Play it for me one more time...Happy Mother's Day!

Another year has passed in the Bluff Country and once again my pastures are filled with bouncing lambs and attentive mothers.  Once again, my own children have amazed me with their constant love and encouragement throughout the year.  The cycle of life continues and I would like to pay tribute to Mother's Day by, once again, reposting an old favorite of mine.  Some of these pictures were taken 5 years ago or more.  Some of the sheep have moved on to new homes.  All have touched my life and my heart. 


Several years ago, I started a tradition of posting photos of my ewes with their lambs on Mother's Day. The following is the original post (click on any photo to enlarge):

In honor of the bond between mothers and children and the joy that my children have brought into my life, I dedicate today's post to that most life-affirming of miracles: Motherhood...

My beautiful "Diva" discovering motherhood for the very first time. 

The bond is almost instantaneous. Diva and her son, "Rock Star".

Here's Alice with her 2005 ram lamb "Zahara". "Harry" went on to win the champion Shetland ram lamb class, at the Wisconsin Sheep & Wool Festival, and is now a flock sire in Illinois...

Alice with Harry's sister, "Zola"...

This is Phoebe with "Flash Flood". I think Flash looks like an alpaca cria!

Here's Savannah with her daughter, "Zabrina"...

My beautiful Zaria with the handsome HST ram lambs that she gave me this year...

Alice, calmly caring for her newborn triplets...

The love between a ewe and her newborn lambs is palpable...this is Zest with Bella & Trinity.

And Zodiak with "Make a Wish" and "Dream Come True"...

Alice and "Glitter"...

Diva and "Rocky"...

I wish you all a wonderful Mother's Day. I am humbled by the knowledge that my mother loved me, more than life it self. I am grateful for the strength and courage she taught me and in awe of the way she faced life (and death). She will always be with me. And with MY children...

Pam, Ben and Katie ~ I love you more than you could ever know. And I wish for you the same JOY that you have brought to my life.



Losing the War...

Sometimes, (quite often I must admit) I feel like I can't possibly get everything done around here that needs to be done.  My fences need repairing, I've got chicken coops to build and pens to clean. Thank God I was able to pay someone else to deworm and trim feet on the sheep!  I can't begin to make a dent in the GRASS that is growing like a wildfire and almost hiding the sheep in the pasture!

I normally keep it mowed so that it doesn't go to seed!

I read that it loses nutrients once it goes to seed and it's all that I feed my sheep during the Spring, Summer and Fall.

"I've been meaning to talk to you about that, Mom."

I did manage to get the top of the hill pasture mowed so that Destiny could take her triplets out without danger of losing them yesterday...

Although she still kept them close to the safety of the barn.

Can't chat long today:  I've got pens to clean, mowing to do and fence-lines to treat with "Roundup".  I know ~ it's not environmentally friendly, but unless YOU want to volunteer to come over and pull the weeds and grass growing under my electric fence...

DREAM says:

"I'm doing the best I can to help you with this grass problem, Mom!"

And you're doing a fine job, Dreamer!  A fine job...

Identity Crisis...

Finally!  The sun has returned to the Bluff Country.

I took advantage of the beautiful day and put Dilemma and her twins out in the big pasture with the other new moms.

Confusion reigned!

Eventually, they got things figured out...

Sort of!

"Hey!"

"I only have ONE!"