"This mulch is yummy!" :-)
I try to give my bottle lambs as "normal" life as possible. Like a real sheep mom, I stay with them or keep them with me as much as I can. I feed lots of little bottles throughout the day. If I need to run to the grocery (yes, on rare occasions I do that ;-) I leave them with a sitter - usually Iris.
When Blossom got sick, her Auntie Reg came to stay with her while Uncle John and I went to Masterson to set up for the fiber festival. Being sick is stressful enough. Being left all alone while you are sick would be that much worse :-(. Honestly, even under ideal situations, just being a bottle lamb is stressful. Lambies need their mommas, so I try my best to be a good replacement.
On the flip side, being a lamb momma is stressful too. Things can go wrong so quickly with those babies. Getting up in the middle of the night is exhausting. Washing bottles turns your hands into sandpaper. However, knowing that in real life much of the time mommas and babies are sitting out in the the warm sun or under a shade tree, and trying to give each lamb as much of that experience as I can, is a great reward.
I use that time to catch up on my stack of magazines that I haven't let myself sit down and read (?!?). I actually read books. Tailchaser's Song was a favorite this spring. I plan spinning, knitting and weaving projects. I take lots of pictures, do some sketching, make story notes for a possible Hank book, think of things to do with all. that. wool. and sometimes just take a nap.
Because there is nothing like a warm spring nap cuddled up with a sweet baby :-).
21 comments:
Hard work, yes. But the rewards are unlike any other, I can imagine. How lucky you are to have such bliss.
Look at those lovely, long eyelashes on that sweet baby. Those moments make all the hard work worthwhile.
Perfect all around. You are so good at this.
I cannot imagine cuddling up with that sweet little thing.
sometimes you wish they would stay that size .......... so cute.
Bless your generous heart, and thank you for sharing. I really appreciate your words and photos.
Your bottle lambs bring out maternal instincts I didn't even know I had! Proof is in the pudding, they say, and all your lambs become sweet and lovely sheep. You are a good bottle-baby-mom.
Definitely the Awwww award of the day!
Your hard work is so worth it.
I love reading about your bottle babies every year! I'm sure it is very hard work, like being a mom with a newborn. I remember when I was taking care of these tiny rescued kittens who had to be bottle-fed every few hours, even through the night. Definitely exhausting.
One sweet post! These lambs needs to be a book. You could call it LAMB MOMMY. Your stories are wonderful.
Hank could be in it too.
You have the 3 ingredients- compassion-patience-willingness to sacrifice your time. RC
Incredible Kodak moments. It takes a village to raise a lamb ;-)
Thank you Auntie Reg and St. Tim the builder.
This baby is so white! Adorable!
The sweetest little girl in the whole world!
I know I'm supposed to be looking at the lamb, but I just can't stop staring at that GREEN grass. LOL Seems like so long ago.
"Little lamb, who made thee?"
What a wonderful life lived with such purpose! I'll bet you are a great lamb momma, and they love you very much. :)
What a marvelous bond you create and thanks for sharing that bliss with us:)
I have been reading your blog posts about your sweet little lamb. But I have never seen what happened to her mother and why she's been bottle fed. So I am just going to ask what happened? She is the most beautiful white lamb I have ever seen.
Sheepie love!
;)
Blossom's mother died when she was 5 days old :-(. She came from a big sheep farm and was over there helping out that morning and picked the baby up when they came to get her momma and after holding her, comforting her, getting her taking the bottle all day I decided that even though I didn't really want a bottle baby, she'd already lost one mom so I didn't want her to lose me too at the end of the day. She ended up being a blessing. Of course :-).
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