb. And this will be a "little" lamb. I really want to make sure the lamb is tame, but I don't want to have to bottle feed it. And by the size of Eweness' teats, I'm not sure I could even milk her, even if she was more trusting of me. I will play it by ear. Maybe just a wee bit calmer than Eweness would be nice. If it is a female we will keep her around.
Emma incubated a few Freedom Ranger chicks. Mostly to have hatch when a friend was visiting, but I will raise them for 10 weeks and process them if I can handle the heat at the end of May. I will not raise chicks to butcher in summer ever again. That was a mistake. Incubate in August, hatch in September and butcher in November. That schedule works for me.
Spring has been wonderful so far. I will enjoy it while it lasts.
