Roll Call, Part 2
Wow, it has been quite a ride since I posted last. I’m still pretty sleep-deprived but got caught up a bit last night. We are over two-thirds done with lambing with 15 ewes to go over the next 10 days or so. Once we get past this weekend’s weather, we should have some really nice sunshine in which to finish up. I have lots of lamb stories to tell, but for now, I’ll post some more pictures of this year’s crop for your enjoyment. Remember–girls get names, boys get numbers.
Arcadia is a really good first time mama, and Meeker has some interesting markings.
Des Moines is incredibly anti-social, but she is a *great* mother
SoHo and her daughter Chelsea look so much alike, we call this lamb "Mini-Me"
Sophie knows that next to the black water trough is the warmest place to lay
Gotebo (pronounced "Goaty-bo" for you non-Okies) is a fantastic mama. Her daughter, Granite (on the right) is one of the prettiest lambs born this year.
Beulah and her sons enjoy some sun. She sure is a proud mama.
These are two of my favorite ewe lambs--check out those spots! Way to go, Washoe!
I would have liked to have gotten another girl out of Lakota, but perhaps that would be more personality than the farm can handle!
Maui had a big strapping boy her first time out
Say hello to Stillwater, one of my favorite ewes, and her daughters, Glencoe and Yale.
We Are Blessed
As I sit here and enjoy my Greek style yogurt from Wagon Creek Creamery mixed with frozen peaches that I picked last summer at the OSU farm in Perkins, I am reminded how truly blessed I am. I have freezers full of meat, a stocked pantry, a little garden, and sheep growing on the pasture. I have an off-farm job paying the bills (and sometimes driving me crazy), a good family, and lots and lots of love in my life. In the midst of all of this happiness, it’s good for me to understand and know there are lots of folks who don’t have these things. They don’t have jobs, or families, or even full bellies.
Sometimes, the problems of homelessness and hunger seem too large for me to have an impact. Then an opportunity comes along which allows me to help in a way that works for me. My partner here at Cordero Farms, Sue Young, has taken the cow by the tail and is working to turn it into hamburger for the hungry, and she needs your help. You can read all about her project Don’t Have a Cow, Give a Cow here.
Won’t you take a few minutes and make a small donation? Or a big one? 
If 50 people give the cost of their morning latte and scone, Sue will be more than a quarter of the way towards raising enough funds to give hamburger to the hungry in OKC for one month.
It’s the least we can do when we are blessed.
A First-Time Mama Acts Like An Old Pro
The bond between a newborn lamb and its mother is established almost from the moment the wet lamb hits the ground. A good mother will immediately start licking the lamb to clean it. While she cleans it, she makes soft, almost growling, murmuring sounds. These sounds are the first to imprint on the lamb, and the cleaning and the soft language begins the bonding process. Lambs and mothers know each other by sound first, then by sight. Studies have shown that sheep can remember faces (human faces and sheep faces) for up to two years. And mothers know their lambs by smell. When a lamb is nursing, you’ll see the mama lean down and sniff the baby’s rump. What is she expecting? She is checking to see if the lamb’s poop smells like her milk. This is why when we have to temporarily remove a baby from mama, we always try to feed it mama’s milk, so that when baby comes back, mama will accept it as her own.
Say hello to Yo, short for Yolanda. Yo was a bottle lamb two years ago. She’s 25% Hampshire, 75% dairy, and all mama. You’ll see her exhibit a bunch of these bonding actions in this short clip. I took this video less than an hour after she lambed:
Roll Call!
I’m going to endeavor to document in photos all of the lambs born this spring. You’ve already seen Waverly and twins. Here are the rest since then, in order of their arrival:
Not the best quality, since I snapped it with my cellie. Sissy and Batavia lambed together. Not sure who belongs to whom, but there are 2 boys and a girl!
Mrs. Olson is an excellent first-time mother of a boy and a girl
Not the best pic of mama (sorry Siouxsie), but check out the markings on the black and white ewe lamb!
Mama's name is Sturgis, so what should we call the little girl? Why, Harley, of course!
Charlotte is a tremendous milker, so I think this ram lamb is a keeper, either for us or someone else looking for a nice stud ram.
First Babies of 2011
Waverly wins the prize for first mama to lamb this year:
It's a girl... and a boy!
Waverly is a 2 year old, lambing for the first time. These babies are out of Knoxville–great job, Knoxie!
General farm update: Knoxville is healing, but he’s not out of the woods yet. We are getting ready for the next blast of winter. I hope to post some pics from last week’s snow–maybe while we’re socked in from this week’s snow?
Hope you all are warm, safe, and dry!
Yikes!
We're the little red dot south of Stillwater
For the source of this info: the website of the National Weather Service Norman Office
Buckle Up and Here We Go
Hopefully it’s not a repeat of the Christmas Eve Blizzard of ’09, but this one is shaping up to be a doozy of a storm.
If it shifts east much at all, the worst will miss us
Today, I went to Tuttle and got a flatbed-load of alfalfa hay. Brother John was going to bring a semi-load later this week, but with the forecast going downhill, I opted for the sure thing. The eight round bales I brought back should last about 2 weeks, and John is shooting to bring the semi next week instead.
Tomorrow I’ll top off the water troughs and make sure all the shelters are tied down tight in anticipation of some strong winds. I also need to put one more ‘end’ on one of the hoophouses. Hope y’all are making preparations as well.
Good Progress On The Healing Front
Just a quick update: Knoxville got to come home today! He still needs a lot of attention– his head wound is draining quite a bit and requires his dressing to be changed daily.
I know it looks like a wimple, but Knoxie is not practicing to be a nun... promise
I was amazed at how far along is his healing, especially on his head wound. There is quite a bit of granular tissue forming. Hopefully, it will be closed over in about 2-3 weeks. The folks at the OSU Vet Hospital really enjoyed him and pampered him. In the picture, you can see the pen where he got to stay all week–he never had to go to the barn!
Tomorrow, I’m off to the annual meeting of the Oklahoma Food Co-op. Hope to see many of you there!
A Knoxville Update
I have been in touch with the vets at OSU Large Animal Hospital every day since Knoxville was admitted. He is making progress ahead of schedule, and our plan is to bring him home on Friday. Today, I got a nice note from Heather, the 4th year student who is in charge of his care:
“I wanted to let you know that Knoxville seems to be perkier and more alert this morning than he has been, and that he still has a very good appetite. He’s managing to get up and around his pen to eat, drink, and relocate and seems to be a little less painful in doing so. I’ve really enjoyed working with him! He is super sweet.”
She also sent a list of supplies for me to secure so that I can take care of him. I have to change his bandages as often as daily, depending on how much drainage/seepage there is. I’m going to make a nice place for him in the barn.
Knoxie (foreground) grazing with the flock last summer
Thanks to all of you for your prayers, good energy, and well wishes. I’ll keep you posted on his progress.
