Coffee Klatsch

Uncommonly Good

Well, we're still in gloomy weather mode here and Keebler has decided he'd rather. just. play. in. the. kitchen. This is going to be problematic come winter, eh? He stands on the bottom step and looks at the cold, wet grass, looks at me trying to coax him into the yard, looks at the cold, wet grass and turns around and hops back up the stairs to the kitchen door. If I "make" him go out, he walks, picking his feet up really high, and just looks pitiful. Hopefully the sun will come out this afternoon. In the meantime, I'll catch up with some questions.

Keebler was born last Wednesday, so he's 8 days old.

Remember the pretty Wensleydale/Cotswold fleece from a few weeks ago? That was his daddy's. His momma is a Texel or Texel cross, I think (I need to find out for sure).



He's living in the kitchen so he doesn't get too lonely and can have lots of attention. It's also easier to feed him here rather then trekking up to the barn every time. We just keep plenty of clean up towels handy. Our kitchen has a perfect set up with linoleum flooring, one door leading out to the porch and the other has a permanent baby gate blocking the rest of the carpeted house. Sometimes he sleeps in his house and sometimes he sleeps on a dog bed. He gets to choose.

He eats every 3 hours right now, but he goes 4 hours between his night feedings.

He came with the name Keebler. His Auntie (name withheld because she thinks she's flying under the radar as a crazy sheep lady - yeah, um, right ;-) tagged him with his "elfin magic face" and immediately came up with Keebler. Perfect!

He was one of a set of triplets. The farm he came from always pulls a triplet so that the mommas don't have more than two babies to raise. This is a common practice with larger flocks.

Anything else?

Here's a ba-ba video from last night. Those are my favorite jeans, by the way, so don't be hatin' me for my high style ;-).

Blankets And Pillows

Another cruddy weather day. We've been out playing a little in the soggy yard, but it's not just wet, it's cold! Ugh. This is a day better spent taking some naps.



Weaslie's not looking too happy about the new sleeping arrangements.



This was a nice nap, too, as I got to join in. There is nothing better than being a lamb pillow. (Taken with the camera phone...obviously :-/.)



Speaking of pillows, I'm almost too embarrassed to post this picture. Yeesh, Claire Bear. Hopefully it's just an unflattering camera angle.

Fried Egg Surprise

We've lived here for almost six years. We figured we knew our farm pretty well - what kind of rain it takes to flood the barn (none now :-), which way the wind tends to blow, where to find the hidden rocks, even the location of a patch of wild asparagus out back.

Look closely.



Where did this come from, tucked under a tree in our front yard? Daffodils (and the "fried eggs" are among my favorites) are bulbs, correct? Not a seed a bird would plant, right? Did someone plant this a long time ago and it's just been hibernating? Regardless, we are happy to see you pretty flower. Welcome.



Next question - does anyone have any thoughts on my lack-of-flowering quince? I'm sure this bush is very old. Maybe it's all bloomed out? Maybe it just needs a good pruning?



And a little lamb candy - Keebler loves the dog beds. They are his choice spot to sleep when it's too rainy to go outside. Here you can see his one gray/brown/black leg and the spot on his front knee as well.

He's had some fun today weeding the flower beds (in between rain showers) and playing on the jungle gyms, aka the raised beds. If you tell him to stay out of the asparagus bed, you better believe that's going to be the first place he's running to!

Of Little Lambs And Bees

Another big day. As soon as the sun peaked out, Keebler and I headed outside. He's living in the kitchen right now, but likes to take naps on the couch, bed and dog beds, too ;-).



He had some fun running around.



Eating some grass in the orchard.



Eating some stuff he probably really shouldn't.



Taking another nap. (It's hard to take a picture with a camera in one hand and a sleeping baby in the other!)

He slept and slept and I thankfully had taken a good book out with me, Beeing, by Rosanne Daryl Thomas. I had started reading it yesterday while I had Keebler outside and I'm glad I had an "excuse" to sit down and read for awhile again today, because it was a thoroughly enjoyable story of a new beekeeper's experiences with her first hives of bees.

She ends her book by saying, "...but I would ask that you take at least a moment to appreciate them in the open air the next time you spy a bee at work in a flower." And I looked up and realized that as the air had warmed, I was surrounded by hundreds of busy bees.



(Click to biggify and see some bees.)