We snuck out this morning, leaving the teenogre to his usual weekend late start. But our day started at 6 am (not counting the night checks), with the usual sheep check – no lambs yet. So we were up anyhow, we went out, had a nice poke about a junk yard in a nearby town. And ambled in the deli, and drank coffee in a cafe. And wore clothes not covered in mud for a change. We love being at home and doing everything we are doing, but it is nice to venture out and be couplely sometimes.
This afternoon, himself was digging and I spent a lot of time cutting up the wood from our hedging efforts. The process is much hampered by the sheep, who will come and nose about the bits I have cut, messing up my piles for bonfire, pea-sticks and logging, nibbling on the branches, and investigating the newly cleared ground. Arabella has a habit of nibbling the elastic toggle on my own fleece, and twanging it painfully!, Saffie found a bit of string hanging out of my pocket and wandered off with it.. unwinding most of a ball of twine before I realised… and they all want pats and back scratches and attention. Still, it’s nice. And they have given up on the sulking malarkey too.
But 4 it was freezing, so we stopped work and built a bonfire instead, necessary as the hedging debris pile was massive. The bloke who felled the big tree for us a while back, he reckons he does not bother to log anything smaller than his are.. we go further – I’ll log anything that I can’t get the long handled loppers through – sure it burns quick, but heat is heat. What we can’t use gets burned. Besides, we love our bonfires.
By 6, we were frozen, smoked through, and had moved very close to the fire pit, now glowing with embers. And as the fire was ‘just right’, marshmallows were obtained, the teenogre emerged and we half froze and half roasted ourselves toasting marshmallows until they were gone. Nom.
It is good to be indoors now, showered and desmoked, and warmed again. Was worth it for the marshmallows.
Our first lamb arrived today – totally unexpectedly! Thankfully Candytuft (first-time mum as well) got on with the job without any fuss; & produced a bonny little ram lamb, quite a character & endearingly pretty (some of our lambs have been frankly pig-ugly – not that pigs ARE ugly but you know what I mean – so this little chap was a delightful relief).
The first new arrival of the year always puts a spring in my step…& puts me on notice that it won’t last long; as there will be many, many sleepless nights ahead…!!
Good luck with your lot; hope their fed-up-ness doesn’t last long & that they lamb soon, swiftly & easily.
Know what you mean about the fleece-twanging BTW; my goats are consummate experts & have even learned to fire the toggles at Tony’s most sensitive ‘bits’ – they find it most amusing…!!
Oh to have the chance of mud-free clothes…& to nom marshmallows…you lucky thing.
oh congrats – glad the first arrived safe and sound.