My last post cosisted of a very sorrowing moment for me as I reflected on the life of my grandmother. I truely love this dear old lady and miss the times I had as a child with her. She is just a joy even thou her mind is gone most of the time. The last few days have been filled with children running through the house, several trips to the barn, a whole day spent buying livestock feed and human feed, opening a checking account for our 15 year old and deposting the others Christmas money, taking all the decorations down, and squeezing a little time to crochet. That almost made me tired typing it all out. But, knowing it is done gives me energy to move forward.
Onto a more interesting and kind of sad story with a happy ending! Christmas eve night brought a surprise of a baby lamb. This poor little guy was born to a young mommma who just didn't know how to get him moving. By the time I found him is was near death. Cold, unable to sit ot stand, and bearly breathing. I scene not at all what a shepardress wants to find. So after thirty minutes working with him in the barn and not getting the results I was needing into the house we went. What start as an uphill battle seemed to make a turn for the better after three hours of constant care. He was more alert, warm, and nursing. So every hour on the hour I was up feeding him just one ounce at a time. Soon morning came and he seemed to be stronger taking two full ounces strong around 8:00 a.m. Soon he feel asleep and rested for what seemed to be along time. My family opened gifts and got ready to go to my mothers house all the while checking on this little guy. Long about nine oclock when we were packing the house to go to grandma's we checked on him and he had died. You see he had never gotten strong enough to stand and although he tried with all he had he just couldn't do it. Something was just not right. This put me in a down mood for most of the day. I always beat myself over a lost lamb. Saturday was a very busy day here. I made my barn rounds early about 7:30 a.m. only to find a mother with a baby lamb running through the barnyard. She was what I call a fat bottom girl who I would have thought would have had twins or triplets. Well, I sure was wrong, she had tis little tiny baby girl. After the loss of the lamb before I would take whatever as long as it was alive and doing well. So, I put her and the baby in a pen to get to know each other, checked the rest of the girls to see if anyone was in trouble, feed all the rest of the sheep and the dog and back in the house to thaw out. Around noon, my niece comes in the house and says there is a baby running through the cattle field. So I throw on my barn clothes and boots and run out the door. I find my husband with the mule tied to the backhoe and my niece holding a lamb. My thought was that the mother who had just had the baby had gotton lose, I was wrong cause the little lamb my niece was holdong was not the one I had seen this moring. So to the barn I went in a hurry, as I started into the gate here came the donkey. This was a circus, with all the actors in all the wrong places. Hubbie grabed the donkey and started walking him toward the gate only there was no gate between the fields. I jumped the fence and headed to the barn only to see the worst part of the whole ordeal, this little lambs momma was dead. She had prolapsed. Hubbie got the gate back up and th donkey out of the way and back to help me. Now I have 3 spectators holding a very hungry and active baby lamb watching the two of us examine this momma. So I milked all the milk out of her that I could and sent the human kids in the house to give the lamb a bottle. Wade and I proceeded to check her out. Not knowing if there was another baby traped we decided to cut her open and see. Now, one of the kids had slipped out of the house and was watching us from the gate, we were not aware of this, until he said " What are you going to do with her?" We had just cut her open and blood was gushing everywhere, she had himridged and her utrus ruptured. Man, it seems like when it rains it pours, the loss of a lamb eariler and now a mother, and the joys of a bottle baby! Well, there were no more babies and we had to load this poor dead ewe into the backhoe bucket to be buried. Wade to care of all of that. I continued to go and milk the mother who had lost her lamb so that I could feed this little motherless lamb. Once I got about a cup and a half I sent it in with the little observer, Timothy, who just turned 7 on December 23, 2009. The girls were busy playing and fighting over her in the house. Oh how much fun they were having. So a thought came over Wade's mind when he decided I should see if this lambless mother would take her. Now remember, this is almost a lose lose situation, mothers know there lambs and often refuse and shove other babies out of their way. I was totally agaist it! No, No, No! I do not want another dead lamb. But, after his gentle coaxing, and a big shove, I decided to stay out there and give it a try. So the girls brought me this sweet little girl and I set her in the pen with the ewe who had lost her lamb. This ewe, much to my surprise, did not take a second look, nudged te little girl back with her noe to her udder, and began licking her all over, while that baby nursed like there was no tomorrow! There is a God in heaven and if you choose to deny that then you have never witnessed a maricle like this! Thank you Jesus! All of this long story, and if you are still reading this, Thank You! ~ One week ago Today!
