Baby Bird Camp

"Mom!"

"Mom!"  "Mom!"

"Mom!" "Mom!" "Mom!"

"MOM!!!"

Just off the back porch :-). 

Lessons From Some Dumb Ol' Sheep

Baaxter is feeling much better!  In fact, by last night he was feeling so much better that, with as tired as I was from having stayed up with him for two nights, I sort of almost kinda a little wished he could be just a wee bit sick again.  Not really ;-).

Maisie nearly died so many times as a baby that it's still amazing to me sometimes that she's out running around (with her propeller twirling :-) the fields playing with her friends.  The big lesson I learned from Maisie was the importance of rest.  When she was having a really, really tanked day, if I could just get her to fall asleep, sound asleep, she would be almost miraculously turned back around when she woke up.  

She usually had to sleep tucked in next to me covered up with her favorite blanket until she got too warm and I'd pull it back a little until she got too cool and then I'd cover her back up...  Baaxter slept next to me when he was at his worst, but by yesterday afternoon, he'd headed back to one of his favorite nap spots behind the wicker chairs.  Like Maisie, it was amazing how much better he'd be when he woke up.

But really, is it that amazing?  We've been told our whole lives to rest when we're sick.  Maybe the reason I never really believed it mattered that much is I've never actually made myself rest.  There's always something that HAS to be done...  We now have two very clear, shall we say black and white ;-) proofs that rest really does make a difference.

Hazy, Hot And Humid

I couldn't decide which of these I liked best. I like seeing the horses in the front field almost as much as the sheep. This morning was especially pretty.

The morning coolness won't last long.  We have a brutal forecast this week.  I'd be happy if I never saw the 90's again and we are stuck with them all week.  Yesterday was exceptionally miserable.  

Baaxter was sick - a combination of the heat, disrupted weekend schedule and vaccination brought on pneumonia which in turn brought on an episode of bloat.  It's scary being a sheep mom.  As I sat on the floor of the kitchen with a fan blowing on him all day, I tried not to think of the 90s outside, the 80s inside and the 104 snuggled up next to me.  I was just glad I was able to help him feel a little better.

He's much improved this morning, but still not himself.  I'm hoping another day of stall (because at this point we really can't call it a "kitchen" ;-) rest and a second day of meds will really help.  Saint Tim put the window ACs in last night so we can keep him a little cooler this afternoon.  Maybe with the "stall" door open, the rest of the farm will cool off, too.  Just kidding.  Sort of...

Nice

But just not the same.

"Hey, you rams back there! You getting up any time today?" 

Hank likes the front field best too.  It's easier to keep watch over the early risers and the sleeper ins.

Her Fleece Was White As Snow

Except for all the grease, dirt, hay, straw, chicken feathers, dog hair, wild flowers, burrs, tree bark, fishing lures, shotgun shells...  ;-)

Guess who this is!

I've been spinning for an exchange project and the fiber is pretty and super soft, but with just enough of dryer lint feel to make me crazy.  I'm a coarse wool girl through and through and needed a break.  This fleece is exactly what I'd hoped it would be :-).

If you'd like to know what this feels like, put a good squirt of dish soap in your kitchen sink, hit it with the spray nozzle and hot water.  When you pat/squish down on the big peaks of bubbles...that's exactly what it feels like to pat/squish down on Maisie's combed wool.

I left this picture file size a bit larger so you could biggify it.