We have a break from the rain and cloudy skies today so I thought I would get out and take some pictures to share. The lambs are all growing so fast. The little girl above will actually be a nice dark gray. Patsy (below) is one of my friendliest lambs. 
Amos is finally getting his horns. His fleece is very nice so I hope those horns turn out ok.
Lucy...what can I say about Lucy. That is a bit of a long story. She is now living with the rams. When my last ewe had lambed, I went out to find one of her twins in the middle aisle of the barn even though I had the mom and both babies still in a stall. His back was broken and he was in alot of pain. I had to put him down. I could not figure out how in the world he had gotten out of the stall. The gate was a hog panel so I assumed he probably stuck his head out and was pulled the rest of the way. The only way that could have happened was Lucy. I still didn't want to believe it but about a week later, after the mom and her other baby were out with the rest of the sheep; I looked out in the pasture and Lucy had the other baby by the back leg swinging it like a toy. I was able to get to him in time and he was ok. I have Lucy with the rams until I can figure this out. Then one night I went out to put the sheep up for the night and I couldn't find that little ram lamb. His mom was calling for him but no response. He has simply vanished. I can't find traces of blood anywhere. Nothing. I can't imagine a coyote getting in and only taking one sheep. I guess it will remain a mystery. I've talked to several people and read about livestock guardian dogs and I think it is a matter of aggressive play. She is not a mean dog. 
On a brighter note, I have been busy keeping up with the yard and painting furniture. I found these old metal chairs in the trash at my grandma's house. I brought them home and had them sandblasted. I've always liked old stuff better than anything I could buy new. I have also started a new rug. This is the rug before it is washed and sewn. The colors are a nice slate blue, brown and tan. I'm sewing it now and that is by far the most time consuming for me. I'm anxious to get it done before school is out next week. I need something to catch all that dirt the kids bring in. Bring on Summer!!!
Time to catch up on lamb pictures. My Internet provider has been unreliable as usual so I have been spending all my time outside. I've been mulching all my flower beds. I had several plants die last year and when I pulled them out, I noticed they had moldy looking mulch around them so I raked the old stuff out and put all new down. I have so much area to cover that I can't afford to buy it in bags so I used my trailer and bought it by the scoop full. Unfortunately, that means I have to shovel it all out into a wheel barrow and then dump it that way. It is a lot more work but also a lot less costly. It is good to have it all done. Now if I can just keep up with the mowing maybe I can get my house clean!
The lambs are growing so fast! I have loved looking at everyone's lamb pictures so I thought I would show a few of my new babies and a few of the older ones. This is a little ewe lamb I named Patsy. My grandpa who died before I was born raised sheep. My mom has several old black and white photos of her as a little girl with her dad and the sheep. So, I decided to name some of my sheep after some of my family. My moms name is Patsy...I'm not sure if she would be flattered or not! I think this little girl is a doll.
This is a ram lamb, Amos, was named after my grandfather. He is solid moorit and he is gorgeous! He is very correct and has nice crimpy fleece. I think he may be a keeper.
This was one of the first lambs born. His fleece looks great and he has nice straight legs and a tiny tail. His name is Wishbone and he will be for sale as I have a surplus of black lambs this year.
This is the latest set of twins born. One boy, one girl but no names yet..I'm running out of ideas! I still have 2 sheep who haven't had their babies yet. They look enormous and by my calculations, they have to have them by May 3rd. Lambing has been great fun this year. The babies have been so spread out that it really hasn't been stressful at all. 
I just went out to the barn and couldn't resist sharing these lamb pictures I took. This guy is now 1 day old and you can tell more about his markings now that he is all dried off and bouncing around. I have no idea what to name this guy. His markings are so striking. He looks like Gene Simmons! Maybe I'll name him KISS!
I think I'm gonna be a rebel! 
I have been experimenting with dyeing wool again. Michelle suggested I try over dyeing some of my black wool and I decided to give it a try. I don't have any idea if I did it right but the result was pretty cool. This is a black iset fleece and as you can see the dye was very uneven but I like the result. I think the roving will be beautiful. 
We had one more baby born last night. He is a katmoget with black legs and belly and then his head is a combination of brown, black and white. I got out to the barn about 2 minutes before he came into the world. The ewe seemed to be in more pain than the others I have observed. When he came out she just sat there and made no attempt to start cleaning him off. I waited as long as I could and then I took off my sweatshirt (note to self: take some old towels out to the barn!) and cleaned off his head and used a syringe on his mouth and nose. She finally decided to take over but it scared me to death! 3 ewes down and 7 to go! 
The first lambs arrived on Monday night about 11:30 p.m. I had been watching this ewe very closely all day and she didn't let me down. I was able to watch the whole thing..how exciting!! Actually we all go to see it except my daughter who had been home the previous week on Spring Break..sorry Kels. She was very disappointed she didn't get to see any babies while she was home. 
This was my first lamb born on our farm. He is Pinewood Aladdin and I have no idea what color he will end up. At first he was black, then brown, now I think he may end up grey. He is really well built and his fleece looks nice as well. He is out of Sheltering Pines Tibia Rex and Underhill Ellie Ann.
This little cutie is Pinewood Belle and she is out of Sheltering Pines Tibia Rex and Lil' Country Lexus. She has gorgeous fleece and 2 cute polka dots on her back.
This set of twins is out of Bluff Country Hershey and Bluff Country Zanex. They have beautiful fleece and conformation. They are Pinewood Nala and Achilles. 
