End of Winter on the Farm

Well, here we are in mid-February. Lambing has officially begun. We have seven new Navajo-Churro lambs, three sets of twins and a single. So far more ewes than rams, which is good. But the law of averages says our twin ratio and the primacy of female births cannot hold. But beginners luck is nice. All have been born in the night, while we were fast asleep, with no complications. All were accidents -- pregnancies that occurred prior to the start of our breeding program through gate crashing. All but one is Navajo on Navajo. One is Barbado on Navajo, which is a ram and will be meat for the freezer as soon as he reaches a good size.

Just in time for lambing, we stumbled upon a Great Pyrrenees for sale for only $75 -- the cost of his neutering. He had been watching goats since he was a pup. He has been great at watching the lambs and ewes, although he does it from across the fence, as if he is too regal to actually be in the lane cooped up with them. He seems to be doing his job, although he is acutely disinterested in we mere humans -- to the point of walking away whenever we approach. He is strictly business. We named him Barnabas.

We have begun laying out the two acre garden near the house, and will plant potatoes tomorrow. We already have spinach, lettuce, radishes, and carrots coming up. The wildflowers will start popping in about a week or two -- as soon as the cold nights end. By the first week of April they will peak, but they will last well into June.

We still have had no real rain to speak of since July 2007. All you who are so inclined, please pray, dance, or do whatever you think might help.

The cabins are finally almost finished. We will have our first scheduled guests the week of March 16. We will then rest awhile before building the next ones, building a yurt in between.

All in all, things are good and right. We continue to have beginner's luck, which has not extended to the rain.

This will be a busy weekend, and we will post garden and lamb pictures as we go.

God bless,

Tom

Surprise lambs continued

We had another surprise lamb this morning. Father is Miquel, our original Navajo-Churro ram. Mother is Maddie, another Navajo-Churro whose fertility was an open question - until today. The result, a beautiful, healthy, Navajo-Churro lamb born into the freeze this morning.

The "planned" lamb crop is two weeks or so away. Stay tuned.

Surprise Lambs

Okay. So we planned our lambing this season down to the last detail. Separate breeding groups. Separate pastures. Lambs should have begun to drop in late February. And then, on February 10, two weeks early, we awaken to two new Navajo-Churro lambs. One black; one tan (and looking very much like a Barbado in coloration). Born of Holly, who at five had never lambed. Immaculate conception? And, if not, who is, who are, the daddies? Did Pedro, our Barbado, secretly court Holly? Did Miguel, a Navajo, who bears a close resemblance to the black lamb? What happened? We may never know. But the lambing season has begun at Agarita Creek. The first two of perhaps fifty lambs. Stay tuned.