Dear friends,
Please enjoy an 1,091 word, 4 minute and 52 second read on this Valentines Day.
After a tiring month, and with pink hands from exposure and purple highlights from iodine, I am happy to report we completed lambing January 29th. With the first lambs born on the third (as expected), the last arrived 4 weeks later (not expected). For most of January, we watched an uneventful lamb cam, creatively forming HHF astrological signs with the different ewe positions, but then magically, the lambs arrived in bunches the final few days. We nearly ran out of towels for drying the new babies.
So far, all survived and we have 14 lambs in the barn, 9 males and 6 ewes lambs, born to 8 ewes. Both are excellent ratios. But once again, mother nature threw us some curveballs. Of course on the coldest night of the year, at minus 12 degrees, we birthed a robust 15 pounder at 3am, an overprotective mother ran over her lamb breaking its leg (now nicknamed Skippy), one ewe has 4 teats, confusing both the lamb and the farmer, two lambs have yet to drop their "lamby manhood," complicating banding (castration) and due to frequent gator trips, rain and freezing, the sheep barn drive is a terrible, bumpy skating rink!! Compared to last year, deliveries were a breeze, however, with only two breech births, 4 requiring tubing to get them started nursing, and one bottle feeder, who loves human attention and lets everyone in the barn know when he is hungry. One ewe developed an infected teat and udder, requiring antibiotics and frequent milking, which neither she nor I was a fan. After the second day, it became a barnyard WCW wrestling grudge match and she had better moves and far outweighed me. I gave up the third day.
Our friend Julia and her grandfather Tony also visited several times to understand the birthing process to prepare for their own lambs successfully born at the start of February. The timing worked our perfectly for Julia to witness a birth firsthand and help with the first few minutes of life. And I was lucky enough to perform my best James Herriot impersonation addressing some concerns for her lambs at their place. If you are looking for a Scotch Collie Puppy, they have 3 remaining from a recent litter. And they are very cute!
As always the most precious moments were working with the ewes to deliver the lambs, put them in front of the mom, clean and dry them, clear their breathing, listen to them baa for the first time, for which the mother always responds, help them stand, and if needed, learn to nurse. They accomplish a lot in their first 20 minutes of life! Despite our differences, while on my knees in the stall, wearing soiled overalls covered in manure, straw and afterbirth, we work as a team. With the mom more than happy for the assistance. I know many of us feel close to our pets, but farm animals are different because these experiences can be fleeting which makes them even deeper and more profound. Enjoying the outdoors at night also brings its own special closeness to nature, especially during a clear night with a full moon.
This year the lambs are exceptionally diverse both in size and coloration. Our first lamb remains a very dark chocolate color, one looks like a two-tone sedan, another has a wonderful mottled bohemian coat and the last two may be our least attractive ever, resembling hairless dogs. Regardless, the many visitors appear to love feeding them, holding the little ones and watching them dance and run around the stall. One 7 year old girl commented, "I would do anything to take a lamb home."
If you know of anyone looking for a 4H lamb please let us know, we certainly have quite a few to sell this year!
We enjoy hearing farm stories from our many readers and family. Marianne volunteers at a farm in the Berkshires a few times a month where each year they have all of their babies born over the course of 2 weeks for guests to enjoy. And Lauren works at a farm in Amsterdam that includes donkeys, sheep, bunnies, guinea pigs, 4 chickens, birds, goats, doves, wild ducks, a pig, gardens, bee hives and of course a windmill. The Netherlands has 1200 windmills with many still in use.
In other news, egg sales are robust and we should consider auctioning them off given current store pricing as a result of the bird flu. Due to the flu, we closed up the stalls to prevent birds from entering and of course clean the eggs thoroughly before selling. I am afraid the flu will only get worse in the spring due to migration. Please lmk if you would like to order chickens. I am trying a new breeder with better birds and the former one stopped selling white leghorns which are by far the best producers. I suspect they are selling all of their white leghorn production to commercial growers due to the flu.
We also continue to work the firewood for next year and after a crazy few months, are reorganizing the embarrassing disorganized, messy tractor barn. I include a photo to make you feel better about your own garages.
We continue to look for new horse boarders and would like to give you a tour if you are either interested for yourself or a friend. It is a great barn situation especially for people wanting their own space and for retired horses.
Fun Fact. Today is Cyndi's birthday!!! And it is a big one. She is certainly Hill House Farm's favorite Valentine sweetheart and the one ultimately responsible for this wonderful adventure. Without her constant support, whether it be taking care of the farm for so many years with the kids while I travelled, assisting with late night deliveries, milking the ewes to collect colostrum for a weak lamb, delivering firewood, tending the garden, cleaning the eggs and in general being the perfect yin for my crazy yang ideas. Oh and always looking great even in Carhart, barn boots and stocking caps. She is a great partner! Later this year we will celebrate 35 years of the best decision I ever made.
I hope you enjoyed this short departure from your everyday life and the world's chaos and allowing us be a part of your Valentines Day Celebration. Your continue appreciation and support of our adventure is what this all worthwhile. We hope you all find ways to share the love with others in your life today
Best for now,
Harry
