Nightly lamb check

-still in my work clothes

-Pickle was the photographer 

-the lambs are so much bigger already

So this is spring??

Baby lamb video

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n0abEuP4Bqw

Haircut day!

Una and Jane got a haircut today.  Farmer J, with the help of my brother B, sheared them both. J got the shearing kit of Ebay and decided, as a present and future sheep farmer, he needed to learn how to shear the sheep. 

Una went quite well. 

 

 

Jane started out really well... but then J knicked her front leg.  He quickly realized she needed stitches so the emergency weekend vet (Tim-- that you have met on a previous blog entry) came out to help.  Dr. Tim has 100+ sheep.  So he was so helpful to have on the farm today.  He stitched up Jane- with J and my help.  She got a total of 5 stitches. He checked on Aoife and the baby lambs and said they looked great! He then checked on the other sheep as well.  He didn't think Jane was pregnant but said Una and Beatrix may be pregnant.  We'll just have to keep an eye on their udders!  

 

 

 

 Today we earned the right to call ourselves farmers.  We watched our sheep give birth to baby lambs, we sheared sheep and got our hands way more than just dirty, helping the vet hold Jane still while she got stitched back up.  I feel so blessed to be able to live this life, share this life with our children and family and see my husband thriving in this farm life we have created.  J is a natural farmer/shepherd.  He is so patient and kind and loving to our animals.  They are lucky to have him... and we are lucky to have our little herd! 



Two little boys for Aoife!

Of course... when I had 8 baby girl lamb names picked out... Aoife had two little boys!

Congratulations Aoife on giving birth... all on your own... to two healthy baby lambs.

 

 

Luckily for us... and my brother's family... we all got to witness both baby lamb's entrance into this world.  We were thankful for the sunny day and warm'ish weather for the new little one's first day on this Earth.  Not much is better than witnessing the miracle of life.. and holding a lamb that is still wet from birth and only minutes old! I will remember today forever and cherish these memories for my whole life.  I only hope our children will be able to remember today as well... as it was pretty magical!

Little boy born

Aoife is in labor!

Lambs coming today!

Exactly three years ago...

...I wrote my first blog entry on The Wary Farm Wife...

 

We move in less than 2 weeks.  The boxes are piling up in our present little bungalow.  We are sad to leave our current, quaint, very Norman Rockwellian town but are excited to move to "the farm."  The baby chicks will arrive to our local post-office in early April.  The unusually warm, beautiful weather is making the move more bearable!

 

Ironically, just today I was thinking I should start boxing up some of our "stuff" in preparation for our move coming the end of May.  And as God would have it... it looks like we will be moving back to that "quaint, very Norman Rockwellian town" we left three years ago.  We have an accepted offer on another "little bungalow."  This one was built in 1919 and will be all ours!  This country bungalow sits on 4 1/2 acres that is zoned agricultural.  Zoning is EVERYTHING when you are looking for a farmette.  And we got the jackpot with this property.  Agricultural zoning is hard to find on smaller country properties.  The county and township that we are moving into have great ag zoning regulations for our needs.  Basically, we won't have to worry about having too many animals for the size of our farmette. 

 

Of course nothing will feel final until we have the 1919 farmhouse bungalow keys in our hands... but until then, all we can do is pray and have faith that all will work out as it should.  

 

As I type this, Farmer J is shepherding his sheep and goats and the boys are riding bikes from the barn to the front porch, back and forth- back and forth.  I can see this all out my desk window.  I'll miss so much about this farm.  I'll miss seeing the twinkling lights hanging in the barn rafters from last summer's barn dance party.  I'll miss watching Aoife scratch her back on the Lilac bush branches.  I'll miss watching the boys playing basketball in the barn.  I'll miss watching J lovingly attend to his "baby goats" out my kitchen window.  It almost hurts thinking of all the things I'll miss once we leave here. 

 

But we always knew our time here was temporary.  And I think of all the other families that have lived here and had to leave, for one reason or another.  Oddly, just today, a family stopped by the farm to chat with me, while I was out doing afternoon chores.  Two middle aged woman told me their grandmother used to live here.  They told me stories of them being rocked to sleep on the front porch and of a tornado that came right through this farm, leaving the house and barn intact.  Sadly, they also told me how their grandparents left this farm to live in a nearby large, urban area...and how the move broke their grandmother's heart.

 

My heart will not break when we leave this place.  It will just have a temporary bruise.  A bruise that will heal quickly when our family starts making our own memories in our new home.

 

When we moved to this farm, the previous inhabitant was an older, single woman.  Despite loving this place, it was becoming too much for her.  When we arrived, the farm seemed lifeless and almost stale, with no animals or gardens or children running around.  Ironically, the current owner of the 1919 farmhouse is also an older, single woman.  So once again, we have the chance to move to a farm just waiting to be loved and lived in!  And this time, we don't have to start from scratch with the animals... we'll be bringing them ALL with us...even these naughty goats!

 

 

 

Spring is here!

No flowers or green grass... But no snow either!

Oh Ireland...

I love Ireland!  I love the music, colors, accents, landscapes and people!  I've been there twice, once with my dear husband and once with a dear friend.... and I dream of going back to Ireland pretty much everyday!

Here are some of my favorites from that lovely country!

Book series:

http://www.amazon.com/Come-Ye-Back-Ireland-County/dp/0939149222

TV series:

http://www.amazon.com/Ballykissangel-Episode-1-3/dp/B001EA2NBY/ref=sr_1_6?s=instant-video&ie=UTF8&qid=1426518485&sr=1-6&keywords=ballykissangel+instant+video

Musicians:

http://www.glenhansardmusic.com/songofgoodhope/  (J and I just saw him in concert last month!)

http://www.damienrice.com/ (US tour dates for sale NOW)

http://lisahannigan.ie/

and cannot forget this guy... our first dance song at our wedding!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6RHTb-WE4zo

Have a grand (and safe) St. Paddy's Day! 

Our Saturday Afternoon (in pictures)